Category: Superstars

“What A Glorious Feeling, I’m Happy Again”

On By NotYetDeadIn Health, Superstars, Uncategorized4 Comments

Whenever I hear “Brown Eyed Girl” I’m instantly back in Richmond, Virginia. It’s 1968, and I’m at a bar mitzvah in the JCC Activity Room, dancing with a boy for the very first time. There’s a visceral response – excitement, happiness, plans for our upcoming wedding …

My point is, when you hear music, especially music from a critical point in your past, it evokes powerful emotions and memories – more powerful than you might think. In fact, what we may only see as a familiar song from our early teens and adulthood could in fact be a bridge back to connection for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Guys and Dolls are Singing in the Rain at Juniper Senior Living Communities

A few months ago, I reached out to Katie Kensinger, Social Media, Sales, and Marketing Director at Juniper Senior Living Communities in State College, PA. Through Music Theater International’s (MTI) “Broadway Senior” pilot program, Katie and the Juniper team have produced five musicals at Juniper communities, including popular titles such as “Singin’ in the Rain, Senior” and “Guys and Dolls, Senior.”

“It’s transformative – an opportunity to celebrate who they are now, to have fun, and to show what they’re capable of,” Kensinger says. Performing in front of small audiences of other residents, the actors, whose average age was 87, “saw themselves differently.”

For some, it was not just an opportunity to see themselves differently, but to see themselves again.

If you were to attend a Broadway Senior production, you would not be able to tell which actors were living with dementia.

KATIE KENSINGER, SOCIAL MEDIA, SALES, AND MARKETING DIRECTOR AT JUNIPER SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES

“Residents who participated in the Broadway Senior program became more engaged overall in community life, and this engagement continued even after the program ended. This was true for those residing in assisted living (personal care), skilled nursing, and memory care.”

In fact, she added, those residents in memory care, “have been full participants in the Broadway Senior program. Some have played leading roles, while others have acted in supporting roles or have sung in the ensemble. If you were to attend a Broadway Senior production, you would not be able to tell which actors were living with dementia.”

MUSIC & MEMORY® Personalized Playlist Program Improves Quality of Life for Patients with Dementia

MUSIC & MEMORY®, another program that Juniper uses in its memory care communities, helps individuals with a wide range of cognitive and physical conditions to “engage with the world, ease pain, and reclaim their humanity” through the use of personalized music playlists.

“People living with dementia or some type of cognitive or physical limitation can experience significant stress and anxiety” says Justin Russo, MUSIC & MEMORY® Program Director. “Offering them a playlist of their favorite music can help to focus their attention on something that’s recognizable, which reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed and confused. They’re better able to understand what’s happening, and they’re better able to relate to their caregiver because it’s a comfortable place for them.

“MUSIC & MEMORY® trains healthcare and community professionals to create favorite music playlists for the people they support.” Russo says. “We encourage staff to work one-to-one with participants to discover their musical preferences, favorite pieces and performing artists, with the goal of creating a 10-25 song playlist. For people who have trouble communicating, staff are advised to observe body language and find out as much as they can from other sources, particularly family and friends, about the individual’s background, which takes time but is extremely rewarding. (Download a copy of MUSIC & MEMORY®’s “How To Create A Personalized Playlist for a Loved One at Home” here.)

“While the music gives them joy in the moment, there’s also a carryover effect right after the music session, sometimes as long as 30-45 minutes, where the participant has more access to themselves, allowing them to converse, socialize and be more present for family visits and medical appointments.”

Personalized music therapy can also reduce the use of psychoactive drugs. In a 3-year study published in the Journal for Post-acute and Long-term Care Medicine (JAMDA) researchers from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis found that personalized music is associated with a reduction in the amount of antipsychotic medication taken by nursing home residents and fewer distressed behaviors. 

“There is Still a Self to Be Called Upon … and Only Music Can Do the Calling”

“Nothing activates the brain so extensively as music,” said Dr. Oliver Sacks, former professor of Neurology at Columbia University and author of the book, Musicophilia. “Once one has seen such responses, one knows that there is still a self to be called upon, even if music, and only music, can do the calling.”

“Music can lift us out of depression or move us to tears – it is a remedy, a tonic, orange juice for the ear. But for many of my neurological patients, music is even more – it can provide access, even when no medication can, to movement, to speech, to life. For them, music is not a luxury, but a necessity.”

Oliver Sacks, M.D.

Music can trigger whole regions to communicate, according to a release in Science Daily. “By listening to the personal soundtrack, the visual network, the salience network, the executive network, and the cerebellar and corticocerebellar network pairs all showed significantly higher functionality and connectivity. … Language and visual memory pathways are damaged early as the disease progresses, but personalized music programs can activate the brain, especially for patients who are losing contact with their environment.”

“Like Having Her Dad Back Again”

Both Kensinger and Russo have witnessed remarkable results with both the “Broadway Senior” and the MUSIC & MEMORY® programs. “Anecdotally,” Kensinger said, “associates in our memory care buildings observed that the “Broadway Senior” actors demonstrated improved word finding and were generally more social while they were participating in the program. In one of our productions, the actor cast in the leading role had a dementia diagnosis. Over the years he had been very involved with the local community theatre but hadn’t performed in quite some time. When he performed in Broadway Senior, his daughter shared with us that it was like having her dad “back” again – he came to life onstage, was vibrant and joking.”

When he performed in Broadway Senior, his daughter shared with us that it was like having her dad “back” again.

Katie Kensinger

“The therapeutic benefits of music are well-documented, and the effects of music can be quite dramatic. Quite simply, music enhances our quality of life in a way that is restorative of identity and connection to others. And this is true for people with dementia. At present, there is no cure for dementia. And so our goal for the person we are caring for cannot be a cure. Instead, as with any terminal illness, we strive to do everything we can to help them have as much comfort, as much pleasure, as much meaning, as much wellbeing in their days as possible.

“People with dementia are really no different than the rest of us,” Russo added, “They may have fewer options, but the goals are the same.”

Notes:

Dementia is an umbrella term to describe the disorder that results from brain disease or injury marked by memory loss and loss of cognitive abilities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of cases.

Alive Inside is available for rent or purchase and can be viewed on Amazon Prime and other streaming sites

According to Drew H. Cohen, President & CEO of Music Theatre International, the organization is currently conducting further studies to better understand the specific needs of senior living communities before finalizing “Broadway Senior” musical materials and making them available for licensing.

The MUSIC & MEMORY® program was started in 2016.

I did not marry the boy at the JCC. I found someone much better and the first song we danced to was Layla. xo kas

The Story of a Toy Inventor and the Daughter Who’s Telling His Tale

On By NotYetDeadIn Health, Superstars, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This September, toy inventor Eddy Goldfarb will be 100 years old. Most likely, he’ll spend part of his day tinkering in his garage, developing a new idea, and figuring out how to make it work. A process, he says, that is a big factor in his longevity. 

You’ll probably recognize some of Eddy’s most famous inventions: Kerplunk, Giant Bubble Gun, Chutes Away, Arcade Basketball, Stompers, Vac-U-Form, and the iconic Yakity Yak Talking Teeth. It’s no wonder Eddy Goldfarb is a member of the Toy Industry Hall of Fame, along with such notables as Milton Bradley, George Parker (Parker Bros.), Herman Fisher (Fisher-Price), Jim Henson, and Toys R Us founder, Charles Lazarus.

Eddy Goldfarb is the father of more than 800 toys and holds nearly 300 patents. But Eddy is also the father of Lyn Goldfarb, Fran Goldfarb, and Martin Goldfarb. And while I could paraphrase from the hundreds of articles written about Eddy Goldfarb’s fascinating life, no one could tell Eddy’s story better than his daughter Lyn, an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker who directed and produced, “Eddy’s World.” Lyn’s 18-minute film tells the story of Eddy Goldfarb’s creative, optimistic, and curious personality, and shares his “philosophies of life and his wisdom on aging.”

So while I started writing this post about the indomitable spirit of Eddy Goldfarb, it’s also the story of a daughter who found her father’s life, his work, and his outlook interesting and worth sharing. And unlike the hundreds of other articles about Eddy on the Internet, this one was literally told through his daughter’s lens. 

“I first started out really to do a family Legacy project,” Lyn told me. “My mother had Parkinson’s and my father was her caregiver, and he didn’t look well either. After my mother died in 2013, my father walked his way back to health and creativity. His optimism allowed him to grieve, but also look forward towards life. That was one of the reasons I started making the film – to capture his grace in aging.

“I realized that it really would be a great little film. And has been great – I really got to know my father in a different way making the film about him and having the opportunity to talk about the items, tell the stories of his life, but also the real privilege of watching him work.”

Because while Lyn does remember playing with prototypes (while being sworn to secrecy) and getting “tons of cereal” sent to the house during the time that Eddy was designing the premium toys that were included in cereal boxes, she didn’t see Eddy as the “toy inventor,” but as her father.

“He went off to work like most parents that went off to work outside of the house,” she says. 

I can relate to Lyn Goldfarb’s memory of the father who just “went off to work.” As children, we don’t really pay attention to what our parents are doing or what they are thinking. We’re more aware of our experiences, and how our parents are seemingly only there to interrupt our agendas.

But have you ever thought about their motivations, their struggles, their loves, their fears? Do you remember some of the stories you heard from and about their lives? 

In the film, Eddy tells the story of meeting his wife of 65 years, Anita Stern, at a dance in Chicago after World War II. He asked Anita to marry him the next day, and nine months later they were wed. Eddy’s tale reminded me of the story I had heard about my father and mother meeting at a USO dance in Chicago during the war as well. Like Eddy and Anita, my folks fell in love immediately, and although my father returned to his deployment two days after meeting her, he would return six months later, and they would marry immediately. 

Lyn’s loving film reminds me how important it is to record those few stories I still have of my parents to keep their memory alive. While my media will not be as professional as Lyn’s, I realize that if I don’t record their stories somewhere, no one other than my siblings and myself will ever know them. If I don’t record the other memories of my parents (who died when I was barely in my 40s) what will my children, and their children, know about their lives? I’ve already lost the stories of my grandparents, how they immigrated to America, how they lived, worked, and loved. I don’t want to lose those few I have of my parents.

Toward the end of the film, Eddy talks about making lithophanes of family and friends. “For some reason, the lithophane has a little magic to it,” he says. Maybe it’s because it’s a lasting memory of someone you love. It’s the same “little magic” that Lyn Goldfarb has created in “Eddy’s World.”

The “Silver Snipers” – Superstars

On By NotYetDeadIn General, Lifelong Learning, Superstars, Uncategorized1 Comment

In the field of counterterrorism, 68-year-old Inger “Trigger Finger” Grotteblad and 73-year-old Rick “Crazy BOOmer” LaRoche are considered among the best in the world. Two-fifths of an elite, highly trained unit, Inger and Rick spend their days doing what most “seniors” wouldn’t dream of doing: diffusing bombs and defending hostages using rifles, sub-machine guns, and pistols; high-explosive, decoy, and smoke grenades; tasers and teamwork. 

Sure, their logo-emblazoned opponents are generally sitting right next to them in an esports arena, and their thousands of spectators are eagerly cheering for the next kill, but that’s all part of the fun when you’re a “Counter Strike: Global Offensive” senior world champion.

While most players in the $1 billion esports industry retire by the age of 29, companies like Lenovo are out to change the demographic expectations of the industry. To that end, in 2017, the company ran an ad in Stockholm, Sweden looking for men and women with no digital gaming experience, ages 60+, to form the “Silver Snipers,” a Counter Strike esports team to compete in the upcoming Dreamhack digital competition in Sweden. (Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment.)

I caught up with Inger and Rick to find out more about what motivated them to become part of the Silver Snipers and what message they want the rest of us to know about bridging generational gaps.

“I saw the ad that Lenovo was looking for three women and two men to become a five-person team,” Inger told me. “They didn’t require any experience, only that you knew a little about computers, could speak English, and that you were interested in learning something new – the game Counter Strike.”

“I asked my kids and grandkids; do you think I should try?” Inger told me. Their response was immediate: “Oh yes grandmother – you’re going to be the greatest grandmother in the world.”

“I was in New York when I received a message asking me to send a video in English (the common language among esports gamers). So I took one of my grandchildren down to 6th Avenue and taped from New York.” 

Inger was one of more than 130 women who made the first cut and was invited to “audition” for the team by exhibiting her use of the computer and completing an interview in English. The field was narrowed to five women, and ultimately Inger was one of the two chosen to join the Silver Snipers. 

A retired US diplomat living in Stockholm, Rick La Roche is a more recent addition to the Silver Snipers team – although a highly qualified one. “The Silver Snipers had already been quite successful, having competed all over the world and generating global media attention (WSJ, CNN, BBC. They even inspired plans to make a movie about the senior gaming community).   So when the idea of creating a world championship came up, another team was formed. This time they were looking for Americans over 60, living in Stockholm. I went ahead and applied and was one of the people selected for the USA team – the “United Senior Assassins.”

Circled in red top row: Inger Grotteblad and bottom row: Rick La Roche

A few months after the Swedish win at Dreamhack 2019 (the “United Senior Assassins, Finland’s Gray Gunners, and Germany’s Germinators made up the final four), Rick was asked to “defect” to the Silver Snipers who were then down a team member. (The three other members of the team are Oivind “Windy” Toverud, age 78; Monica “TeenSlayer” Idenfors, age 65; and Anders “BigBang” Nystrom, age 71).

Neither Inger nor Rick identifies with the typical expectations of people in the “senior” age demographic. “There are a lot of assumptions about people our age,” Rick said, “and the goal of our team is to break those assumptions.”

“I’m always curious about new things and not afraid of trying new things.” Inger said. “When you’re an old person you think this isn’t something I can do because I’m too old. I don’t care about that. I do whatever I like.”

Both feel that playing CS:GO has had a very positive effect on them physically and mentally. “Your attention is better,” Inger told me. “You are thinking more quickly, using your brain in another way … you can’t be slow. You have to be rapid in your reflexes. You have to think four steps ahead to play the game and you have to make rapid decisions. You’re keeping your brain alive. And of course, you’re using your hands, and you have to coordinate everything.”

“Prior to diplomatic work, I was in the military,” Rick said, “so I have some real-world experience in this stuff (not that it helps me in the egames!). I’ve found it’s almost like playing a very animated game of chess. Where the avatars are like chess pieces. You’re thinking ahead to create a diversion … there’s a lot of strategy that goes into it.”

For a team that was constantly travelling and competing (including Moscow, Ukraine, Helsinki., and France), and participating in in-person training every other week at Inferno Online (the largest gaming center), COVID-19 has had a profound effect. But to combat the isolation and keep playing, Inger has started a Facebook group for gaming seniors. “More and more people are joining,” she said, “and the media are very interested in us. Many are seniors who had never realized there were other old people gaming. And we’re making friends around the world.”

But it’s not just their fellow seniors that Rick and Inger have reached through their “Silver Snipers” activity. It’s the connection with the Millennial and Gen Z crowd that also excites them and for whom they advocate. “We are passing on a positive image about the younger generations and they are getting a very different image of the elderly.”

“When we talk to young people, they treat us like rockstars,” Inger said. “They think we are so great. We’re old people coming into their community – a community that has been very closed. ‘You are legends,’ they tell us. ‘Can I take a picture with you? can I have your autograph?’’

“People should try this and find out how lovely it is,” she said. “Come see how great the community is and having young friends.”

Rick La Roche concurs: “This is an excellent way of bridging generational fences and promoting greater understanding between these two large demographic groups. The younger generation writes us off, and no one takes advantage of all the expertise and experience we have.” On the other hand, baby boomers tend to write off the game-playing younger generation as time- wasting and disconnected.

“In fact,” Rick continued, “the military is looking seriously at Gen Z kids when they become of military age and at making a concerted effort to recruit them because they believe by that time so much of the war will be cyber-based – and these young kids are ambidextrous, doing many different things at once and assimilating a tsunami of information and making instantaneous decisions.”

“Be nice to young people,” Inger continued, “Don’t be so hard on them for playing. They will be prepared for very interesting jobs and know languages better than we do, and they are meeting people all over the world. They learn how many different people think. It’s good for them and it’s good for you too to stay young at heart. Gamers live about five years longer.” 

And Rick added with a laugh, “which doesn’t sound like much until you’re in those last five years!” 

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If you want to learn more about the Silver Snipers, visit their team website here and follow them on Facebook. 

Inger also invites senior gamers (and those interested in learning more) to join her Facebook group, Gaming Senior.

And stay tuned for an upcoming “Superstars” article about Rick La Roche (let’s just say there’s a lot of real-world experience in his gameplay!). In the meantime, follow Rick’s blog here.

Ernie Andrus: Superstar

On By NotYetDeadIn Superstars, Uncategorized4 Comments

Following my tradition of celebrating Molly Shannon’s wonderful characters, today’s blog is the first in a new series called “Superstars.” In the Not-Yet-Dead world (and in my eyes) these are the over-65s who aren’t letting obstacles get in the way of their dreams. They are resilient, adventuresome, experienced, gifted, masterful people, setting an example for all of us about embracing life.

Ernest Andrus is one of those Superstars. I had the recent opportunity to “interview” Ernie via email and decided to start this series because of his story.

Let me get right to the point. Ernie Andrus broke the world’s record for the oldest person to run coast to coast across the United States on August 20, 2016.

He was 93.

And guess what. At 97, he’s on his way back.

I decided to reach out to Ernie one day when I was feeling particularly lazy. If I, at 64, couldn’t rouse myself for a walk around the neighborhood, how in the world did this man have the energy (or desire) to run across the US?

Here’s how Ernie explained it.

“I served in the Navy during World War II as a hospital Corpsman. After the war, I went to UCLA on the GI Bill until I started a family. Then, I spent my working years in drug store and grocery store management. I took an early retirement in 1984 when the company I was working for sold out.

“I always liked to run. The Olympics came to Los Angeles in 1984, and I ran the Olympic Torchbearer 10K run in Huntington Beach. I enjoyed it so much I started running every local 5 and 10K run.

“In my old age most pleasures have dwindled, but I still like to run. I ran two half marathons at 87 and 89 years old, ran my first Ragnar 200-mile Relay at age 88.”

Always Seeking Adventure – By Sea

“As far back as I can remember I was always seeking adventure. A shipmate found there was a ship on the Isle of Crete identical to the one we served on during the war. He had been searching for one for about 10 years. The LST was considered by many as the ship that won the war, and many LST sailors felt it was important to find one for posterity. This was an adventure I found irresistible.

“We were told it was impossible to sail a ship that old across the Atlantic on its own power. The young sailors could not do it because they depend on computers. The average age of our crew was 72. I was 77. We knew we could do it. We spent four months restoring it to seaworthiness. Now in her home port of Evansville, Indiana, the LST 325 is only operational LST in WWII configuration afloat in US waters.”

You can see the History Chanel documentary, ‘The Return of LST 325’ on YouTube.”

Always Seeking Adventure – By Land

“I searched the web and found the oldest man on record crossing the United States on foot was 73. I got so much recognition as an 88-year old man running a Ragnar that I decided to run coast to coast in my 90’s mainly for the fun of it, but with a cause: raising funds to keep our ship seaworthy. I hope to raise enough money to return the ship to Normandy for a D-Day Memorial Service and beach it at the same location where it was on D-Day.

“I started by putting my foot in the Pacific Ocean at Mission Beach CA and finished at the Atlantic, Saint Simons Island, GA – one day after my 93rd birthday. After two years, I got bored and decided to run back the other way. I ran from the Atlantic, across GA, FL, AL, MS, LA and well into TX when my back gave out. The back pain prevents me from running more than a mile.

“My advice to everyone young and old: exercise. About 45 years ago I read an article in a Kaiser Hospital newsletter recommending a group of exercises to get the heart pumping when you first wake up. I believe this has kept me going for all these years.”

I realized that there was one question I hadn’t asked Ernie – and surely someone who has lived 97 years, served in World War II, run across the US (and is heading back) would have an answer worth listening to: How have you learned to deal with obstacles in your life? What do you tell yourself when your plans say one thing and life says another?

“All my life I have sought adventure. To me that’s what made life interesting. I have had many failures. I learned that failures are just as valuable as successes if you learn from your failures. The son of a friend knew nothing but success all his life. He started at the bottom and worked his way up to business manager of a grocery chain. A lifetime of success. His wife divorced him. He hung himself. When something doesn’t work out the way I wanted I just go on living – I’m not yet dead.”

Ernie Andrus – SUPERSTAR!

For more information, please visit CoasttoCoastRuns

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to LST 325 Ship Memorial, please make checks payable to Coast to Coast Runs and indicate “Donation” in the memo line. The address is 5010 North Tiara Court, Otis Orchard, WA 99027. Ernie can also be sponsored through Coast to Coast Runs.

Ernie’s autobiography “Bare Feet to Running Shoes” and T-shirts are available on his website. You can follow his run on Facebook and/or on YouTube.