February 2014 | Howard County Beacon

More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard CountyVOL.4, NO.2

I N F O C U S F O R P E O P L E O V E R 5 0

The Howard County F R E E

I N S I D E …

FITNESS & HEALTH 3k Gene therapy kicks cancerk Guard against winter heart attacks

THE SENIOR CONNECTION 16k Howard County Office on Aging newsletter

LAW & MONEY 18k 2014 stock outlookk Get a decent return on savings

PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACONBITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

ARTS & STYLEAn Irish dance show has a contemporary twist; plus,singer Graham Nash’s newmemoir recalls his ‘60s rootsand columnist Bob Leveywarns against gold diggers

page 26

LEISURE & TRAVELWarm(er) winter destinationsbeckon; plus, a safari toBotswana’s Okavango Delta

page 22

By Robert FriedmanHoward County resident Fred Johnson,

56, was rated “highly effective” as a man-ager at the auto parts business where hewas employed. That was in 2010, when hewas the oldest — and told he was one ofthe best — of the 12 managers at the com-pany.

Soon after, a new supervisor took overhis department. Johnson (not his realname) was told he was being put on a “per-formance improvement plan.” He wasfired from his job 90 days later, and re-placed by a 34-year-old less-qualified em-ployee.

Johnson was sure that the new supervi-sor felt “threatened” by Johnson’s greaterexperience, and that was why he was ter-minated from his job.

Investigating age biasSo where does a Howard County senior

turn when he feels he had been fired be-cause of age discrimination?

He can turn, as Johnson did, to thecounty’s Office of Human Rights, whichlooks into such complaints. Its 17-monthinvestigation in Johnson’s case, which in-cluded speaking to workplace witnesseson both sides and checking workplacerecords, found that Johnson’s complaintwas valid. (In bureaucratize: “There is rea-sonable cause to believe the age discrimi-nation allegation is substantiated.”)

The case, according to Office of HumanRights Administrator C. Vernon Gray, isnow in the “conciliation phase,” meaningthat the company could appeal the deci-sion, or sit down with Johnson and decidewhether to offer a monetary settlement,employ him there again, or both.

“The law says if a person can no longerperform essential duties [of a job], he orshe can be fired,” Gray said. This, he said,was not the case with Johnson.

The number of workers between 55 and64 years old is expected to rise by 40 per-cent between 2006 and 2016, according tothe Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureausays that people 65 and older are expectedto make up 6.1 percent of the workforce intwo more years, compared with 3.6 per-cent a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, the federal Equal Employ-

ment Opportunity Commission has report-ed, according to Forbes magazine, thatcomplaints by aging workers are soaring— jumping from about 18,000 in 2007 to asmany as 25,000 a year since 2008.

The 74-year-old Gray agreed this un-doubtedly means that the Columbia-basedoffice will be looking into more age dis-crimination cases than ever before.

With a staff of nine people, the officehas investigated 59 age-discriminationcomplaints over the last five years, Graysaid. That’s more than 10 percent of the450 workplace and housing discriminationcomplaints it has handled over that period.Charges of racial discrimination still leadlocally and nationwide, followed by sex dis-

crimination complaints.

First black elected officialGray himself has been a pioneer in

human rights advances in Howard County.He was the first African American to winan electoral office in the county, which did-n’t happen until 1982, when he was electedto the Howard County Council to serve thefirst of five four-year terms.

Among other incidents, he remembersduring his initial campaign one alreadyelected county commissioner refusing toshake his hand.

“Why don’t you shake the man’s hand?”

C. Vernon Gray serves as the administrator of the Howard County Office on HumanRights. The office investigates numerous kinds of discrimination complaints, includ-ing employment, housing and law enforcement.

See HUMAN RIGHTS, page 10

Office still fights discrimination

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FEBRUARY 2014

Among the truest truisms are the state-ments: “there is power in numbers,” and“the pen is mightier than thesword.”

History offers ample ex-amples. The problem is thatthose examples may illus-trate successes by what we(or others) might considergood or moral causes, as wellas successes by what we (orothers) might consider bador immoral causes.

Not so long ago in thiscountry, there were substan-tial numbers of Americanswho shared racist attitudes,propagated ugly beliefs and acted on them.

For years, black, Asian, Catholic andJewish Americans were kept out of manydesirable neighborhoods, private schoolsand clubs, and workplaces.

Those who were gay were terrified to beknown as such, and remained in the closettheir whole lives out of fear of losing theirjobs and even their friends and family.

Americans have also been persecutedfor their political beliefs. Even the barestsuggestion that someone was a card-carry-ing member of the Communist Party was

enough to cost them their livelihood andostracize them from society.

At the time, these were theopinions of the majority, andthe majority believed in therightness of their beliefs.

But when we look back onthese times, we rightly feelashamed that our countrycould have been so backward,so prejudiced, so caught up inmass hysteria.

We might say to ourselvesthat we would never have suc-cumbed, even under the mostintense peer pressure, to jointhe lynch mobs, reject friends

for their political beliefs, or remain in thecountry clubs and schools that kept othersout due to their ethnicity or their religion.

Some of us would go further and say,were something like this to happen again,we would stand up and fight — with wordsand possibly even our fists — to defendthose who were being so unfairly attackedfor their ancestry, their religion or theirbeliefs.

After all, we might add, America wasfounded on the principles of tolerance,freedom of speech and religion, and belief

in the inherent dignity of all humankind. Are you with me? If so, you might not re-

alize you’re being set up. For my intent in this column is not sim-

ply to point out how much more enlight-ened we Americans are today than our an-cestors, but also to suggest that perhaps,as the tables have turned, we may actuallybe reenacting some of the biases, injus-tices and hypocrisy of our forebears in thename of enlightenment.

While our culture has come a long waysince the prejudices I mentioned abovewere commonly expressed and accepted,let’s take as a given that not everyone hasinternalized contemporary mores.

Some were raised with prejudicial atti-tudes and haven’t moved beyond them.Some realize times and attitudes havechanged, but aren’t so happy about it. Oth-ers have really come to accept currentviews, but when asked about the past, willadmit to having had prejudices in the past.And some are fundamentalist believers whotake the Bible at face value, even when thatconflicts with modern notions of rights.

When some of these attitudes come tolight nowadays, especially when the peo-ple are famous or rich or both, the publicreaction can be furious, and the result canalmost instantly cost people their reputa-tions and their livelihoods.

While I understand the logic of denyingprejudiced national figures a bully pulpit, Iworry that we are becoming less and less

tolerant even of each other within our com-munities.

It seems to me that a significant numberof Americans are developing a reflexiverush to judge, dehumanize and penalizethose whose beliefs they consider offen-sive, and to refuse to accept even penitentapologies.

Are these not the very behaviors ofthose in the past whom we claim to so de-spise? We see online lynching of reputa-tions, mass hysteria against, and stereotyp-ing of, groups and political parties basedon the behavior of individuals.

We may think we have come a long wayfrom the backwardness of the past, but insome ways, we have just become those weused to hate.

If we truly believe in freedom of thoughtand freedom of religion, we should be ableto live with differences of opinion and belief,as long as everyone’s rights are respected.

And when we think someone’s beliefsare backward, we have the right to try toeducate them and change their attitudes. Itmay take time and effort, and it may, insome cases, not succeed.

But if we believe in human dignity —that of others as well as our own —- wemust agree to treat each other with basicrespect.

The power in numbers

FROM THEPUBLISHERBy Stuart P. Rosenthal

Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD

20915, or e-mail to [email protected]. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

Letters to the editor

COLLECTING AFRICAN AMERICAN MEMORABILIAThe Howard County Historical Society hosts Dr. Philip J. Merrill onSunday, Feb. 16 at 2:30 p.m. at the Howard County Library Miller

Branch. Merrill is a nationally recognized expert in African American history, mem-orabilia and culture, an appraiser with the Maryland Public Television show“Chesapeake Collectibles,” and author of The Black American Series: Baltimoreand The Art of Collecting Black Memorabilia. The library is located at 9421 Freder-ick Rd., Ellicott City. Call (410) 313-1950 to reserve a space.

FALL IN LOVE WITH ARTDuring February, the Artists’ Gallery presents the show “Love OurArt.” The all-media show runs from Feb. 3 to 28, with an openingreception on Friday, Feb. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Artists’ Gallery,

American City Building, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Columbia. The member-ownedgallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9:30a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and closed Sunday. For more information, call (410) 740-8249during gallery hours or visit www.artistsgallerycolumbia.com.

FREE GROCERIESLydia’s Pantry gives free groceries to Maryland residents in needon the third and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9 to 11 a.m.Food includes frozen meats, beans, rice, pasta, and other non-per-

ishable items. Some eligibility guidelines apply. Lydia’s Pantry is located at 8740Cherry Lane, Laurel. For more information, call (410) 777-0157.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 16

Feb.

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The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915(410) 248-9101 • Email: [email protected]: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial and advertising isthe 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 35 for classified advertising details.Please mail or email all submissions.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 3

MEDICARE CHOICESMake sure to explore the ABCs ofMedicare before you turn 65

INHERITING FEARFUL MEMORIESGenes may pass information to off-spring about traumatic experiences

KNEE QUANDRYHow to decide if surgery or rehab isbest for a torn knee ligament

WINTER HEART ATTACKSCold temps, snow shoveling and weightincrease winter heart attack risk

HealthFitness &

First successful gene therapy for cancerBy Marilynn Marchione

In one of the biggest advances againstleukemia and other blood cancers in manyyears, doctors are reporting unprecedent-ed success by using gene therapy to trans-form patients’ blood cells into soldiers thatseek and destroy cancer.

A few patients with one type of leukemiawere given this one-time, experimentaltherapy several years ago, and some re-main cancer-free today. Now, at least sixresearch groups have treated more than120 patients with many types of blood andbone marrow cancers, with stunning re-sults.

“It’s really exciting,” said Dr. JanisAbkowitz, blood diseases chief at the Uni-versity of Washington in Seattle and presi-dent of the American Society of Hematol-ogy. “You can take a cell that belongs to apatient and engineer it to be an attack cell.”

In one study, all five adults and 19 of 22children with acute lymphocytic leukemia(ALL) had a complete remission, meaningno cancer could be found after treatment,although a few have relapsed since then.

These were gravely ill patients whowere out of options. Some had tried multi-

ple bone marrow transplants and up to 10types of chemotherapy or other treat-ments.

Cancer was so advanced in 8-year-oldEmily Whitehead of Philipsburg, Pa., thatdoctors said her major organs would failwithin days. She was the first child giventhe gene therapy, and shows no sign ofcancer today, nearly two years later. Towatch a video about her treatment, seehttp://bit.ly/VxB0dL.

Doctors say this has the potential to be-come the first gene therapy approved inthe United States, and the first for cancerworldwide. Only one gene therapy is ap-proved in Europe, for a rare metabolic dis-ease.

What’s involvedThe treatment involves filtering pa-

tients’ blood to remove millions of whiteblood cells, called T-cells, altering them inthe lab to contain a gene that targets can-cer, and returning them to the patient in in-fusions over three days.

“What we are giving essentially is a liv-ing drug” — permanently altered cells thatmultiply in the body into an army to fight

the cancer, said Dr. David Porter, a Univer-sity of Pennsylvania scientist who led onestudy.

Several drug and biotech companies aredeveloping these therapies. Penn haspatented its method and licensed it toSwitzerland-based Novartis AG. The com-pany is building a research center on thePenn campus in Philadelphia and plans aclinical trial next year that could lead tofederal approval of the treatment as soonas 2016.

Talking with the researchers, “there is asense of making history ... a sense of doingsomething very unique,” said Hervé Hop-penot, president of Novartis Oncology, thedivision leading the work.

Lee Greenberger, chief scientific officerof the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,agreed. “From our vantage point, thislooks like a major advance,” he said.

“We are seeing powerful responses...and time will tell how enduring these re-missions turn out to be.” The group hasgiven $15 million to various researcherstesting this approach.

Nearly 49,000 new cases of leukemia,70,000 cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

and 22,000 cases of myeloma are expectedto be diagnosed in the United States in2014.

Many patients are successfully treatedwith chemotherapy or bone marrow orstem cell transplants, but transplants arerisky, and donors can’t always be found. Sofar, gene therapy has been tried on peoplewho were in danger of dying becauseother treatments failed.

The gene therapy must be made individ-ually for each patient, and lab costs noware about $25,000, without a profit margin.That’s still less than many drugs to treatthese diseases and far less than a trans-plant.

The treatment can cause severe flu-likesymptoms and other side effects, but thesehave been reversible and temporary, doc-tors say.

Many success storiesPenn doctors have treated the most

cases so far — 59. Of the first 14 patientswith chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),four had complete remissions, four had

By Marilynn MarchioneSometimes you feel like a nut, and that’s

a good thing. Regular nut eaters were less likely to die

of cancer or heart disease — in fact, wereless likely to die of any cause — during a30-year Harvard study.

Nuts have long been called heart-healthy, and the study is the largest everdone on whether eating them affects mor-tality.

Researchers tracked 119,000 men andwomen and found that those who ate nutsroughly every day were 20 percent lesslikely to die during the study period thanthose who never ate nuts. Eating nuts lessoften lowered the death risk, too, in directproportion to consumption.

The risk of dying of heart diseasedropped 29 percent and the risk of dying ofcancer fell 11 percent among those whohad nuts seven or more times a week com-pared with people who never ate them.

The benefits were seen from peanuts aswell as from pistachios, almonds, walnuts

and other tree nuts. The researchers didnot look at how the nuts were prepared —oiled or salted, raw or roasted.

Weight control benefits, too A bonus: Nut eaters stayed slimmer. “There’s a general perception that if you

eat more nuts, you’re going to get fat. Ourresults show the opposite,” said Dr. YingBao of Harvard-affiliated Brigham andWomen’s Hospital in Boston.

She led the study, published in the NewEngland Journal of Medicine. The NationalInstitutes of Health and the InternationalTree Nut Council Nutrition Research &Education Foundation sponsored thestudy, but the nut group had no role in de-signing it or reporting the results.

Researchers don’t know why nuts mayboost health. It could be that their unsatu-rated fatty acids, minerals and other nutri-ents lower cholesterol and inflammationand reduce other problems, as earlierstudies seemed to show.

Observational studies like this one can’t

prove cause and effect, only suggest a con-nection. Research on diets is especiallytough, because it can be difficult to singleout the effects of any one food.

People who eat more nuts may eat themon salads, for example, and some of thebenefit may come from the leafy greens,said Dr. Robert Eckel, a University of Col-orado cardiologist and former president ofthe American Heart Association.

Dr. Ralph Sacco, a University of Miamineurologist who also is a former heart as-sociation president, agreed. “Sometimeswhen you eat nuts you eat less of some-thing else like potato chips,” so the benefitmay come from avoiding an unhealthyfood, Sacco said.

The Harvard group has long beenknown for solid science on diets. Its find-ings build on a major study earlier thisyear — a rigorous experiment that found aMediterranean-style diet supplementedwith nuts cuts the chance of heart-relatedproblems, especially strokes, in older peo-ple at high risk of them.

Many studies agreeMany previous studies tie nut consump-

tion to lower risks of heart disease, dia-betes, colon cancer and other maladies.

In 2003, the Food and Drug Administra-tion said a fistful of nuts a day as part of alow-fat diet may reduce the risk of heartdisease. The heart association recom-mends four servings of unsalted, unoilednuts a week, and warns against eating toomany, since they are dense in calories.

The new research combines two studiesthat started in the 1980s on 76,464 femalenurses and 42,498 male health profession-als. They filled out surveys on food andlifestyle habits every two to four years, in-cluding how often they ate a serving (1ounce) of nuts.

Study participants who often ate nutswere healthier — they weighed less, exer-cised more and were less likely to smoke,among other things. After taking these andother things into account, researchers still

To live longer and be slimmer, eat nutsSee GENE THERAPY, page 4

See NUTS, page 5

partial ones, and the rest did not respond.However, some partial responders contin-ue to see their cancer shrink a year aftertreatment.

“That’s very unique to this kind of thera-py” and gives hope the treatment may stillpurge the cancer, said Porter. Another 18CLL patients were treated, and half haveresponded so far.

Penn doctors also treated 27 ALL pa-tients. All five adults and 19 of the 22 chil-dren had complete remissions — an “ex-

traordinarily high” success rate, said Dr.Stephan Grupp at the Children’s Hospitalof Philadelphia.

Six have since relapsed, though, anddoctors are pondering a second gene ther-apy attempt.

At the National Cancer Institute, Dr.James Kochenderfer and others havetreated 11 patients with lymphoma andfour with CLL, starting roughly two yearsago. Six had complete remissions, six hadpartial ones, one has stable disease, andit’s too soon to tell for the rest.

Ten other patients were given genetherapy to try to kill leukemia or lym-

phoma remaining after bone marrowtransplants. These patients got infusions ofgene-treated blood cells from their trans-plant donors instead of using their ownblood cells. One had a complete remissionand three others had significant reductionof their disease.

“They’ve had every treatment known toman. To get any responses is really en-couraging,” Kochenderfer said. The can-cer institute is working with a Los Angelesbiotech firm, Kite Pharma Inc., on its genetherapy approach.

Patients are encouraged that relativelyfew have relapsed.

“We’re still nervous every day because

they can’t tell us what’s going to happen to-morrow,” said Tom Whitehead, father of 8-year-old Emily.

Doug Olson, 67, a scientist for a medicaldevice maker, shows no sign of cancersince gene therapy in September 2010 forCLL he had had since 1996.

“Within one month he was in completeremission. That was just completely unex-pected,” said Porter, his doctor at Penn.

Olson ran his first half-marathon lastJanuary and no longer worries about howlong his remission will last. “I decided I’mcured. I’m not going to let that hang overmy head anymore,” he said.

— AP

4 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

ENERGY WORKS SMARTER together

Take the out of your winter energy bill.

chill

What can you do now, to save on your winter energy bills? Colder temperatures make your heating system work harder to keep your home feeling comfortable—and your energy bills may show it. What can you do now to make a difference?

4 You can save about $180 per year in energy costs with the proper use of a programmable thermostat.

4 Open curtains and drapes during the day, to let the sun warm your home, and close them at night for insulation.

4 Heating water is the second biggest energy user in your home. Lower the temperature on your water heater, and conserve hot water when you can.

Visit BGE.COM/WINTERREADY, where you’ll !nd the tools and resources you need to cope with the cold weather, or call 800.685.0123. Now that’s smart energy.

Gene therapyFrom page 3

PHARMACIST ANSWERS QUESTIONSDon Hamilton, Pharm.D., consultant pharmacist, will answer par-

ticipant’s questions about current medication concerns in a free

program on Monday, Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. at the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401

Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. For more information, call (410) 313-1400.

HOW TO AGE WELLFirst Lutheran Church will host a program featuring a panel of

experts discussing how to make and execute plans to age well

and live longer. The program will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m. at

the church, 3604 Chatham Rd., Ellicott City. “The Truths and Consequences of

Aging” is sponsored by the Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant. Registration is

required by calling 1-877-461-8933 or by visiting www.MillersGrant.org.

BEACON BITS

Jan. 27

Feb. 26

By Jane Bennett ClarkThese days, turning 65 doesn’t have to

mean hanging up your career, but it doesrepresent one big milestone: Medicare eli-gibility.

In most cases, signing up for MedicarePart A is a no-brainer. This coverage paysfor in-patient care in the hospital. There’sgenerally no premium, although you dopay a deductible and share other costs.

You can sign up as early as threemonths before the month in which youturn 65, and as late as three months afteryour 65th-birthday month. To avoid anydelay in coverage, enroll before you turn65, said Joe Baker, of the Medicare RightsCenter.

Do you need Part B yet?At the same time, you can also enroll in

Medicare Part B, which covers doctors’visits and outpatient care. This coverageexacts a monthly premium ($104.90 formost people in 2013, more for those withhigh incomes), plus a deductible and coin-surance.

If you’re collecting Social Security whenyou turn 65, you will automatically be en-rolled in Part A and Part B, and the Part Bpremium will be deducted from your bene-fits.

If you still have health coverage throughwork or are covered by your spouse’s em-ployer, you may be better off keeping thatcoverage and delaying Part B. Ask youremployer for help deciding, or call SocialSecurity at 1-800-772-1213.

Once you lose employer coverage, youhave eight months in which to sign up forPart B. (You should do so because both re-

tiree health benefits and coverage throughCOBRA are secondary to Medicare assoon as you’re eligible, whether you signup or not.)

If you don’t sign up for Part B withinthat window, you’ll have to wait until thenext open-enrollment period (Jan. 1 toMarch 31), and your monthly premiumwill permanently increase by 10 percentfor each 12-month period you delay.

To sign up for Medicare parts A and B,call 1-800-772-1213 or visit www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly.

How to fill in the gapsAlso consider Medicare supplement

coverage, also known as medigap. Theseplans cover part or all of the costs you

would otherwise still owe under parts Aand B, including deductibles and co-pays.

The 10 plans available are labeled by let-ter. Benefits for each are standardized, butinsurers may and do charge different pre-miums, so shop around.

The six-month initial enrollment periodstarts on the first day of the month inwhich you are 65 or older and are enrolledin Medicare Part B. During that window,you can’t be turned away by medigap in-surers because of a preexisting condition.

Miss the deadline, and you could end uppaying more or be denied coverage alto-gether. The Obamacare ban on denyingcoverage based on preexisting conditions

Explore Medicare choices before age 65

saw a strong benefit from nuts. Compared with people who never ate

nuts, those who had them less than once aweek reduced their risk of death 7 per-cent; once a week, 11 percent; two to fourtimes a week, 13 percent; and seven ormore times a week, 20 percent.

“I’m very confident” the observationsreflect a true benefit, Bao said. “We did somany analyses, very sophisticated ones,”to eliminate other possible explanations.

For example, they did separate analyseson smokers and non-smokers, heavy andlight exercisers, and people with and with-

out diabetes, and saw a consistent benefitfrom nuts.

At a heart association conference in No-vember, Penny Kris-Etheron, a Pennsylva-nia State University nutrition scientist, re-viewed previous studies on this topic.

“We’re seeing benefits of nut consump-tion on cardiovascular disease as well asbody weight and diabetes,” said Kris-Etherton, who has consulted for nut mak-ers and also served on many scientific pan-els on dietary guidelines.

“We don’t know exactly what it is” aboutnuts that boosts health or which ones arebest, she said. “I tell people to eat mixednuts.”

— AP

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 5

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health studies, just complete and clip this coupon and mail or fax it to the Beacon.

does not apply to Medicare.Medicare Part D, offered through pri-

vate insurers, covers prescription drugs.You pay a monthly premium plus co-paysor coinsurance, and some plans also havea deductible.

The plans cover you up to a certainamount each year, after which you pay amuch higher share of the cost — a gap incoverage known as the doughnut hole.Once you’ve hit the maximum out-of-pock-et cost for the year, your share goes waydown until year-end.

You can join a Medicare drug plan dur-ing your medigap initial enrollment peri-od. If you don’t, and you go 63 days ormore without “creditable” coverage (suchas through an employer), you’ll pay a

penalty based on the national base premi-um and on how long you delayed beforeyou enrolled.

Another option: a Medicare Advantageplan, which combines medical and pre-scription-drug coverage and other bene-fits, such as coverage for vision and hear-ing care. These plans, offered through pri-vate insurers, generally limit your choiceof providers and require more cost shar-ing than Part D and medigap, but premi-ums tend to be lower.

You can enroll in a plan during your ini-tial enrollment period or during open en-rollment (Oct. 15-Dec. 7). To find medi-gap, Part D or Medicare Advantage plansin your area and compare premiums, go towww.medicare.gov/find-a-plan.© 2013, Kiplinger. All rights reserved.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency,LLC.


Medicare choicesFrom page 5COLUMBIA’S EARLY HISTORY

Columbia Archives is offering a free three-part lecture course on

the early history of Columbia. It begins Monday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. at Slayton

House, 10400 Cross Fox Ln., Columbia, and continues on Mondays, Feb. 10 and

17. The sessions will be led by Columbia historian Barbara Kellner. For more infor-

mation, email [email protected]. or call (410) 715-3103

To register for the sessions, go to www.CreatingColumbia.Eventbrite.com.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 3+

CHILI COOKOUT SUPER BOWL PARTYKickoff the Super Bowl with the N. Laurel 50+ Center. On Friday, Jan.31 enjoy a chili hot dog lunch and special entertainment as you

cheer on your favorite team. Cost: Lunch contribution. The center is located at 9411Whiskey Bottom Rd. Call (410) 313-0380 for reservations by Tuesday, Jan. 21.

AARP OLDER DRIVER COURSE The Howard County General Hospital will host an AARP refreshercourse for drivers age 50 and older on Friday, March 7 from 10

a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wellness Center Medical Pavilion, 10710 Charter Dr.,Columbia. Fee is $15 for AARP members, $20 for non-members. Call (410) 740-7601 or visit hcgh.org for additional information.

VIEWING THE HEAVENSA full-dome movie and planetarium presentation about currenthappenings in the night sky are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 7 and

Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. at the Robinson Nature Center, 6692 Cedar Lane,Columbia. The cost is $6, and attendees must be 18 years or older. Call (410)313-0400 for more information.

BEACON BITS

Jan. 31

• Eye Care for All Ages • Specialists in Cataracts, Glaucoma, DiabeticRetinopathy and Macular Degeneration • Contact Lens Specialists

• LASIK - Laser Vision Correction • Plastic & Reconstructive Eye Surgery

Full In-House Optical DepartmentOutpatient No-Stitch Cataract Surgery • Laser Surgery

MEDICARE ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTEDLENARD H. HAMMER, M.D., F.A.C.S.GORDON LUI, M.D.SCOTT B. BECKER, M.D.MEDICARE EYE EXAMS

BRIAN J. WINTER, M.D.CRISTINA F. ROUILLER, O.D.

VANESSA LIMA, M.D.

410-997-99008860 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite 101, Columbia, MD

Mar. 7

Feb. 7+

By Quinn EastmanTrauma can scar people so indelibly that

their children are affected. History pro-vides examples of generations who weretraumatized by war and starvation bearingchildren with altered physiology.

Now researchers at Yerkes National Pri-mate Research Center at Emory Universi-ty have found an instance of animals pass-ing on more specific information about atraumatic experience to their offspring.That information comes not through socialcommunication, but through inheritance.

Researchers have found that when amouse learns to become afraid of a certainodor, his or her pups will be more sensitiveto that odor, even though the pups havenever encountered it. The results werepublished in last month’s Nature Neuro-science.

“Knowing how the experiences of par-ents influence their descendants helps usto understand psychiatric disorders thatmay have a trans-generational basis, andpossibly to design therapeutic strategies,”said senior author Dr. Kerry Ressler, pro-fessor of psychiatry and behavioral sci-ences at Emory School of Medicine.

Ressler is a Howard Hughes Medical In-stitute-suppor ted investigator at theYerkes National Primate Research Centerat Emory University, and worked with doc-toral fellow Brian Dias on the mouse study.

Trained to fearThe researchers trained mice to be-

come afraid of an odor by pairing exposureto the scent with a mild electric shock.They then measured how much the animalstartled in response to a loud noise at base-line, and in conjunction with presentationof the odor.

Surprisingly, they found that the adultoffspring of the sensitized mice also star-tled more in response to the particularodor that one parent had learned to fear,even when the offspring had never experi-enced the odor before.

In addition, they were more able to de-tect small amounts of that particular odor.Smell-sensitized offspring were not moreanxious in general. In separate experi-ments not involving odors, the mice werenot more afraid to explore the bright, ele-vated areas of a maze.

Researchers took advantage of previousstudy on the biology of odor detection. Sci-entists knew that the chemical acetophe-none, which smells somewhat like cherryblossoms, activates a particular set of cellsin the nose and a particular “odorant re-ceptor” gene in those cells.

Brain cells affectedBoth the parent mouse who had been

sensitized to a smell and his or her pupshad more space in the smell-processingpart of their brains, called the olfactorybulb, devoted to the odor to which they aresensitive.

Both mothers and fathers were found to

pass on a learned sensitivity to an odor, al-though mothers can’t do it with fosteredpups, showing that the sensitivity is nottransmitted by social interaction. Futuremothers receive their odor-shock trainingbefore (and not during) conception andpregnancy.

The inheritance takes place even if themice are conceived by in vitro fertilization,and the sensitivity continues to appear inthe second generation, i.e., “grandchil-dren.” This indicates that, somehow, infor-mation about the experience connectedwith the odor is being transmitted via thesperm or eggs.

The DNA from the sperm of smell-sensi-tized father mice is altered. This is an ex-ample of an “epigenetic” alteration, foundnot in the letter-by-letter sequence of theDNA, but in its packaging or chemicalmodifications.

In mice taught to fear acetophenone, theodorant receptor gene that responds toacetophenone has a changed pattern ofmethylation: a chemical modification ofDNA that tunes the activity of genes.

However, it’s not clear whether thechanges in that gene are enough to makethe difference in an animal’s odor sensitivity.

“While the sequence of the gene encod-ing the receptor that responds to the odoris unchanged, the way that gene is regulat-ed may be affected,” Ressler said.

Many questions remain“There is some evidence that some of

the generalized effects of diet and hor-mone changes, as well as trauma, can betransmitted epigenetically. The differencehere is that the odor-sensitivity-learningprocess is affecting the nervous system —and apparently, reproductive cells, too —

in such a specific way.”What the researchers don’t know yet:• Are these effects reversible – if sensi-

tized parents later learn not to be afraid of anodor, will effects still be seen in their pups?

• Does it only happen with odors?Could mice trained to be afraid of a partic-ular sound, for example, pass on a sensitiv-ity to that sound?

• Do all the sperm or egg cells bear epi-genetic marks conveying odor sensitivity?

• How does information about odor ex-posure reach the sperm or eggs?

“We are really just scratching the sur-face at this point,” Dias said. “Our next goalmust be to buffer descendant generationsfrom these effects. Such interventionscould form the core of a treatment to pre-vent the development of neuropsychiatricdisorders with roots in ancestral trauma.”

— Emory University

Can our genes transmit our traumas?H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 7


By Dr. Diane DahmDear Mayo Clinic:

I am 60 years old and tore my ACL.Should I have surgery to fix it, or is itOK to just let it heal on its own?

Answer: No matter what your age, thedecision about how best to treat an injuredanterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, shouldbe based on the type of activity you’d liketo be able to do after treatment, as well asthe stability of your knee overall.

Ligaments are strong bands of tissuethat connect one bone to another. YourACL is one of two ligaments that cross inthe middle of the knee that connect yourthighbone, or femur, to your shinbone, ortibia. The ACL also helps keep your kneejoint stable.

When the ACL is torn, it often results inknee pain and swelling. After an ACL in-jury, some people also have instability inthe knee, or a feeling that the knee is “giv-ing way” when they attempt to turn quick-ly or pivot on it.

The purpose of treatment for an ACL in-jury is to reduce the pain and swelling, re-store normal knee movement, strengthenthe muscles around the joint, and allow re-turn to full activity. For some people, thatcan be achieved with physical rehabilita-tion alone.

Rehab vs. surgeryRehabilitation usually involves doing ex-

ercises to regain full knee motion, as wellas muscle-strengthening and stability ex-

ercises. You may need to use a knee bracefor certain activities.

Rehabilitation without surgery usuallyworks best for people who have a less ac-tive lifestyle and whose knee stabilitysteadily improves with rehabilitation.

If you want to participate in activitiessuch as skiing, singles tennis, hiking onuneven terrain — or other sports that re-quire pivoting, cutting, jumping or twisting— then surgery followed by rehabilitationis more likely to be necessary to fix theACL and ensure stability in your knee.

Also, if your knee continues to give wayeven after you have gone through rehabili-tation, then you may require surgery toimprove long-term knee stability.

A torn ACL can’t be sewn back together.Instead, during surgery the ligament is re-placed with a piece of tissue called a graft.

That graft may be a tendon or ligamentfrom another part of your knee or leg. Or agraft from a deceased donor may be an op-tion. If you decide to have surgery, talk toyour surgeon about which choice is bestfor you.

Surgery OK at any ageIf you’re in good health, age typically is

not a factor in whether or not to have ACLsurgery. Research has shown that withthis surgery, older patients can achieve re-sults similar to those in younger patients,without a significant increase in the risk ofcomplications.

A final item to note is that, while ACL

surgery typically provides improved kneestability, it does not always provide signifi-cant pain relief.

If chronic knee pain is your only symp-tom, it may not be coming from the ACLtear. Rather, it’s more likely to be related toanother knee condition, such as a menis-cus tear or arthritis.

As you consider the best course of ac-tion, talk to your doctor about what youhope to achieve with ACL treatment. Yourlevel of activity and knee stability should

guide you as you make your decision. — Diane Dahm, M.D., Orthopedic Sur-

gery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic is an ed-

ucational resource and doesn’t replace regu-lar medical care. To submit a question,email [email protected]. For healthinformation, visit www.mayoclinic.com.© 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical

Education and Research. All Rights Re-served. Distributed By Tribune ContentAgency, LLC.

Is surgery or rehab best for bum knee?H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 9

Please patronize our advertisers.They keep the Beacon free!

asked the commissioner’s wife. The com-missioner didn’t respond.

“After that, at different meetings, I madecertain to stand alongside him and engagehim in conversations,” Gray said. Theyspoke, but a subsequent handshake never oc-curred. Both he and Gray were of the samepolitical party, but of different skin color.

Gray attended his fellow commission-er’s funeral.

At the time he entered elected office,Howard County was not the affluent, pro-gressive, racially tolerant and integratedarea that several of its communities — Co-lumbia, Ellicott City and Clarksville —

have now become. The $125,152 median income of the coun-

ty makes it the second wealthiest in the na-tion, according to the Census Bureau, andColumbia and Ellicott City have often beencited by national magazines as among thefive best places to live in America.

Yet not so long ago, “there were noschool buses for black kids, and therewere separate white and black water foun-tains in the Howard County courts,” Graysaid. He remembers, in the 1980s, AfricanAmericans expressing concern to himabout traveling to Howard County becauseof their belief that local police were raciallyprejudiced.

“When Jim Rouse planned Columbiawith his commitment to racial justice and

integration,” Gray remembered, “therewere people in the county who wouldn’tcome into Columbia. Even his real estateassociates thought he was crazy.”

Now, Gray, a past president of both thenational and the Maryland Association ofHuman Rights Associations and formerchair of the political science department atMorgan State University in Baltimore, saidthat life for African Americans and otherminorities in the county is “much, muchbetter.”

Nevertheless, he added, “I would saythat discrimination still exists in HowardCounty, and as long as we have it, we needinstitutions like the Office of HumanRights to protect the peoples’ rights.”

Fighting on many frontsThe office investigates, among other

things, complaints of unlawful discrimina-tion in employment, housing, money-lend-ing institutions, law enforcement and pub-lic accommodations — such as hospitals,retail stores, schools and recreation facili-ties.

It lists 16 categories for complaints:race, religion, creed, marital status, famil-ial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, per-sonal appearance, source of income, color,national origin, physical or mental disabili-ty, occupation and gender identity.

Complaints must be filed within sixmonths of the alleged discrimination, ex-cept for housing complaints which are

given one year for filing. Each year, the county’s Human Rights

Commission honors individuals and organ-izations for their contributions to humanand civil rights in the county.

The 2013 awardees were formerHoward County Executive (1998-2006)and now Maryland State Sen. James Robeyas well as the Council of Elders of theBlack Community of Howard County,which works to advance the education ofAfrican American students and to pass ontheir history and experiences in the blackcommunity.

Robey, who is the Democratic majorityleader of the Senate in Annapolis, told theBeacon he was very honored to have re-ceived the award. He agreed with Graythat race relations have improved inHoward County, especially since the mid-1970s when there were still chapters of theKu Klux Klan operating locally.

The 72-year-old public servant-politicianalso remembers, as a member of theHoward County police force (1966-91),then as county chief of police (1991-98), re-ceiving complaints from some businessowners that there were black people intheir stores.

“Howard County may now be among thebest places to live, but it’s not perfect. Prej-udice still exists, on all levels — racial, reli-gious, sex, age. Anyone who thinks thatdiscrimination no longer exists is pullingthe wool over his eyes,” Robey said.


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Human rightsFrom page 1

PERSONAL DIETARY COUNSELINGA registered dietician will be available to discuss weight loss,high blood pressure, cholesterol and other dietary issues on a

one-on-one basis on Tuesday, March 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at theHoward County General Hospital Wellness Center Medical Pavilion, 10710Charter Dr., Columbia. The fee is $35 per person. For more information or to reg-ister, visit www.hcgh.org/events or call (410) 740-7601.

FREE BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING On Tuesday, Feb. 4 and every Tuesday a registered nurse will beavailable for a free blood pressure reading from 9 a.m. to noon atthe Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City.

The service is sponsored by Howard County General Hospital. For additional infor-mation, call (410) 313-1400.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 11

Feb. 4+

By Jim MillerDear Savvy Senior:

I had a mild heart attack about sixmonths ago. My doctor told me I needto be extra careful during the winter,when recurring heart attacks are morecommon.

Is this true? How can the seasonsaffect your heart?

— Leery SeniorDear Leery:

Everyone knows winter is cold and flu sea-son, but most people don’t know that it’s alsothe prime season for heart attacks, as well,especially if you already have heart diseaseor have suffered a previous heart attack.

In the U.S., the risk of having a heart at-tack during the winter months is twice ashigh as it is during the summertime. Why?

There are a number of factors, andthey’re not all linked to cold weather. Evenpeople who live in warm climates have anincreased risk.

Here are the areas you need to pay extraattention to this winter:

Cold temperatures: When a persongets cold, the body responds by constrict-ing the blood vessels to help the bodymaintain heat. This causes blood pressureto go up and makes the heart work harder.

Cold temperatures can also increase lev-els of certain proteins that can thicken theblood and increase the risk for blood clots.

So stay warm this winter. And when youdo have to go outside, make sure you bun-dle up in layers, with gloves and a hat.Place a scarf over your mouth and nose towarm up the air before you breathe it in.

Snow shoveling: Studies have shownthat heart attack rates jump dramatically inthe first few days after a major snowstorm,usually a result of snow shoveling.

Shoveling snow is a very strenuous ac-tivity that raises blood pressure and stress-es the heart. Combine those factors withthe cold temperatures, and the risks ofheart attack surge.

If your sidewalk or driveway needsshoveling this winter, hire a kid from theneighborhood to do it for you or use asnow blower. If you must shovel, pushrather than lift the snow as much as possi-ble. Stay warm and take frequent breaks.

New Year’s resolutions: Every Janu-ary, millions of people join gyms or startexercise programs as part of their NewYear’s resolution to get in shape. Manyoverexert themselves too quickly.

If you’re starting a new exercise pro-gram this winter, take the time to talk toyour doctor about what types of exercisemay be appropriate for you, and howmuch.

Winter weight gain: People tend to eatand drink more, and therefore to gainmore weight, during the holiday season

and winter months. This is hard on theheart and risky for someone with heartdisease. So keep a watchful eye on yourdiet this winter and avoid binging on fattyfoods and alcohol.

Shorter days: Less daylight in the win-ter months can cause many people to de-velop “seasonal affective disorder” orSAD, a wintertime depression that canstress the heart.

Studies have also looked at heart attackpatients and found they usually have lowerlevels of vitamin D (which your body pro-duces when exposed to sunlight) than peo-ple with healthy hearts.

To boost your vitamin D this winter, con-sider taking a supplement that contains be-tween 1,000 and 2,000 international units

(IU) per day. And to find treatments forSAD, visit the Center for EnvironmentalTherapeutics website at cet.org.

Flu season: Studies show that peoplewho get flu shots have a lower heart attackrisk. It’s known that the inflammatory re-action set off by a flu infection can increaseblood clotting, which can lead to heart at-tacks in vulnerable people.

So, if you haven’t already done so,get a f lu shot for protection. Seewww.flushot.healthmap.org to find a vacci-nation site nearby.

Send your questions to: Savvy Senior,P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, orvisit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a con-tributor to the NBC Today show and authorof The Savvy Senior book.

Guard against wintertime heart attacksH O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 11

FREE VERICOSE VEIN SCREENINGS

Johns Hopkins vascular surgeon Richard Feinberg, M.D., will con-

duct free varicose vein screening on Wednesday, March 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the

Little Patuxent Specialty Care Center, 11065 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. To

register, call (410) 550-8346.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 5


By Carol SorgenAn abdominal aortic aneurysm is the re-

sult of an abnormally enlarged or bulgingaorta (the blood vessel that supplies bloodto the abdomen, pelvis and legs). Theexact cause of this condition is unknown,but risk factors for developing an abdomi-nal aortic aneurysm include genetic fac-tors, emphysema, high blood pressure,high cholesterol, obesity and smoking.

While anyone can develop an abdominalaortic aneurysm, it is most often seen inmales over the age of 60 who have one ormore risk factors. The larger the aneurysm,the more likely it is to rupture, which is amedical emergency that requires immediatesurgery.

The University of Maryland MedicalCenter, collaborating with the National In-stitute on Aging, is currently conducting anon-invasive clinical trial to determine ifthe antibiotic doxycycline will inhibit thegrowth of small abdominal aor t icaneurysms over a 24-month observationperiod in comparison to a placebo-treatedcontrol group.

One reason for trying antibiotics to slowthe growth of aneur ysms is thataneurysms are often accompanied by asecondary infection within the aortic wall.Taking care of the infection may also im-prove the outlook for the aneurysm.

Recruiting those 55+Two hundred forty-eight patients diag-

nosed with an aneurysm will be random-ized to placebo or doxycycline, and theiraneurysms followed for change in diame-

ter at six-month intervals using CT imag-ing. Men and women 55 and older arebeing recruited.

Those receiving the antibiotic doxycy-cline (also known as doxycycline hyclate,Vibramycin, Oracea, Adoxa and Atridox)will take 100 mg. capsules twice a day for aperiod of two years.

Those receiving the placebo will takethe same dosage for the same period oftime, but of a similar-looking capsule thathas no active ingredients. Study partici-pants and doctors will not know which vol-unteers are taking which capsules.

Side effects of doxycycline may includediarrhea, itching of the rectum or vagina,and sore mouth.

To be eligible for the study, participantscannot be allergic to tetracycline or havebeen treated in the previous six monthswith drugs related to tetracycline. Theyalso cannot have stage II hypertension, inwhich blood pressure is greater than160/100, or a genetic syndrome that couldcause abdominal aortic aneurysms, suchas Marfan’s Syndrome.

Hope is to prevent surgeryAneurysms typically develop slowly over

many years and often have no symptoms.Small aneurysms are typically checked byultrasound every six months to monitortheir growth. For slow-growing aneurysms,surgery is usually not called for.

Surgery is, however, recommended forpatients who have aneurysms larger thantwo inches (5.5 cm) across, and foraneurysms that are growing quickly. The

goal is to perform surgery before compli-cations or symptoms develop.

If an aneurysm expands quickly, rup-tures or leaks blood along the wall of thevessel, symptoms such as severe pain inthe abdomen or back may develop, alongwith clammy skin, dizziness, nausea andvomiting, rapid heart rate and shock.

Researchers hope that this trial willdemonstrate whether doxycycline cankeep aneurysms from growing to the pointwhere they require surgery.

For more information on this trial, or to see in you qualify, contact DebbieNesbitt , RN, at (410) 605-7435 [email protected].


Health Studies PageTHE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Can antibiotics control aortic aneurysms?

JOIN FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS Columbia Festival of the Arts is seeking artists for its Fine Arts andCrafts Show 2014 to be held as part of the Columbia Festival of the

Arts three-day free outdoor arts weekend, Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 15, ata number of venues in the Columbia area. The application is due Monday, March 3.For more information or to apply, visit columbiafestival.com or call (410) 715-3044.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 3+

Have You Fallen?Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the

University of Maryland & Veterans affairs of Baltimore to betterunderstand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

you will receive:• Health evaluation

• Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises• Compensation for your time

If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFTBaltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line

*You must be at least 65 years old and in good health*Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and

University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

CaLL Today!

Dear Pharmacist:What are the best medications to

help me sleep? I’ve triedall the natural remedies, Ineed something stronger!

— V.E.Dear V.E.:

Why, as a nation, do wehave trouble sleeping? Itshould be such a natural act.

I urge you to find the un-derlying cause of your chron-ic insomnia and to changeyour sleep habits, becauseyou can’t rely on medicationforever.

Chronic insomnia may becaused by sleep apnea and, in this situa-tion, sleeping pills are dangerous. For oth-ers, a deficiency of your sleep hormone,melatonin, causes you to wake up veryearly.

The point is that sleep disorders aren’talways related to neurotransmitter imbal-ances, so sleeping pills (which affect neu-rotransmitters) often just mask the under-lying problem.

Here are the most popular medications:Ambien (zolpidem) — Introduced in

1992, this helps put you to sleep and keepyou asleep. Many people reported havingmorning grogginess, so the makers came

out with a controlled-release version in2005 that works longer.

Ambien usually puts you tosleep within 15 to 30 minutes.There are other brand namescontaining the same chemicalingredients, such as a sublin-gual low-dose tablet called“Intermezzo” that you cantake in the middle of thenight. There’s also“Zolpimist,” an oral spray.

Every now and then youhear a report of someonesleep-driving, having sex,making phone calls, sleep-walking and cooking meals

while on Ambien.Lunesta (eszopiclone) — Everything I

said about Ambien applies to this drug aswell. It is similar in mechanism of action,as well of duration of action.

Sonata (Zaleplon) — Again, similar toAmbien, however, it has a very short dura-tion of action. The advantage is you won’thave morning grogginess. The disadvan-tage is you may be staring at the alarmclock by 3 a.m.

Rozerem (Ramelteon) — This is my fa-vorite sleep medication because it affectsyour melatonin receptors, increasing thelength of time you sleep. You can start and

stop as often as you wish, since there is nophysical dependence. The drug may affectprolactin and testosterone levels, so if youuse it long-term (greater than 3 or 4months), have these levels evaluated.

Silenor (Doxepine) — Introduced in 2010,this medication blocks histamine receptors.It contains the same active ingredient as apopular antidepressant, but in a much lowerdose. I like that it does not have addictive po-tential.

Benzodiazepine drugs (temazepam, al-prazolam, clonazepam, lorazepam and oth-ers) — Very affordable, and used fordecades, these drugs have strong addictivepotential and may cause daytime drowsi-ness. This category helps with someseizures.

Insurance companies may have restric-tions on which sleeping pills are covered,and will obviously expect you to buygeneric. They often require you to tryother approaches to your insomnia first.

If you are interested in natural herbs or vi-tamins to help you sleep, I’ll send you an ex-panded version of this article. Just sign upfor my free newsletter at www.DearPharma-cist.com.This information is opinion only. It is not

intended to treat, cure or diagnose your con-dition. Consult with your doctor before usingany new drug or supplement. Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist

and the author of The 24-Hour Pharmacistand Real Solutions from Head to Toe. Tocontact her, visit www.dearpharmacist.com.

Trouble sleeping? An overview of options

DEAR PHARMACISTBy Suzy Cohen


9762359

Retire from the stress of the season at Charlestown.

At Charlestown retirement community, you can kick back, relax and enjoy a winter free from worries. Swim in the pool, dine with friends, even visit the on-site doctors. No need to fret over burst pipes or power outages. We take the uncertainty out of the season—so you and your family enjoy peace of dmind all year long.

Call 410-246-1713 for your FREE 45 page brochure.

We take the chillout of winter.

Catonsville

EricksonLiving.com

FREE

BROCHURE

A CAPITOL TRIP

Enjoy a guided tour of the U.S. Capitol and Visitors Center on a

bus trip leaving at 7:30 a.m. and returning at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 15.

Tickets are $49. For more information, call Recreation & Parks, (410) 313-7279.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY WITH THE CHIEFTIANS

Ride along on the Recreation & Parks bus to a concert of Irish

music by The Chieftains at George Mason Center in Virginia on

Sunday, March 16. The bus leaves at 2 p.m. and returns at 9 p.m. Tickets are

$87. Call (410) 313-7279 for more information.

AUTHENTIC IRISH MEAL IN ALEXANDRIA

Continue celebrating everything Irish at O’Connell’s Irish

Restaurant in Alexandria, Va. on Wednesday, March 19 on a bus

trip planned by Recreation & Parks. Tickets are $79, available by calling (410)

313-7279.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 15

(410) 442-0191A-1 Action Nursing Care, Inc.®Serving The Maryland Suburban Area Since 1978

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Mar. 19

Dear Solutions: My son and daughter-in-law recently

had an adorable baby boy.Before he was born, theysaid they would name himafter my husband, whodied two years ago. Butwhen he was born, mydaughter-in-law said sheloved a different name andgave that name to the babyinstead.

They don’t plan to haveany other children, so thisis my only grandchild. Ifeel that this was a prom-ise, and I’m upset. I wouldlike them to at least add a middlename for my husband.

Our religion has a special namingceremony, and I would like to do thisthere. But my daughter-in-law is of adifferent religion, so how do I handlethis?

— EmmaDear Emma:

With great care. Talk to your son first,and make it clear to him that you love thebaby and your daughter-in-law, and youdon’t want to upset anyone, but this is im-

portant to you. If you son doesn’t wish togo further, then drop it.

One day, you can tell yourgrandson about his grandfa-ther and include your husbandin talking about family history.Give priority to being a part ofyour grandson’s life and expe-riencing the pleasure this willbring by whatever name.Dear Solutions:

My daughter is gettingm a r r i e d s o o n . G o o dfriends and relatives threwher a tasteful, lovely bridalshower.

Now, though, her col-leagues at work are planning to sur-prise her by taking her to a “bache-lorette” party at a club with male strip-pers.

I took a message for my daughterwhen she wasn’t home, and that per-son told me about it in secret. I’msure my daughter will not appreciatethis tacky kind of entertainment, but Idon’t know if I should warn her aboutit because it’s supposed to be a sur-prise.

— Not Sure

Dear Not Sure: Tacky to you, titillating to others —

maybe. Say nothing. Your daughter will sur-vive it, even if she finds it offensive. Whatshe won’t survive as well is the embarrass-ment of having her mother interfere.

These are people she works with, andshe won’t want to insult them or have toput on an act if she knows about it.

It’s one evening. They care about her,and it’s their version of fun. Stay mum,mom!Dear Solutions:

My cousin’s husband died over ayear ago. From that time on, she hasabsolutely refused to go anywherewhere other women are there withtheir husbands.

Many of these people were goodfriends of hers and her husband in thepast, and they keep telling her theywant her company. Two of the womenare also widows, and they are happy to

join the group.It’s true she was the quiet one and

counted on her husband to be the so-cial being, but I’m afraid she’s makingherself more and more isolated anddepressed. Any suggestions?

— MollyDear Molly:

Sounds like she believes that since she’s“unmanned” she’s uninteresting and is bet-ter off being unavailable.

Perhaps, if you know the other women,you might suggest to them that they inviteher to join them for lunch or other activi-ties without any men present.

At those gatherings, they could reas-sure her about joining the couples eventsalong with them. In addition, it sounds likeshe should get some counseling to helpwith her bereavement and her ability to goon with her life.© Helen Oxenberg, 2014. Questions can

be sent to [email protected].

SOLUTIONSBy Helen Oxenberg,MSW, ACSW

Does grandma get a say in baby naming?H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 15

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profit organization or community group that has demonstrated commitment anddedication to the Howard County community for the 2014 “Volunteer of the Year”award. The award will be presented in a ceremony recognizing all nominees onApril 2. Nomination forms are available on the county’s Volunteer of the Year web-site: www.howardcountymd.gov/voy.htm. For further information or questions,call (410) 313-2023 or email [email protected].

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VOLUME 4, NO. 2 • FEBRUARY 2014

By Dayna Brown, Office on Aging Administrator

Happy American HeartMonth! Most of us know thatheart disease is the leading causeof death for both men andwomen in our country, but didyou know that it is alsopreventable and controllable?

Regular physical activity can help older adultsmaintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol andblood pressure.

The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that adultsengage in moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30minutes on most days of the week, year round.Exercising regularly also boosts your immunity, whichis especially important during cold and flu season.Check out the American Heart Association’s ColdWeather Fitness Guide for more information atwww.heart.org. Walking is an exercise almost anyonecan do; when it’s cold out, be sure to take advantage ofthe indoor cushioned tracks at the Glenwood andNorth Laurel 50+ Centers.

Since ‘home is where the heart is,’ I urge you to alsogive some thought this month to home maintenanceissues, which can greatly affect your safety, health andwellbeing. Just last month, Howard County Housingannounced the Housing Rehabilitation Program forSingle Family homes (MRHP-SF), offeringhomeowners low-interest loans for home maintenanceprojects.

Qualifying projects include correcting exterior orinterior deficiencies; making accessibilitymodifications; correcting health and safety violations;improving the home's weatherization and energyconservation, as well as some general improvements.The program is intended for households with incomesthat are at or below 80 percent of the statewide medianincome, which is $68,500 for a family of four. Formore information, contact Kelly Cimino at 410-313-6318 or [email protected].

Lastly, I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’sDay! Many of our 50+ and senior centers have plannedspecial celebrations, so come on in out of the cold andjoin in the warmth and camaraderie. All are welcome!To find a center near you, call Maryland Access Pointat 410-313-5980 or visit www.howardcountyaging.org.

Make Your Home More Accessible, Earn a Tax Credit

Now is the perfect time to plan a homeimprovement project to make your homemore accessible for the future. Why? BecauseHoward County’s Livable Homes Tax Creditoffers a tax credit to homeowners who installcertain types of accessibility features in theirprimary Howard County residence, likeramps, stair glides or reinforced walls forgrab bars.

You may be eligible to receive a creditagainst your county tax bill if you install(or have already installed, up to one yearprior to the date of your tax creditapplication) a qualified feature on anexisting residence. The amount of thecredit is 50 percent of the eligible cost, upto a maximum of $2,500.

Accessibility features eligible for the taxcredit program are defined in the county

code Section 20-129C. To apply for a taxcredit, you must first complete anapplication form, and return it to theDepartment of Finance. Applications willbe processed in the order they are received,until all funds currently allocated for theLivable Homes Tax Credit Program havebeen exhausted. Visitwww.howardcountymd.gov/livablehomesfor more information.

If you have questions about this or otherTax Credit programs, including theMaryland Homeowner’s or Renter’s TaxCredit, the Howard County Senior TaxCredit, Trash Credit or CA Tax Credit,contact the Department of Finance at 410-313-2062, or call Maryland Access Point forassistance at 410-313-5980. Start planningtoday to make life a little easier in the future!

A Message from the Administrator

Don’t Miss Out!

Saturday, April 26, 2014 • 10 am - 3 pm

Gary J. Arthur Community Center at Glenwood2400 Route 97, Cooksville, MD 21723

Featuring over 90 VENDORS and EXHIBITORS, engaging SEMINARS & important free health SCREENINGS!

PREMIER SPONSORS

SIGNATURE SPONSORSADVANCED RADIOLOGY • ANTI-AGING & LONGEVITY INSTITUTE • HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE • INSHAPEMD • LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCEMEDSTAR ORTHOPAEDICS • RIGHTTIME MEDICAL CARE • YOUR STYLE IQ

MEDIA AND IN-KIND SPONSORSCORRIDOR PRINTING • FOCUS ON WOMEN MAGAZINE • HER MIND MAGAZINEHOWARD MAGAZINE • THE BEACON NEWSPAPERS • THE BUSINESS MONTHLYTHE UMBRELLA SYNDICATE • WOMEN’S JOURNAL

410-313-5440 • howardcountyaging.org/womenfest

KEYNOTE SPEAKER — Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDNClassically-trained chef, registered dietitian, media personality and award-winning cookbook author. Her latest creation – The With or Without Meat Cookbook – arrives March 2014.

COME MEET JACKIE AT WOMENFEST! — With a passion for plant-based cuisine, and a lifelong fan of flavorful food, she has also published 1,000 Low Calorie Recipes, Big Green Cookbook and The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook.


Coming EventsMondays at 6 p.m. – Qigong, East Columbia 50+ CenterAchieve mental, spiritual in our new Qigong class.Monthly fees apply; call 410-410-313-7680 fordetails.

Wednesday Feb. 5, 10 a.m. – The Needles Trade, Glenwood 50+ CenterDon’t miss the Baltimore Museum of Industry’spresentation on the history of the garment tradein Baltimore. Call 410-313-5440 to register.

Thursday, Feb. 6, 10 a.m. – Valentine Treats & Treasures, Glenwood 50+ CenterLearn to prepare and package special treats forValentine’s Day. Cost: $5; call 410-313-5440 toregister.

Thursday, Feb. 6, 1:30 to 3 p.m. –Medicare 101: What to Expect FromMedicare, Bain CenterLearn how Medicare works, what the benefits are,and when to make decisions related to yourcoverage. Sponsored by SHIP; call 410-313-7391to register.

Thursdays, Feb. 6 - March 13, 2 to 4:30p.m. – Living Well: Take Charge of YourHealth, Longwood Senior CenterIn six weeks, you will learn to manage your healthcondition(s); deal with pain and fatigue;communicate better with family and physicians;develop healthy eating habits; and plan a fitnessprogram. Cost: $28; includes all materials (financialassistance is available). To register, call 410-313-5980.

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m. to noon –Celebration of African American Music,Bain CenterA Lyric Opera vocalist and pianist will performthe works of African American composers. Call410-313-0380 to register.

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Allied Health Academy Health Fair, North Laurel 50+ CenterAllied Health students will share information onhealth, disease prevention and nutrition. Free; call410-313-0380 for details.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. –Cupid’s Ball, North Laurel 50+ CenterEnjoy lunch, dancing, and music by Sterling Dornand Tooo Smooth Dudes. Cost: $5 per personplus lunch contribution. For tickets, call 410-313-0380.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, Noon to 2 p.m. –Valentine Tea, East Columbia 50+ CenterBe still my heart, it’s time for tea! Cost: $5. Call410-313-7680 for reservations (required).

Thursday & Friday, Feb. 13 - 14, 10 a.m.to noon – Can You Hear Me Now, EllicottCity Senior CenterGet one-on-one cell phone assistance from aMarriotts Ridge high school student. Call 410-313-1400 to sign up.

Friday, Feb. 14, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. –Valentine’s Day Party, Elkridge Senior CenterEnjoy music by Frank Plummer, lunch, games,and prizes, too. Cost: $4 per person; call 410-313-5192 to register.

Friday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m. to noon – Valentine’s Day Celebration, Bain CenterSing along to the Fabulous 50+ Players’ musicalrevue while enjoying light refreshments. Call 410-313-0380 to R.S.V.P.

Friday, Feb. 14, 11:30 a.m. – Valentine’s Day Brunch, Ellicott City Senior CenterOur Valentine’s Day Brunch, features music by“Two for the Show” and made to order omelets.Suggested donation: $5.27; call 410-313-1400 toregister.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 10 to 11 a.m. – Journey Through the African AmericanPoetic Tradition, Bain CenterMelvin E. Brown, M.A., author of In the FirstPlace and Blue Notes and Blessing Song, will readand discuss poetry, and the Bain Gospel Choir willperform. R.S.V.P. to 410-313-0380.

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m. – Civil War Series: Lincoln’s Sanctuary,Glenwood 50+ CenterMatthew Pinsker, author of Lincoln’sSanctuary will discuss the Soldiers Home and Lincoln’s Cottage. Call 410-313-5440 to register.

Thursday, Feb. 20, 1:30 to 3 p.m.– Medicare 102: Why MedicareIsn’t Enough, Bain Center Learn about Medicare Part C/HealthPlans and Medigap Supplement Policiesand how different plans cover out ofpocket expenses. No fee; sponsored bySHIP. Call 410-313-7391 to register.

Friday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m. – Fitness Assessments, North Laurel 50+ CenterJennifer Lee will offer free fitnessassessments to measure your endurance,flexibility, strength and balance. Call 410-313-0380 for an appointment.

Fridays, Feb. 21 - March 28,1 to 3:30 p.m. – Living Well,Medical Pavilion at Howard County,10710 Charter Drive, Learn to better manage your chronic conditions insix weeks. Cost: $28; includes all materials. Call410-313-5980 to register.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 10 to 11 a.m. – Beyond Bereavement, Glenwood 50+ CenterGain an understanding of bereavement as youmove along the path to healing. Free; call KarenHull, 410-313-5440 to register by Feb. 21.

Friday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Harrington Slots Trip, Elkridge Senior CenterTravel with us on a relaxing coach bus to play theslots in Harrington, Delaware. Just $35 per persongets you a free buffet plus $10 in free slots play.Call 410-313-5192 to reserve your spot!

Tuesday, March 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Financial Independence for Low-Vision Adults, Ellicott City Senior CenterBlind Industry Services of Maryland will presenttips about using cash, checks and other financialtasks. Call Karen Hull, 410-313-7466, to registerby Feb. 25.

Mondays, March 10 – April 14,1 to 3:30 p.m. – Living Well: Take Charge of Your Health, Ellicott City Senior CenterLearn to manage your health in six weeks. Cost:$28; includes all materials. To register, call410-313-5980.

Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. –WomenFest 2014, Glenwood 50+ CenterSave the date for WomenFest 2014, an interactiveday of health and wellness activities for women ofall ages. Visit www.howardcountyaging.org formore information or to register as a vendor orsponsor.

If you need accommodations to attend any of theseevents, call 410-313-5980 one week in advance.

The Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton WayColumbia, MD 21044

410.313.7461www.howardcountyaging.org

The Howard County Paws4Comfort programfosters special bonds between pets, their

owners and the County residents they visit.

If you are interested in volunteering, or wish to schedule a free

evaluation for your pet, contact Ingrid Gleysteen,

at 410-313-7461 or [email protected].

Evaluations are held the 1st

Wednesday of every month.

Wednesday, February 5th

7 PM at Bain Center

The Senior Connection is published monthlyby the Howard County Department of Citizen

Services’ Office on Aging. We welcome your comments and suggestions.To contact us, or to join our email subscriber

list, email [email protected] ‘subscribe’ in the subject box.

Howard County Office on Aging6751 Columbia Gateway Drive,

Columbia, MD 21046410-313-6410

www.howardcountyaging.orgwww.Facebook.com/HoCoCitizenDayna Brown, Administrator

Advertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Howard County Office on Aging or by the publisher.

The Senior Connection

18 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

MoneyDEADLY SINS OF INVESTINGDon’t follow the herd when decidingwhich stocks to buy or give in to fearwhen determining when to sell

DOLLAR STORE DUDSWhy you shouldn’t buy paper products,plastic wrap, vitamins, batteries, electron-ics or tools at a dollar store

Law &

By Steve RothwellDon’t bet your shirt on a repeat per-

formance. That’s the message from some of the

biggest U.S. investment firms as the DowJones industrial average closed above16,000 for the first time at the end of 2013,and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index hadits best year since 1997, with a gain of 29.6percent. Although investment professionals re-

main optimistic, investors shouldn’t expectsuch outsized gains will be repeated in2014. The S&P 500, the Dow and other stock

indexes have risen steadily as the FederalReserve has maintained its economic stim-ulus to keep long-term interest rates low,and the economy has continued tostrengthen. Although economic growthhasn’t been spectacular, it has been strongenough to enable companies to keep in-

creasing their earnings. We asked professionals at three big

money managers — T. Rowe Price,Franklin Templeton and BlackRock — fortheir thoughts on how the stock marketwill shape up this year.

The outlook for stocks Another double-digit gain is not out of

the question. Many of the tail winds for the stock mar-

ket are still in place, but they may start toweaken. Corporate earnings are strong,but profit margins could be peaking. Interest rates are still low compared to

historical levels, but will likely rise gradu-ally, particularly when the Fed starts topull back on its bond-buying stimulus pro-gram, as it recently indicated. However, the biggest challenge to the

stock market is that valuations have risenso much this year, said Larry Puglia, port-

folio manager of T. Rowe Price’s Blue ChipGrowth fund. That is to say, investors have been will-

ing to pay more for a company’s futureearnings, pushing up prices. The price-earnings ratio for S&P 500 companies hasrisen to 15 from 12.5 at the start of lastyear, according to FactSet. “We still find selected stocks attractive

and think that the market’s OK, but Iwould be surprised if the market....wasable to duplicate the type of gains we’vehad [in 2013],” said Puglia. He still thinksstocks could rise as much as 10 percent in2014. Conrad Hermann, a portfolio manager

at Franklin Templeton said that statisticsshow that when the market logs an annualgain of 20 percent or more, it has been fol-lowed by another year of gains on two outof three occasions — for an average gainof 11.5 percent the next year.

The best industry to invest in Technology companies are the big fa-

vorite. The tech industry should benefit from

rising spending in an improving globaleconomy, said BlackRock’s chief invest-ment strategist Russ Koesterich. He alsosaid that technology stocks are typicallyless sensitive to rising interest rates thanother industry groups. Many tech stocks don’t pay a dividend,

making them less sensitive to higher bondyields, and with strong new products theyshould grow profits. That suggests if inter-est rates climb, tech stocks should per-form better than the overall market. Tech companies are also less richly

priced than some other parts of the mar-ket, while still offering good growthprospects. Those in the S&P 500 are trad-

Don’t bet on a great stock market in 2014

As families scramble to meet deadlinesfor college applications, the cost of educa-tion is hitting home in a big way. Although the College Board recently re-

ported that the rate of tuition increases atU.S. colleges and universities has sloweddown in recent years, it’s still a huge bur-den for American families. Many grand-parents are helping out.The average annual tab for public col-

leges is $8,893, though after subtractinggrants and financial aid, the net averagecost is $3,120. Private universities total$30,094, with a net cost of $12,460.Tack on room and board, and the price

tag increases by another $10,000 or so. A bigcommitment, for sure, but as anyone search-ing for a job knows, a college degree helps. As of September, the national unemploy-

ment rate stood at 7.2 percent, but here ishow the rate breaks down based on educa-tional attainment:Less than HS Degree: 10.3 percentHS Degree, no college: 7.6 percentSome College/Assoc. Degree: 6 percentBA and higher: 3.7 percentAdditionally, college grads earn more

over their lifetimes. According to Priceo-nomics blog, a college degree offers a 30-year wage premium of over $200,000, or

$6,667 a year, in extra income compared toa high school graduate’s salary.

How grandparents can helpBecause the value of a college diploma

is so great, families are increasingly seek-ing the help of older generations to footthe bill. But how the extended family helps can

have a big impact on a student’s financialaid chances. That’s why it’s important tounderstand some of the rules surroundingcollege savings and financial aid.On the positive side, a grandparent’s

assets are not included when collegesdetermine eligibility for financial aid. Myfavorite education-funding vehicle is the529 plan, which allows for tax-advan-taged investing for college. Contribu-tions within the account grow tax-freeand are not taxed upon withdrawal, pro-vided they’re used for qualified highereducation costs.Another benefit of 529 plans is that they

can be a terrific estate planning tool, becausewealthy grandparents can remove assetsfrom their estates either using the annual gifttax exclusion of $14,000 or by making a lumpsum that’s far larger. The nice part is that thedonor can maintain control over the invest-

ments and the ultimate use of the money.However, there is a big downside to

using a 529 plan that’s in thegrandparent’s name. Whenmoney is withdrawn to make apayment on behalf of the ben-eficiary of the plan, studentsmust disclose those amountsas income. For every dollar ofincome, a student’s financialaid eligibility may be reducedby as much as 50 cents.

Some work-aroundsSo, if you fund a 529 plan for

a grandchild, consider one of these work-arounds:1. Wait to use money in the 529 until the

student’s senior year: Tapping the accountfor the last year of school shouldn’t affecteligibility, because the year in which theincome will be reported (as income for theprevious year) will also be the year inwhich the student graduates.2. Transfer ownership of account: A few

years before the first aid application is due,grandparents could transfer ownership ofthe account to a parent of the beneficiary.Assets in a parent-controlled account getassessed for financial aid purposes, but

disbursements do not appear on the in-come statement of either the parent or the

student. Fair warning on thisidea: Some states, like NewYork, do not allow changes inaccount ownership unlessthere’s a court order or theowner dies.3. If the 529 plan ownership

seems too complicated, grand-parents might consider giftingthe money to the parents, whocan then deposit the gift intotheir own 529 accounts thathave been established for the

kids. It makes sense to wait until after the aidhas been determined before making the gift. 4. Alternatively, extended family mem-

bers may choose to wait until the studenthas graduated, and then help with collegeloan repayment.It takes a family, a village and just about

everyone else to fund an education. If youare willing to help, make sure you are notdoing any harm.

Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is the Editor-at-Large for www.CBSMoneyWatch.com. Shewelcomes comments and questions [email protected].

© 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Helping pay for college? Learn the rulesSee STOCK MARKET, page 19

RETIRE SMARTBy Jill Schlesinger

By Jeffrey R. Kosnett If you took out a certificate of deposit a

few years ago, when banks were still pay-ing respectable interest rates, you mighthave thought of it as an investment. Butnow, with rates as low as they are, think ofthe money as savings. And the way to manage savings is to ear-

mark the money for when you’re going toneed it: immediately, in a few years, or per-haps not for 10 years or more. That willpoint you toward the best place to put themoney now.

Cash reserveYour current bank is almost certain to

offer so little in interest that it makessense to open, or add to, a deposit accountat an online bank. Although a yield ofabout 1 percent may not seem like much,you’ll have instant access to the money —

without fees, and with Federal Deposit In-surance Corp. protection. If six-month or one-year CD rates begin

to outpace what the online savings accountpays, you can put some money into short-term CDs every three or six months.

Three to five years Many people take out CDs to make sure

they’ll have cash at a specified time — say,when it’s time to pay tuition. Although wedon’t know what interest rates will be in2017 and beyond, we see no profit in lock-ing in a CD yield today. As long as the Federal Reserve restrains

the cost of credit, you can comfortablyhouse the money in a short-term, low-risk,low-cost bond fund. We like VanguardShort-Term Investment-Grade (symbolVFSTX, current yield 1.6 percent) and BairdAggregate Bond (BAGSX, 2.9 percent).

You maintain overnight access to themoney (so it still counts as savings), andyou should be able to realize a total returnof 3 to 5 percent.

Longer than five yearsIf you already have cash in the bank or

some other super safe place, we suggestyou move part or most of the CD proceedsinto exchange-traded funds or stock or bal-anced funds that pay 2 to 4 percent in in-terest or dividends. You can reinvest the investment income

as you receive it, a plan that lets you buysome fund shares when they are cheapand others when they are not so cheap. All the while, watch those bank rates. If

you get a chance to buy a CD that yieldsmore than, say, a fund that follows Standard& Poor’s 500-stock index (currently about 2percent), you may want to go back to thebank, especially if you have other money,such as an IRA, in the stock market.

Jeffrey R. Kosnett is a senior editor atKiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

© 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

ing at 14.4 times their projected earningsover the next 12 months. That makes them less expensive than

healthcare stocks, which are priced at 16.7times expected earnings, and industrialcompanies, which are valued at 16.1 timesearnings.

Reduction of Fed stimulus Investors were obsessed with the Fed

all last year, and the stock market’sbiggest setbacks have come when theythought that policymakers were poised tocut back on economic stimulus. The S&P 500 dropped in only two

months last year, June and August. In bothmonths, investors sold stocks on concernthat the Fed was about to stop its stimulus.

Instead, the central bank surprised in-vestors in September by continuing itsstimulus, and investors got more accus-tomed to the idea that the Fed’s effortsmust end at some point. Then the announcement came late last

month that the Fed would indeed gradual-ly pull back its buying of bonds, and themarket reacted positively, setting newhighs.That suggests investors have come to

see the end of stimulus as a sign that theeconomy is continuing to improve. Fedpolicymakers also stressed that the end ofstimulus will not necessarily be immedi-ately followed by higher interest rates. Puglia of T. Rowe Price called it “a posi-

tive signal to the market that the economycan stand on its own two feet and doesn’t

Where to get a decent return on savings

Stock marketFrom page 18

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 19

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See STOCK MARKET, page 21

PRESIDENTIAL PRESENTATIOINSThe Elkridge Senior Center is offering a lunchtime series on recentU.S. presidents hosted by Gary Kavanagh at 12:30 p.m. on upcom-

ing Fridays. The Nixon and Carter years will be featured on Jan. 24, Reagan onJan. 31 and Clinton on Feb. 7. All lectures will be held at the center, 6540 Wash-ington Blvd., Elkridge. For details, call the center at (410) 313-5192.

BEACON BITS

Jan. 24+

By Kathy KristofYou’ve probably heard of the seven

deadly sins. Well, the investing world hasits own set of deadly sins. To be a better investor, you’d do well to

recognize the following missteps and learnhow to overcome them.

Following the herdFollowing the herd works when you

shop for a product. A car or washing ma-chine that’s performed well in the past islikely to excel in the future. The opposite is often true in finance.

What’s hot today is likely to be cold tomor-row, and vice versa.“If you expect investment performance

to repeat, you are likely to be disappoint-

ed,” said Fran Kinniry, a strategist at theVanguard funds. In fact, the herd tends togather the most strength right before theinvestment it is chasing goes off a cliff. Ill-timed moves in and out of funds, sec-

tors and markets go a long way toward ex-plaining why the performance of fund in-vestors is decidedly poorer than the re-ported results of their funds.

Redemption: Follow rules, not herds,suggested Bill Allen, vice-president of theprivate client advisory group at CharlesSchwab. These rules can be as simple asrefusing to buy or sell in response to newsreports, or making sure you invest thesame amount every month no matter whatthe market is doing. Resisting the urge to follow the crowd

can prevent you from committing the sinof buying high and selling low.

Giving in to fearAvoiding losses is Warren Buffett’s first

rule of investing. Since the 2008-’09 stockmarket meltdown, however, many in-vestors have taken the Oracle’s advice toan extreme and abandoned stocks for theseeming safety of such things as bonds,bank accounts and money market funds.But what the typical investor sees as

risk is merely volatility — normal day-to-day swings in the market. Although volatil-ity can be frightening, the real danger liesin being too afraid of risk: You lose buyingpower — permanently.For example, suppose you invest in a

Treasury security or bank account that

pays 0.5 percent annually. With inflation at2 percent today, you’ll actually lose 1.5 per-cent per year in buying power. The losswill be greater if inflation reverts to itslong-term average of 3 percent per year.

Redemption: Put the stock market’sday-to-day volatility out of your mind andfocus on the long term. Since 1926, U.S.stocks, as measured by Standard & Poor’s500-stock index, have returned nearly 10percent a year. Even if you had invested in the market

at the March 2000 peak and held onthrough two horrific bear markets, youwould have earned 3.4 percent annualized— not great, but not disastrous, either.

Kathy Kristof is a contributing editor toKiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.


Beware of the deadly sins of investing20 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

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ing experts say that there are some itemsthat you should avoid buying, either be-cause you can find them for less else-where, or the quality is inferior to competi-tors’ merchandise. Here are eight common purchases to

skip at dollar stores:• Batteries. Cheap batteries may be

prone to leakage, said money-saving ex-pert Andrea Woroch, and they may notrun your gadgets as long as pricier brands.Many dollar stores sell carbon-zinc batter-ies, which are less efficient and have ashorter shelf life than the alkaline variety.

• Electronics. Consumer Reports foundin 2012 that some dollar-store electronicsand extension cords may lack labels fromthe UL that vouch for their safety. Othersmay have fake labels, and those can be dif-ficult to detect.

• Foil and plastic wrap. There’s a rea-son these items are so inexpensive at dol-lar stores: The quality is inferior, said Yea-ger, who shops frequently at dollar storesbut avoids foil and plastic wrap products.

• Knives. Knives sold at dollar storestend to be of poor quality, Woroch said.And these aren’t items you want to havefall apart while you’re using them.

• Paper goods. Napkins, paper tow-els and toilet paper at dollar stores don’tdo the job as well as the products sold atgrocery stores and big-box retailers. Ifyou buy napkins or paper towels that areso flimsy you have to use five to do thejob of one, Yeager said, that’s not a goodvalue.

• Tools. Yeager said that hammers,

screwdrivers and other tools he hasbought at dollar stores have broken easily.As an avid do-it-yourselfer, he recom-mends buying the best tools you can af-ford because they’ll last longer and makethe job you’re tackling easier.

• Toys. Most toys from the dollar storebreak easily, said Andrew Schrage, co-owner of the personal finance blog MoneyCrashers. Even if you’re spending only adollar, it’s just not money well spent, hesaid.

• Vitamins. Consumer Reports re-search in 2012 found that off-brand multi-vitamins at dollar stores didn’t always havethe amount of nutrients claimed on thelabel. You may be better off buying store-brand vitamins at Rite Aid, Walgreens orCVS.

Cameron Huddleston is an online editorat Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazineand the author of Ask Kim for Money SmartSolutions (Kaplan, $18.95).


Items you shouldn’t buy at dollar stores

need this super aggressive Federal Re-serve action.”

The biggest risks Unsurprisingly, the dysfunction in

Washington is still at the forefront of in-vestors’ minds. The 16-day partial govern-ment shutdown in October hurt consumerconfidence and crimped economic growth.A repeat of that political wrangling thisyear, when the debt limit comes up, wouldlikely hurt the economy again. Stocks are also vulnerable to a sharp

rise in interest rates. The market’s rallyfrom its lows in March 2009 has been un-

derpinned by low interest rates, whichhave made stock market returns more at-tractive. If bond yields were to rise sud-denly, the economy would suffer. The Fed’s policy is predicated on buy-

ing bonds to hold down interest rates. If in-vestors get nervous as the central bankcuts its bond purchases, removing a sup-port for the market, bond yields couldjump as investors dump bonds. “If interest rates were to (go) back up

dramatically, that would probably be a badthing,” said Franklin Templeton’s Her-mann, who manages the Franklin FlexCap Growth fund. “We’re still in a veryfragile economy and we don’t want to sud-denly tilt into another recession.”

— AP

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 21

Stock marketFrom page 19

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TravelLeisure &TravelLeisure &TravelLeisure &

By Victor BlockThe new year has begun with an outlook

for weather that’s cold and peppered withthat dreaded wintry mix. Basking in thesun on a Caribbean island is alluring.But in case your time for a getaway and

your travel budget are limited, here aresome alternatives that combine a welcomerespite from frigid temperatures with thewarmth of both the sun’s rays and tradi-tional Southern hospitality.

Great gardens of CharlestonMany people were surprised when a

leading European guidebook listed Niaga-ra Falls, the Grand Canyon andCharleston’s Magnolia Gardens as thethree most outstanding attractions inNorth America. Anyone who appreciates floral beauty

might agree. Magnolia Plantation and Gar-dens in Charleston, S.C., is a fairyland ofcentury-old camellias (in late winter) andazaleas (in spring) in a setting of unsur-passed beauty.

Visitors to nearby Cypress Gardensquickly come to understand why it often isdescribed as mysterious and enchanting,as they float along eerie dark lagoons sur-rounded by brooding ancient cypresstrees. The blaze of color provided by plant-ings along the banks is intensified by re-flections in the dark water.A more formal, yet no less magnificent,

floral extravaganza greets visitors to thegardens at Middleton Place, America’s old-est landscaped floral display. Carefullymanicured exotic shrubs and flora are setamong terraced lawns, reflecting poolsand a historic rice mill. Color seems to explode around visitors

like a fireworks display from masses ofcamellias and magnolias in January andFebruary, as well as azalea bushes, wiste-ria vines and flowering peach and dog-wood trees come March. For more information, call 1-800-774-0006

or log onto www.explorecharleston.com.

Sun and shore in SarasotaThe choice of where

to warm up in Floridacan be daunting be-cause there are somany inviting alterna-tives. One destinationthat combines much ofwhat the SunshineState has to offer isSarasota.Those seeking little

more than a sun, sandand sea vacation find aselection of beaches tofit almost any prefer-ence. The stretch ofbeaches along thewestern shoreline ofSiesta Key has beenrecognized by theWoods Hole Oceano-graphic Institute forhaving the finest,whitest sand in theworld.Lido Key is smaller

in size but not variety,with three outstandingseashores that areopen to the public.Longboat Key is a

more private beachfront communitygeared primarily to people staying at its re-sort hotels. But these only scratch the surface of at-

tractions in the area, whose residents takepride in its self-proclaimed role as “Flori-da’s Cultural Coast.” Just one example of the reason for that

claim is the elegant mansion built in 1926for John Ringling, which demonstratesthat his cultural legacy matched his fameas a circus magnate. The four-story, 32-room Italian-style res-

idence awes visitors with its lavish archi-tectural touches, elaborate decorationsand rich furnishings. The adjacent Johnand Mable Ringling Museum of Art hous-es a world-class art collection with worksby the likes of Rubens and Rembrandt — alegacy left to the people of Florida by theavid collectors. Opportunities for encounters with

Mother Nature also are close at hand.Myakka State Park offers narrated tours inwhat’s billed as the world’s largest airboat,along with miles of gentle hiking trails.Historic Spanish Point is home to morethan 300 species of native plants, as well asresident birds and other wildlife.The veritable symphony of bird songs,

calls and whistles that greets visitors toSarasota Jungle Gardens gives new mean-ing to the term “surround sound.” Colorful cockatoos and multi-hued

macaws vie with peacocks and pink flamin-goes for preening honors. Venomoussnakes and menacing-looking alligatorsadd an ominous touch, while curious crit-ters like hissing cockroaches and spinyhedgehogs provide a bit of humor.For more information, call 1-800-348-

7250 or log onto www.visitsarasota.org.

Georgia on your mindGranted, most winter visitors to Savan-

nah don’t want to try a swim in the oceanand aren’t likely to return home with adeep tan. But the Georgia sun warms thetemperature this time of year into thepleasant 50s on most days. That’s perfect weather for strolling

through one of the loveliest cities in theworld. Among a number of accolades it re-ceived during 2013 alone were beingnamed “America’s most charming accent”(Travel & Leisure) and “A top 25 destina-tion in the world” (Trip Advisor).The 2-1/2 square mile historic district

includes more than 1,000 restored man-sions and row houses, many of themadorned with elaborate ironwork. Cobble-stone streets, canopied by giant oak treesdraped in Spanish moss, provide a lushbackdrop for sightseeing, shopping or sit-ting in the warming sun. Should your feet give out before your in-

Warm(er) winter destinations beckon

South Padre Island, off the Gulf coast of Texas, is a 34-mile long barrier reef, draw-ing not just tourists for walks through the surf, but more than 300 species of birds.

A horse-drawn carriage tours Savannah, Ga.’s historic dis-trict, which boasts more than 1,000 restored mansions androw houses.

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See WARM PLACES, page 23

Elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions andother wildlife are seen on a safari inBotswana. See story on page 24.

terest does, you can continue the outing byhorse-drawn carriage. For more information, call 1-877-728-

2662 or log onto www.visitsavannah.com.A different but equally inviting setting

beckons from the Golden Isles that arestrung out along Georgia’s coastline.Miles of soft sand beaches are just the be-ginning of their attractions. Outstandinggolf, tennis, biking and fishing are amongthe many other diversions.Jekyll Island and the exclusive Jekyll Is-

land Club served as a winter retreat andplayground for some of the richest Ameri-cans from the late 19th century until theoutbreak of World War II. Most of thebuildings from the Jekyll Island Club erastill stand, serving as a reminder of thegracious lifestyle led by people who couldafford it.The original sprawling Queen Anne-

style club house is now the Jekyll IslandClub Hotel. It offers affordable accommo-dations to the traveling public. The hotel is surrounded by 33 mansion-

size “cottages” that were built by familieswith names such as Rockefeller, Gould andMorgan in an eclectic mix of styles, includ-ing French chateaux and Italian palazzo.Today, some of them offer additional lodg-ings, while others house museums, art gal-leries and shops.

More down-to-earth appeal may befound by meandering along oyster-shellpathways through low-lying woods andmarshes. Deer, wild turkeys, armadillosand alligators are among residents that re-luctantly share the island with human in-truders. For more information, call 1-877-453-

5955 or log onto www.jeykllisland.com.

A Cajun vacationDespite its many attributes, including

midwinter high temperatures that usuallyhover in the 60s, New Orleans isn’t foreveryone. A more laid-back warming expe-rience awaits in Cajun Louisiana, centeredin 22 of the state’s 64 “parishes.”The Cajuns trace their roots back to

French-speaking Canadians who, afterbeing ousted from their homeland in themid-18th century, eventually settled inLouisiana. Since then they have clung proudly to

their traditions and ways of life. They con-tinue to speak French, savor spicy, palate-numbing cuisine, and translate a zest forlife into a seemingly never-ending series ofweekend festivals.Various attractions offer glimpses of

local life and culture. The Acadian Villageat Lafayette is a realistic re-creation of a19th century settlement. The town of Martinsville is home to a

museum that displays artifacts of early set-tlers, as well as the tomb of Emmilene

Labiche — the subject of HenryWadsworth Longfellow’s well-known poem“Evangeline,” which describes the uproot-ing and resettlement of the Acadians.Also on the must-see list for visitors are

any of the hundreds of bayous that criss-cross the area. They served as water high-ways for early pioneers and settlers, andtheir sluggish waters still provide some ofthe fish, crayfish and rice that form thebasis of much Cajun cooking.For more information, call 1-800-346-

1958 or log onto www.lafayettetravel.com.

South Padre IslandFor those willing to travel a bit further,

South Padre Island, perched on the GulfCoast of Texas, is a favorite wintering des-tination for visitors from both northernareas of the Lone Star State and sun-seek-ers from elsewhere. There are a number of reasons why the

34-mile-long barrier reef, which has onlyabout 5,000 permanent inhabitants, at-tracts as many as 1 million visitors annual-ly. Many of them are retirees, called “win-

ter Texans,” who seek a warm place to es-cape the cooler temperatures at theirhome further north. With its sub-tropicalclimate and an average winter temperatureof 65 degrees, South Padre provides an ap-pealing getaway destination.For people seeking a bit of R and R, the

casual, laid-back atmosphere that per-

vades the island provides an enticing set-ting. One example of the fun-loving envi-ronment is a “proclamation” that banishesthe wearing of neck ties. It calls for first-time offenders to receive a written warn-ing and a T-shirt, and for any scofflawscaught a second time to pay a fine equal tothe price of a silk tie.Active vacationers find a long list of

choices. Boat trips range from eco-toursand close-up encounters with dolphin, towildlife tours and sunset cruises. Fisher-men may try to catch their dinner in bayand gulf waters. The island also is a bird-ers’ paradise, with more than 300 speciesthat add sound and color to the setting.For more information, call 1-800-657-

2373 or log onto www.sopadre.com. Perhaps exploring the streets of Savan-

nah or strolling through the magnificentgardens in and around Charleston is youridea of a dream winter escape. Maybeyou’d prefer to immerse yourself in theculture of Cajun Louisiana, or find out whyso many sun-seekers head for South PadreIsland. Whatever your choice, you’re sure to re-

turn home sufficiently refreshed to bearup under the onslaught of winter.

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 23

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Warm placesFrom page 22

Enjoy the Beacon? Tell your friends.

By Charmaine NoronhaI’m jolted from sleep by a deep and

rolling roar and what sounds like the slith-ering paws of a large cat trawling throughmy cabin. “Oh my God, I think something’s in our

room,” I whisper, waking up my friend androommate, Patricia Lawton. “I know,” she whispers back, adding a

few expletives. It might sound like the start of a Mau-

rice Sendak story, but as we lay in ourdreamy cabin in the great wilderness ofBotswana’s Okavango Delta, we were trulysnoozing where the wild things are. Days before, when our safari began, we

were told never to leave our tent at night toavoid encounters with wild animals. Butwhat if they came to us? For several hours, Patricia and I lay still,

so afraid to move that we dared not evencall for help. If this creature was in ourroom, the only thing that separated usfrom the potential intruder was a flimsymosquito net billowing around our four-poster bed. At one point it sounded like ananimal was dragging our backpacksaround. I cursed Patricia under my breath,

thinking she had once again left the patiodoor to our cabin open — a massive no-nowhile lodging deep in the savannah.

Finally I picked up the phone beside thebed, punching in random numbers since Ihad no directory. “Something is in our room. We need

help,” I stuttered to the woman who an-swered. She alerted the safari staff on patrol.

They discovered an elephant had beenroaming around all night on the deck thatlined the lodge perimeter, feasting on fo-liage shading our cabin. Drenched in sweat — not from

Botswana’s sweltering heat but from ouranxiety — Patricia and I hugged eachother and laughed, slightly embarrassedthat we genuinely thought we were aboutto be a large cat’s meow.

A trip of wonder and dramaThat drama-filled last night of our safari

was a fitting end to what had been a weekof pure magic and wonder. We landed in Botswana, zombie-like but

excited, after 48 hours with no sleep, tra-versing time zones on two back-to-backovernight flights plus another four flights. The safari began as soon as we got to

PomPom airport in Muan, Botswana. Wejumped in a 4x4 after being greeted by twoguides from our safari company: andBe-yond Safaris. Guide Kgosikebatho Marotaasked that we call him Chief, and guide

Kutlwano Mobe said he goes by Kuks. Minutes into driving deep into the sa-

vannah, we were shaken out of our bleari-ness by the sight of vervet monkeysswinging through tree tops, herds of im-palas prancing by, and graceful woodlandkingfishers with fringed, bright blue wingssweeping through the cloudless sky. As if this wasn’t enough to tickle my

African-born but North American-bredfancy (I was born in Nairobi but raised inCanada), Chief beckoned us to look to theright of our jeep. “Lions came through here this morning,

probably tracking the buffalo we saw yes-terday. Those are their footprints,” he said,instructing the driver to follow them. We drove through the vast expanse of

sun-drenched land, sprinkled with acaciatrees, bulbous baobab trees and towering

termite mounds, steering over and throughbushes.

Hundreds of speciesWe turned a corner and spotted a pride

of six lions sprawled in the grass, loungingin the blistering afternoon sun in post-killsplendor. Their lolling yawns revealed for-midable fangs and hinted at the hard workthat goes into ruling such a fine kingdom.The moment was pure magic, a NationalGeographic episode come to life. The big cats are among more than 100

species of mammals and 400 species ofbirds that call the delta home. This diversi-ty —found amid the lily-speckled marshes,blue lagoons and picturesque woodlands— make this place set along the banks of

24 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

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Botswana’s Okavango Delta’s got game

See SAFARI, page 25

Elephants take a drink from the Chobe River in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. Thepark hosts the largest herds of pachyderms in Africa, along with giraffes, lions, waterbuffalo and hundreds of other mammal and bird species.

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the Okavango River one of Africa’s richestgame-viewing destinations, albeit one ofthe continent’s pricier ones for tourists, aswell.

Conde Nast Traveler magazine recog-nized the Botswana government’s effortsto conserve the Okavango’s environment,while balancing the needs of local people,with a 2013 World Savers Award for a sus-tainable destination in a developing coun-try. Our tour company has also been work-ing with the government to reintroducerhinos into the delta. After hours exploring the bush, we

headed back to our campsite, bathed in atepid outdoor rain shower under a sliver ofa crescent moon. Then we prepared for aBotswanian feast of seswaa — beef stewserved over thick pap, a type of maize por-ridge. We stuffed ourselves silly and traded

stories under the stars with fellow safari-goers. Tuckered out, we retreated to ourluxury tents — with indoor plumbing toboot — which we slept in every night ex-

cept the last, when we were in the cabins.

National Park teems with life A 5:30 a.m. wake-up call began another

day of exploring, where zebras, hyenas,water buffalo, elephants and giraffe coex-ist and roam free. We left the wilderness ofthe delta to head to Chobe National Park— the third-largest game park inBotswana and one that boasts one of thelargest concentrations of game in Africa,including the largest herds of elephants. It lived up to its reputation: Just after en-

tering the gates into the lush terrain, wewere greeted by a journey of giraffesmunching on acacia trees that dot theplains. Our guides imparted this interesting

fact: As a defense mechanism, once theacacia foliage is torn by a foraging giraffe,the plant emits an airborne gas, ethylene,alerting nearby plants to increase tanninproduction, which the giraffes don’t like.The animals then move upwind to dine onplants that failed to catch the drift. Our exploration and biology lessons

were not limited to land. We jumped into aboat and cruised down the Okavango

River, where we saw elephants frolickingin the water alongside their adorable off-spring, glimpsed a hippo bobbing in andout of still water, and staked out a croco-dile hoping to see its jaw snap. Back in the 4x4, a torrential downpour

suddenly lashed us without a moment’s no-tice. Chief hit the gas and it was like we werein our own version of Noah’s Ark meets Lifeof Pi, as animals whizzed past, the wind-swept rain making it difficult for us to evenopen our eyes in the open-sided car. “You’re not in Canada, anymore, are

you?” he shouted from his water-soakedseat.

Definitely not, I thought, as water buffa-lo bolted by us. Drenched and slightly star-tled, though, there was no place I’d ratherhave been than this self-contained sanctu-ary where nearly every creature I’d readabout since childhood came out to play. “Let the wild rumpus start!” I hollered

back. For more information on Botswana

tourism, see www.botswanatourism.co.bw.Okavango Delta information is available atwww.okavangodelta.com. We used andBeyond Safaries, www.and-

beyond.com. Rates vary by length of tour,time of year and other details. — AP

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 25

SafariFrom page 24

HARRINGTON SLOTS TRIP A day trip to Harrington, Del. is being offered on Friday, Feb. 28 by

the Elkridge Senior Center at 6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge via

a bus leaving at 9 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person and

include the lunch buffet and $10 free slot play. For further information and ticket

reservation, call the center at (410) 313-5192.

PHILADLEPHIA IN BLOOMVisit the world’s largest indoor flower show in Philadelphia on

Monday, March 3 via a Recreation & Parks bus leaving at 8 a.m.

for Philadelphia and returning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $83. For more information,

call Recreation & Parks at (410) 313-7279.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 28

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Mar. 3

By Robert FriedmanTraditional Irish step dancing — with

some Latin, African and beatboxing rhythmsblended in — will be featured in the TeelinIrish Dance Company’s upcoming show atthe Jim Rouse Theater in Columbia.The company’s two performances, on

Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., will fuse the“heart-pounding rhythm of Irish dancewith cutting edge choreography,” saidMaureen Gately, the troupe’s director, cho-reographer and principal female dancer.“You can call it an Irish dance show with

a modern twist,” said Gately about thecompany’s latest production, Slainté,which means “welcome” in Gaelic.The company’s traditional percussive

dancing involves 40 hoofers backed by thetroupe’s eight musicians. For this pro-gram, among other modern blendings,they will add the vocal percussion effectsof Baltimore beatboxer Shodekeh, whochannels such sounds as beating drums,turntables, ocean waves and sleigh bells.Beatboxing is a hip-hop form of music-making using the mouth, lips, tongueand voice, often imitating musical instru-ments.

A homegrown companyThe Columbia-based company, which

has grown out of the Teelin School of IrishDance operated by Gately, has been jig-ging, reeling and stomping since 2001 atvenues in Baltimore, Annapolis, the Dis-trict of Columbia and Howard County.Gately got the school going in 1998. The Rouse Theater performances of

Slainté will be the company’s homecom-ing, said Gately, since it will be the firsttime the company presents its own showin the town where it is now located.The majority of the dancers in the com-

pany are from Howard County. Many areof Irish background, but also of other eth-nicities. All share a love of, and accom-plishment in, traditional Irish step danc-ing, said the founding director. While “all kinds of dancing — ballet, jazz,

modern — are incorporated in the show,”Gately said, the Irish forms predominate.In the troupe’s very physical, percus-

sive dancing style, dancers’ legs are mov-ing and feet are tapping in both soft shoeand hard shoe steps, while the body isoften stationary and the arms are heldsomewhat rigidly at the sides. This is the

dancing form made widely popular byRiverdance and Lord of the Dance — theIrish touring companies that have ap-peared locally and abundantly over PBStelevision stations. Once you see Irish dancing, there’s no

mistaking it for any other dancing style,Gately said. “It’s very different, with grada-tions of percussive dance, very physical,the dancers are on their toes at all times.There’s no other style like it,” she said.

Feet firstSince mostly all other dance styles fea-

ture the rhythmic movement of the handsor arms, why do the arms of the Irishdancers seem to be immovable objects atattention while the feet do all the work?There are several theories about this,

said Gately. One appears based on reli-gious mores that demanded non-married


Arts & StyleP

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The Teellin Irish Dance Company will perform on Feb. 8 at the Jim Rouse Theater inColumbia. The show includes traditional Irish step dancing with international accents,including Latin and African rhythms.

Graham Nash takes a look back to hiswild ‘60s musical roots in his new memoir. See story on page 27.

Irish dance show has contemporary twist

Djupstrom: Scène et Pas de Deux Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

featuring Michael Sheppard, pianoCopland: Suite from Billy the Kid

Tickets range from $10-$25($2 Service fee may apply)

www.columbiaorchestra.org 410.465.8777

YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERTS

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolffeaturing Kinetics Dance Theatre

Kids can try their favorite instruments at our free Musical Instrument Petting Zoo from 11:30-1:00!

Ages 12 & up: $15; Ages 11 & under: FREE ($2 Service fee may apply)

Feb. 1, 2014 at 7:30pmFeb. 2, 2014 at 3:00pm

Jim Rouse Theatre

Jim Rouse Theatre, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia, MD

Feb. 22, 2014 10:30am & 1:00pm

Jim Rouse Theatre

BILLY THE KID

See IRISH DANCE , page 27

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men and women “keep their hands tothemselves” while twirling around thefloor in close proximity. Other theories have political plotlines.

One suggests the natives were faking outtheir British rulers, who banned dancing,by going into pubs and dancing behind thebar while keeping their upper bodies up-right as they do their rhythmic steppingand stomping from the waist down. One story has it that a group of Irish

dancers in the 16th century were brought todance for Queen Elizabeth I, who supposedlyenjoyed Irish jigs. The dancers, the storygoes, refused to raise their arms to her, keep-ing them at their sides, as they “danced outtheir defiance” of British rule, which includ-ed the 14th century Statutes of Kilkenny thatoutlawed Irish culture, except, presumably,when English royalty wanted to be amused.Gately, whose parents are from Ireland

and who has visited the Emerald Isle 16

times in her 38 years, is a Jersey girl(Bridgewater, N.J.) who won a dancescholarship to Towson University. She was one of eight selected for the

premium scholarship from among 400 stu-dents who auditioned for the university’shighly regarded dance program. She grad-uated from there with a BFA in Dance Per-formance in 1997. Gately won the Maryland State Arts

Council’s Individual Artist Award for Cho-reography in 2009 for her company’s inno-vative style. She considers it a highlight of her ca-

reer to have danced traditional jigs andreels as Gov. Martin O’Malley wailed onguitar while fronting his Celtic rock band.The performances took place on St.Patrick’s Day in 2012 and 2013 at the Pa-terson Theater in Baltimore.Tickets for the Slainté performances

can be obtained online at www.teelin.com,or by phone at 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are$30 for regular admission; $15 for seniorsand children under 10 years.

By Hillel ItalieGraham Nash is in the recording studio,

having a hard time saying the words. “It was such a tumultuous smoke-ridden

cocaine-driven moment that it’s hard to re-member everything as it went down,” hereads, stumbling over the word “tumul-tuous” and later saying “1977” instead of“1967,” an epic slip for Nash’s generation. The “moment” was Woodstock and the

studio was in midtown Manhattan, whereNash recently taped the audio book of hismemoir Wild Tales. Digital technology en-abled him to quickly correct his errors,but the memories will not be erased as he

relives a time he still helps embody. Few were so profoundly changed by

rock ‘n’ roll and the 1960s as Nash — achild of working class, World War II-eraBritain, who first became a star as a grin-ning harmony singer for the Hollies and,just as he feared he was locked into a life ofscreaming teenagers and two-minute lovesongs, let his hair down as part of Crosby,Stills and Nash. His hair a full and flawless white, he

looks improbably fit and trim at 71, espe-cially for someone who by his own accountsmoked and snorted through much of his20s and 30s.

But he is mindful that his luck won’t lastforever, and decided it was time to tell hisstory, if only for his baby granddaughter,Stella Joy. “I wanted to make a record ofwhat my life was about and who I was as aperson,” he said.

A magical time The man he became, the life he came to

lead, began during a Hollies tour of theU.S. in the mid-1960s. He was befriendedby Mama Cass of the Mamas and Papas, a

born mixer who sensed that the gentle-manly Nash would click with the Byrds’trouble-making David Crosby. He was soon living the American dream,

late ‘60s style, recording a million-sellingdebut album with Crosby and StephenStills, and sharing a house in LaurelCanyon with Joni Mitchell. In his memoir, he gives his take on how

Crosby, Stills and Nash first joined in song.

Remembering and continuing rock ‘n’ roll

See NASH, page 28

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 27

Irish danceFrom page 26

WINTER ARTS CLASSESRegistration closes Monday, Jan. 27 for classes in studio art, amosaic basics workshop, and drop-in portrait and model sessions

at the Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Rd., Ellicott City.Visit the Classes and Camps page at www.hocoarts.org or call (410) 313-2787for more information.

BEACON BITS

Jan. 27+

It was 1968, and they were at Mitchell’shouse, and Crosby and Stills were workingon the ballad “You Don’t Have to Cry.”Nash listened, asked them to run throughit again, and added his high tenor to Still’shusky low and Crosby’s mellow middle. “Something magical had happened, and

we all knew it,” Nash writes. “When yousing with two or three people, and you getit right — when the whole thing becomes

greater than the parts — everything kindof lifts a couple of feet off the ground.... Itwas there, complete, a minute into our re-lationship.” They were instant royalty, crowned by

their performance at Woodstock, but soontorn apart. Neil Young joined the bandafter the first record and began feudingwith Stills, as they had done while in theband Buffalo Springfield. Crosby’s girl-friend at the time, Christine Hinton, waskilled in a car crash. Mitchell broke upwith Nash, a loss clearly fresh decades

later. “How could you live with Joni Mitchell

for two years and not still feel something,”said Nash, married since 1977 to actressSusan Sennett. “She was this incrediblecombination of beauty and balls, and she’llalways be a very special part of my life.Everybody knows that. My wife knowsthat, and that’s just the way it is.”

Tough loveYoung is the book’s enigma and fatal at-

traction — a hard-headed genius with awell-documented reluctance to commithimself to a band, whether Buffalo Spring-field or Crosby, Stills and Nash. In WildTales, Nash sees his time with Young as a“long, strange trip” with a man whom heregards as having a heart with two faucets:hot and cold. One tale from the cold side: Young’s

memoir, Waging Heavy Peace, which cameout in 2012. “My ego got in the way,” Nash said dur-

ing the interview when asked about thebook. “When he talked about his wife’sdog more than he did about me andStephen and David, it pissed me off. I’vemade music with Neil Young for 40 years,and I don’t deserve a better mention thanas an appendage to his dog?” Working with him is inspiring, Nash

said, at least when he actually gets to workwith him. “I love him to death. I’ll make music with

him for the rest of my life, but he’s a veryselfish man. Part of me admires the factthat he has the strength to follow his muse,but he doesn’t realize that there are otherpeople involved in this world,” Nash said. “For instance, when you tell 40 people

you’re going to Europe and do a massivetour at the end of June, and then you de-cide you don’t want to do it because themuse doesn’t wave to you right? These 40people don’t know what to do because youdon’t feel like it? That pisses me off.” A spokesman for Young did not immedi-

ately respond to a request for comment. Nash is tough on Crosby, too, although in

a far more loving way. They are the closestof friends, and have shared girlfriends (bothdated Mitchell), political causes, songwrit-ing credits and thousands of stages. But Nash also adds to Crosby’s past con-

fessions about his descent into drug addic-tion in the 1980s, when one of rock’s greatwise guys transformed into a scarred anddead-eyed monster, “filthy, always sickly,irrational, covered in sores,” Nash writes. “The only time legal ever called me was

about the story I put in there about Crosbyselling his Mercedes to a crack dealer, andthe guy OD’s, and Crosby breaks into thehouse while the body is still warm andstole back the sales slip [for the car],”Nash said during the interview. “Legal wanted me to check with Crosby

one more time to make sure that hap-

28 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

They say that love is lovelier the secondtime around. If it works that way, hats off.If it doesn’t, it can snare fami-lies in a whirlpool of hurt feel-ings — and lighter bank ac-counts.So it has gone for my pal,

Susan. We reconnected a fewweeks ago. Over coffee, Iasked about her family.Kids good. Grandkids

good. Husband good. And her father? Well, not so

good.He became a widower at 80.

A divorcee who had long been in his socialcircle made a beeline for him.The family thought this was excellent,

because the beeliner was excellent. Smart.Sassy. Accomplished. Generous. Whowouldn’t want such a companion for one’saging Dad?The nightmare began shortly after they

married. Susan’s father began to slip men-tally. Nothing big at first. But as time went on,

he began to fumble basic details. His sec-retary called Susan and asked if maybe theold guy should retire. She broached it to him. He scoffed and

refused.Meanwhile, the new wife started pilot-

ing a snazzy gold Mercedes-Benz (she hadpreviously been a Ford Focus kind of girl). She began wearing “clothes that weren’t

bought at Target,” Susan said. The coupletook a six-week trip around the world, stay-

ing only in suites. Gifts got de-livered to all sorts of friendsand family — expensive gifts.“I was very reluctant to

smell rats,” Susan says. “Ithought it was just nice. Twoolder people enjoying life, youknow?”About six months later,

Dad’s secretary called Susanagain. She said Susan had tocome over to Dad’s officeright away. She had some-

thing to show her.The secretary produced two pieces of

paper. One was a power of attorney, executed

the day after Dad and New Wife had mar-ried. It designated New Wife as the onlyperson with control over Dad’s finances. Previously, Susan says, she and her

brother had shared power of attorney.They had not been asked or told about thechange.The second piece of paper was Dad’s

personal checking account statement. Itshowed that New Wife had systematicallywithdrawn between $12,000 and $15,000 amonth across three years.Where had that money gone? Obviously

to the Mercedes, to the gifts, and to theclothes that weren’t bought at Target.Did Dad know about any of this? The

secretary said she doubted it. When Susan sat down with her father,

he was as shocked as anyone. But he re-fused to confront New Wife.Susan huddled with her brother to

make a plan. They decided to ask NewWife to explain. “No confrontations,”Susan said. “Just three adults who caredabout my father’s welfare.”New Wife refused to meet. “My busi-

ness,” she told Susan. It was a stunning rebuff — and to Susan,

a clear admission that New Wife was awareof and ashamed of what she had done.Lawyers were brought in. They said no

crime had been committed. A spouse haspriority over adult children in situationslike this, the lawyers said. An exclusive power of attorney means

exactly that. It doesn’t matter what a previ-ous power of attorney may have said. Itdoesn’t matter whether New Wife went be-hind Dad’s back. She was within herrights.Seeing her father out half a million dol-

lars without his knowledge was badenough. Worse: He began to decline rapid-ly. Dementia was diagnosed. He was dead

within a year.Susan and her brother appealed to New

Wife directly. “We asked her please not tohoard all the rest of his money,” Susansaid. “He had always said he wanted tohelp with college tuition for the grandchil-

dren. But he had never said so in a will.”Sorry, New Wife said. His estate is

mine. Please don’t call me again.Susan says she was “as furious as I’ve

ever been in my life.” She recognized thatshe was legally powerless. And she doesn’tthink that “money is the be-all and end-all.”Still, “this was my father, and he had been

steamrollered.” Her instinct was to “dosomething — not something that would lashout at this woman, because that wouldn’thave accomplished anything. But some-thing that might protect other families.”I said that spreading the word to other

families was my department. You’ve justread the results.Moral of this story: If you are an older

gentleman of some means, and you sud-denly become a widower, don’t give fullcontrol over your dough to your newspouse. It will cause problems now andbigger problems later.Second moral: Trust your adult chil-

dren. They don’t want to interfere withyour late-in-life happiness. But they don’twant to see you hoodwinked, either.By the way, Susan reports, her father’s

second wife now has a new male friend. He’s a recent widower. A man of some

means.They have just announced plans to take

a six-week trip around the world together.History is reloading for a repeat.Bob Levey is a national award-winning

columnist.

Morals from a story of second marriages

HOW I SEE ITBy Bob Levey

NashFrom page 27

See NASH, page 29

COLUMBIA ORCHESTRA PREMIEREAaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody”

will be featured in the Columbia Orchestra’s concerts on

Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. at the James Rouse

Theatre, 5460 Trumpeter Rd., Columbia. The concerts will also introduce the win-

ning work from the orchestra’s sixth annual American Composer Competition,

Michael Djupstrom’s “Scene et Pas de Deux.” For additional information or to pur-

chase tickets ($20 to $25 regular admission; $16 to $21 for those 62 and

older), call (410) 465-8777 or visit www.columbiaorchestra.org.

ART NEEDED FOR AUCTIONThe Howard County Arts Council invites fine and craft artists

residing, working or studying in Howard County to submit entries

for the annual juried Silent Art Auction, part of the Celebration of the Arts to be

held Saturday, March 29. The deadline is Monday, Feb. 3. For more information,

call (410) 313-2787 or visit www.hocoarts.org.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 1+

Feb. 3

pened. He said, ‘Not only was it true, but Ire-sold the car.’”

Still on stage Crosby cleaned up years ago, and vari-

ous combinations of Crosby, Stills, Nashand Young continue to sing around theworld — whether a CSN show last fall atLondon’s Royal Albert Hall or a 2011 con-cert at Strathmore Music Center in N.Bethesda, Md. Nash sang solo at the Birch-mere in Alexandria, Va., in September. In an impromptu visit in 2011 to the Oc-

cupy Wall Street protests, Nash and Cros-by turned up and performed at ZuccottiPark in lower Manhattan, the crowd join-ing in for Nash’s signature song, “TeachYour Children.”

“I think I wrote music that made peoplethink, and broke their hearts, and de-pressed them, and made them laugh,”Nash said, adding that completing the bookonly added to his amazement at his ownlife.“I think I did a decent job with what I

was given as a child. I’m from an incredi-bly poor family from the north of England.And look at me! I mean, c’mon.”

— AP

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — F E B RUA R Y 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 29

D E F T L E N S C O S TA X L E A S A P T H R E WS P A S M A Z E O U N C EH O W T O B U I L D A G A T E

S S E S L I T M S TA C A L A B P E L ER U B Y O U R N O S E I N I TE L H I I R A A T I ES T O P A L E A K Y D R A I N

R E B A S U E L I TO R R A S P S P L OM E E T T H E T O P A Z T E CA N N I E T A X I O R A LH A C K S T R E E N A S AA L E E Y E N S E Y E D

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

FROM PAGE 30

NashFrom page 28 ALICE HOFFMAN DISCUSSES NEW NOVEL

Best-selling author Alice Hoffman will discuss her new novel, TheMuseum of Extraordinary Things, on Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. at

the Charles E. Miller Branch and Historical Center, 9421 Frederick Rd., EllicottCity. Registration for the event is strongly encouraged and begins on Saturday,Feb. 1. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Call thelibrary at (410) 313-1950 for further information and to register.

ORCHESTRA OF EXILESThe film depicting the formation of the Israel PhilharmonicOrchestra, Orchestra of Exiles, will be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at

the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. The program is sponsored bythe Jewish Federation of Howard County. For more information, [email protected] or call (410) 730-4976.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 1+

Graham Nash (right) recalls his relationships with Joni Mitchell, David Crosby (left),Neil Young and Stephen Stills in his recent memoir, Wild Tales. He is shown, on right,with David Crosby at the Occupy Wall Street protest.

AP

PH

OTO

/M

AR

Y A

LTA

FF

ER

date: Wednesday, February 26, 2014time: 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

location: Winter Growth – 5460 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia, MD

topic: Networking Extravaganza

learn more by calling (410) 997-0610 or visit www.cogsmd.org

PlatinuM MeMberThe Beacon Newspapers

Gold MeMbersBeing There Senior Care, LLC • Howard County Office on Aging

silver MeMbersBrooke Grove Retirement Village • Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Scherr, LLP

Copper Ridge – EMA • Deborah L. Herman, CPA • Oasis Senior Advisors • The Bob Lucido Team, LLC

bronze MeMbersEarl Wilkinson, M.D., ENT • HomeWatch Caregivers

Lighthouse Senior Living Village at Ellicott City •Paladin Advisor Group

Patron MeMbersCraig Witzke Funeral Care • Home Call of Maryland • Home With You, LLC

Right At Home In Home Care & Assistance • Visiting Angels

Thank you to our 2014 Executive Members

We’re a coalition of nonprofits, agencies, businesses and professionals who come together to advocate for and help older adults.

Coalition of Geriatric Services

February Meeting

Feb. 4


Puzzle Page

Scrabble answers on p. 29.

Jumbles: FORAY SYNOD BANTER CHALET

Answer: What she did when she told a joke to the sewing circle -- LOST THE "THREAD" OF IT

JUMBLE ANSWERS

Crossword PuzzleDaily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.comClick on Puzzles Plus

Answers on page 29.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20 21

22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

32 33 34 35 36 37

38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45

46 47 48

49 50 51 52 53 54 55

56 57 58 59 60 61

62 63 64

65 66 67

68 69 70

DOWN1. The middle of a date range2. International fair3. Fly in the ointment4. Personality identifiers5. Green Bay Packers’ field6. Jacob’s biblical twin7. Those fanatically obsessed with rules8. Write eight instead of 89. Guzzle drinks10. Just for show11. The Joy of ___ (religious guide)12. Send a 139-character message15. Exactly20. European city with best quality of life,

according to fDi Magazine21. Baba ghanoush, and the like25. Son of Zeus and Hera26. Group of worshippers27. Complete loathing29. French dairy-producing region31. User of statistics, according to

Mark Twain33. “Holy Toledo!”34. Pistol stay-men (abbr.)35. Acorn droppers36. 4, on a Rolex37. Boy scout’s construction42. Moves down on a pain scale43. Punishment unit in 12 Years a Slave44. Newsweek declared 1984 to be their year45. The middle of two cremes49. Largest Cornhusker city50. Of the kidneys52. Inconsequential53. Violate guidance regarding the sun55. .6 parts per million of Earth’s atmosphere57. Kidlet58. Plow pullers59. Fast food loaner60. Sugarcoat61. Like Adam, after expulsion

Hidden Gems by Stephen Sherr

ACROSS1. Nimble5. Hubble component9. Set one back13. Toll booth unit14. “Right away!” (not written all the way)15. Hosted a party16. Pampering locales17. Confusing grid of streets18. One 32,000th of a ton19. Baby proofing instructions22. General dir. down Peru’s coastline23. Space enough for light to pass24. Clock setting for TV’s Breaking

Bad scenes25. Product of the 111th Congress, but

commonly called Obamacare28. Coat, generally white30. Noted Brazilian footballer32. Add insult to injury38. Post pre-school; pre post-school39. Name that is also a retirement plan40. End in ___ (satisfy no one)41. Do a plumber’s job46. Country singer McEntire47. Name that is also a legal plan48. Turned on a candle49. 3-time NHL MVP51. Nile snakes54. Arafat’s org.56. Say hi to Montezuma62. Girl orphaned in a comic, play,

and 3 movies63. Tony Danza sitcom64. Type of thermometer65. 63 Across extras66. Shoe shape preserver67. Its first logo was approved by Ike

in 195968. Downwind69. Hankerings70. Studied from afar

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OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling SilverFlatware, Tea Sets or Single Pieces., Furniture,Tools, Cameras, Good Glassware, Artwork Too.Toys From Trains to Hotwheels, Action Figuresto Star Wars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

Personal Services

Wanted

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SEXISM AND HOMOPHOBIA IN HIP-HOPHopeWorks (formerly the Domestic Violence Center) is showing

the film Beyond Beats and Rhythms on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the

Kittleman Room of the Duncan Hall Building at Howard Community College, 10901

Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. The film explores connections between hip-hop

music, bullying and harassment. For more information and to register for the pro-

gram, visit www.wearehopeworks.org.

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THE PIANO TEACHERPlaywright Julia Cho’s drama The Piano Teacher centers on aretired piano teacher whose fond recollections of some former

students are shattered when they reconnect years later. The Rep Stage produc-tion opens Wednesday, Feb. 5 and continues through Sunday, Feb. 23 at theSmith Theater of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at HowardCounty Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. For ticketsand more information, visit www.repstage.org or call (443) 518-1500.

MAKE ME A MATCHThe second offering in the film series sponsored by the ColumbiaJewish Congregation, The Matchmaker, is about a teenage boy

who gets a job with a matchmaker. It will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 22 at theColumbia Jewish Congregation, 5885 Robert Oliver Pl., Columbia. Refreshmentsand a discussion afterward are included. For ticket information, visit the websitewww.columbiajewish.org/film_series.shtml or call Tom Laufer at (410) 997-0694.

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32 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Brooke Grove RetirementVillage (BGRV) is pleased tolaunch its sixth year of LivingWell Community Seminarsbeginning in February.Designed to help participantsnavigate a variety of healthcareand personal challenges, thisyear’s series offers animpressive array of expertsready to offer insight on topicsthat range from healthycooking to the power of music.Each free, monthlypresentation will be held from7 to 8:15 p.m. in the terracelevel conference room ofBrooke Grove Rehabilitationand Nursing Center and will bepreceded by a complimentarylight supper beginning at 6:30 p.m. They are open to thepublic as well as to members ofthe BGRV family.The seminar series will kick off on Wednesday, February 19, with “Cookingfor Your Heart.” JoinWarman Home Care andPersonal Chef Nikki Haddadfor some fabulous tips onheart-healthy cooking,instructions on how to preparetasty and nutrient-rich recipesbursting with flavor, and acooking demonstration withsamples of “good for you”foods. Learn how to changethe way you think about food

and shift your eating habitsinto a healthier mode. “Withthe right tools, you’ll be ableto make good decisions abouthealthy eating quickly andeffortlessly,” explains Ms.Haddad, who owns her ownbusiness and has over 20 years of experience in the food industry. If you are a veteran or asurviving spouse, discover“How to Apply for theVeterans Aid and AttendancePension” on Wednesday,March 12. Presented byJonathan Layne of MissionVeteran Assistance, thisseminar will provide guidanceon how veterans can applyfor assistance with the cost ofhome care, assisted living andnursing home care from thisoften overlooked program.He will discuss eligibility,approval times and benefitamounts, which can rangefrom $1,113-$2,053 permonth, tax-free.Certified Wellness andMotivational Coach NiraBerry, who is also a certifiedLaughter Yoga teacher, willlead an interactive programentitled “LaughingRx” onThursday, April 17. Nirabenefited from the power oflaughter during an illness 10years ago and now shares

what she has learned to helpothers live more positively.Presented in partnership withHome Instead Senior Care,this seminar will includelaughter exercises, deepbreathing and, well, FUN!Laughter exercises have beenscientifically shown to reducestress, high blood pressureand pain sensation; increaseendorphins; help people tocope better; and boost theimmune system, energy levels,memory and focus. Whether you are a musiclover, a senior, or someonewho just loves to live well,“The Power of Music” onWednesday, May 21, willinform and inspire you.According to TherapeuticMusic Consultant JeannieFinnegan of Melodies and

Memories, who will presentthe seminar, there is much tolearn about the power ofmusic to transform our lives:the “brain-music” connectionand the neuroscience behindit, what the research saysabout therapeutic music, andthe important role thatmeaningful music plays in thequality of our lives. “Musichas the power to affect somany aspects of who we are— memory, emotion,communication, movement,cognition, relationships,” shesays. “It’s the thread woventhrough the tapestry of life.”To attend any of theseseminars, please RSVP toDirector of Marketing ToniDavis at 301-388-7209 [email protected] by the Mondayprior to each seminar.

2014 Community Seminar SeriesOffers Insight on Living Well

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February 2014 | Howard County Beacon