Aging Well in the Gorge November 21st 2018

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With Thanksgiving becoming another shopping holiday: Black Friday spreading into Black Thursday, and now stealing into most of November, I have begun to appreciate the perspective I have gained from having lived these many years: I don’t need the mad rush of finding the best deals of the pre-pre-holiday sales. And I certainly don’t need crowded stores, long lines and packed parking lots. The fact is I don’t really need any more “things” (although I do dream of the latest Apple products). Instead I’m trying to give away stuff – and there is plenty of it. Anyone looking for a treadmill? How about a 40-year old 10-speed Fuji bicycle?
Knowing that in a flash, my life could be tossed upside down, more “things” aren’t that necessary. As long as I have food in the cupboard, a roof over my head, friends, family and a wonderful and patient wife, I’m doing just fine. I hope you have found all you need and can appreciate all you have during this season of thanksgivings.
For someone who has recently or even not so recently lost a loved one, the holidays can be particularly difficult. You may be that someone, when memories of special times together around the holidays come flooding back, along with all the conflicting questions associated with grief: Shouldn’t I be over this? Am I going crazy? Why can’t I feel happy?
Or it may be someone you know who is experiencing the loss of a loved one; needing your support of listening and being open and present to their quiet and often silent sadness.
Whether it is you or a friend, it can help to find a supportive safe haven where you can share your feelings and maybe even a few tears; and realize you are not alone. It may be an informal group such as your church family or close friends. Or it may be one of several excellent grief support groups available in the Gorge.
A new grief support group is meeting at the Center on the first and third Thursdays at 10:30. At the next meeting on December 6th the focus will be “Coping with Loss on Days That Hold Special Meaning”. The support group is facilitated by Gwen Thomas, a bereavement counselor for Providence Hospice of the Gorge, and if you would like more information you can contact Gwen at 541-490-0525.
If you are in town on Thursday, the annual Community Thanksgiving Meal will be held once again at the St. Mary’s Academy from 12:00 – 3:00 PM. It is a chance to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving Dinner and see friends you may not have seen since last year. And a big thank-you to our local Salvation Army and the many volunteers who make it all possible.
When driving by the corner of 10th and Cherry Heights, I hope you have noticed the Center’s new message board (and if you haven’t, you may want to seriously think about giving up the car keys!) The Center’s board of directors had been considering installing a message board for several years. And thanks to Gary Patton’s determination and the tremendous help from Meadows Outdoor Advertising, the message board is now up and scrolling news from the Center.
The band created by the three Gibb brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice, that recorded three of Billboard’s Top 20 hits of the 1970’s, all from the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever, was the BeeGees. (I received correct answers from Jess Birge, Lana Tepfer, Susan Ortega and this week’s winner of a free quilt raffle ticket Cheri Brent.)
I have realized that never listening to country music when growing up has biased the music questions I ask. So, to make up for Pat Boone, Herman’s Hermits and the BeeGees, here is a question about a country singer whose career spanned three decades. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what singer was one of the stalwarts of 1950’s honky tonk music with hit songs such as “Talk To Your Heart” and “Release Me”; in the 1960’s experimented with the Nashville Sound, and in the 1970’s recorded several hits including “For the Good Times” and “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”.  Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or send your answer with a picture of cowboys from Cherokee County Texas.
Well, it’s been another week anticipating the excitement of the holidays. Until we meet again, make the best of the hard times and cherish the good times.
“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” Irv Kupcinet

Aging Well in the Gorge November 14th 2018

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Everyone has heard of Osteoporosis – a thinning and weakening of the bones. But have you heard of sarcopenia? According to MedlinePlus, the website for the U.S. National Library of Medicine, sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass, strength and function affecting an estimated 13% to as many as half of all adults in their 80’s. And according to Dr. Jeremy D. Walston, geriatrician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, “Sarcopenia is one of the most important causes of functional decline and loss of independence in older adults.”
Doesn’t sound good, does it. So, what can you do to help prevent or reduce the effects of sarcopenia?
The most obvious is physical activity – particularly resistance or strength training. Some research shows it is even possible to rebuild muscle strength at an advanced age (If you want to get started, the Center offers Strong Women and Strength Yoga: two classes that include strength training.)
But often forgotten is the importance of nutrition especially protein – the main constituent of healthy muscle tissue. Protein deficiency is a particular concern for older adults because they tend to take in fewer calories in general (I don’t eat as much as I used to – even pizza!) and older adults absorb protein less effectively.
Acccording to Dr. John E. Morley, geriatrician at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, to enhance muscle mass older adults require at least 0.54 grams of protein per pound of ideal body weight (what you should weigh) which is generally much more than what older adults typically consume.
For example, if you are a sedentary and your ideal weight is 150 pounds, you may need to eat as much as 81 grams (0.54 x 150) of protein daily. To give you an idea what that means, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter has 8 grams of protein; 1 cup of nonfat milk = 8.8 grams; 2 medium eggs =11.4 grams; one chicken drumstick = 2.2 grams; a half-cup of cottage cheese = 15 grams; and 3 ounces of turkey = 26.8 grams of protein. And if you’re getting your protein primarily from meat and cereal grains, it should be balanced with a diet high in fruits and vegetable in order to effectively treat sarcopenia.
To avoid the loss of independence associated with sarcopenia consider adding strength training to your exercise routine. Just as important, include in your diet enough protein to help build up your muscle mass so you can pick up both feet – and avoid those nasty falls. And before you start anything new it is always a good idea to check with your health care provider.
The holiday bazaars have begun. And the granddaddy of them all, the St. Peter’s 40thAnnual Bazaar, will be held November 17th from 9:00 – 4:00 at the St. Mary’s Academy. And on the same day, across 10th Street, the Center will be holding its own Bazaar from 9:00 – 3:00. This is your chance to “double your pleasure” shopping two great bazaars at once.
The name of the clean-cut band that had four top-three hits in 1965 including “I’m Henery the Eighth I Am”, (spelled “Henery” but pronounced “‘Enery” in the Cockney style normally used to sing it) was the Herman’s Hermits. I received correct answers from Lana Tepfer, Cherie Brent and Carol Earl this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket. And last week I missed Sharon Hull.)
Did anyone have time to listen to pop hits in the 70’s particularly during the Disco era? If you did, you might remember the answer to this week’s “Remember When” question. In 1955 these three brothers formed their first band in England called the Rattlesnakes. But they changed the band’s name, and by the end of the 1970’s their band had sold over 200 million records worldwide and recorded three of the Billboard’s Top 20 hits of the 1970’s. What was the name of this band most remembered for their hits from 1975 to 1979 that extended the disco craze? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or send your answer with the movie starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a working-class young man who spends his weekends dancing and drinking at a local Brooklyn discothèque.
Well, it’s been another week tiptoeing around life’s traps that get in my way. Until we meet again, keep searching for that balance between what is real and what is possible.

“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.” Sydney Smith, English Preacher