Important Dates

Regular Meetings Monthly

on 4th Friday at 10:30 am.

Board Meetings 10:30 Holy

Trinity Lutheran Church; Jan

- Oct:, 3rd Friday

Newsletter Deadline: 1st

Friday of the Month

Clark Gable (2/1)

Super Bowl (2/5)

Valentine’s Day (2/14)

Mardi Gras(2/21)

Jeri Ryan (2/22)

Nat’l Margarita Day (2/22)

Open That Bottle Night

(2/25)

Mary Frann (2/27)

Leap Day (2/29)

In this issue:

January Meeting

Report

1

Health Tidbits 2

Community Service 3

Word From Our

Sponsor

4

Notes from the Editor 5

Land O’Lakes AARP Chapter #4764

February 2012

Januar y Meeting News by Phy l l i s Bross

The Latest Scoop

The first General Meeting of 2012 was held at Copperstone Executive Suites on January 27. President George Cooper opened the meeting, followed by the pledge of allegiance. He asked that members continue to bring guests to meetings as we would like to increase membership this year. Membership Chairman Rich reports that 17 members attended the meeting and that all paid their 2012 Chapter dues to Treasurer Elaine. George introduced Carol Roth, our featured speaker, highlighting

her education and experience in social work and related sciences. Carol lectured about grief, focusing at first on the various stages of grief as defined by author Elizabeth Kubler Ross, and then commented on how she views grief stages in a more subjective way. She discussed the grief any one of us can experience when a loved one dies, or has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or some other long term or life threatening disability or illness. She also talked about the stress, isolation, guilt, and financial stress that caregivers of those with Alzheimer's typically suffer, and she recommended that caregivers learn to make their own tough decisions about when (or if) to place their loved ones in a nursing home without guilt. Carol also touched upon the financial issues facing all seniors today, and she also said that in her opinion, Florida does not have adequate social programs for seniors. One example of the financial pressures on seniors is that funerals are very expensive, as funeral homes try to inflict guilt on those who simply cannot afford the most expensive coffin for their loved ones. With regard to nursing home facilities, she stressed that very few people can afford to pay to have their loved ones placed there. In addition, before a spouse decides to place the sick spouse in such a facility, he or she should check to make sure that the healthy spouse can afford to live without the sick spouse's social security check. In addition, Carol said that, although our grown children may not want what they consider to be their inheritance spent on a nursing home, if a nursing home is the best answer for your spouse, you should not be concerned about that issue. Carol also reminded us that the grief over the death of a family member, an Alzheimer's diagnosis of a spouse or other loved(continued on page 2)

Future Meetings Our next general meeting will be held on February 24

at 10:30 AM at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 20735 Leonard Road, Lutz. Please bring pastries or fruit to share, as this meeting will include a simple "coffee and cake" type of snack - not a full luncheon. The program will feature our perennial favorite, the Friendship Singers.

Carol Roth

Januar y News (cont inued) Page 2

one, or, sickness afflicting you or a loved one, will certainly diminish over time, but it will not go away, i.e., there will not be full "closure". Carol counsels people regularly on how to live with the remaining grief and, sometimes in starting what she calls a new life. On a more positive note, Carol showed us how each dec-ade of our lives has something good and contains something from which we can learn. She recommended support groups, living an independent life as much as possible, and being strong in dealing with adversity as the best ways to live well, even in the face of grief. In addition, she suggested that anger management may be the answer in some cases. Overall, Carol enlightened our membership on some frightening and sad facts of life, but, she was able to do it in a light and hopeful way. George thanked her for addressing the membership and she left her contact information for the members: Telephone: 813-389-9563. Email carolaroth@msn.com.

George then asked that Elfrieda's 50/50 contest be held. Claudette won the contest and George congratu-lated her. George went over the monthly newsletter quiz answers, and Helen and Phyllis each had one correct answer. He also stated that we have no Kitchen Committee and so our food for meetings will likely remain as coffee and cake only. We need to decide how to handle the coffee issue, given that it is expen-sive to purchase coffee for meetings from DunKin' Donuts. Gloria and Steve said that they may be able to help make coffee at the February meeting. In closing, George reminded us of Einstein's quote: "Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." He then asked us to ponder a similar but slightly revised quote by his Aunt, who has stated that reality is an illusion caused by a lack of wine! The meeting adjourned at 12:10. . . . Phyllis Bross, Board Secretary

Check blood pressure in both arms? This was a Twitter topic this month and was also dis-cussed by Carol Sagon in the AARP blog. Carol says, “The next time you get your blood pres-sure checked, ask them to measure it in both arms. If the readings for the left and right arm have markedly different top numbers, it could be a sign of vascular disease and an increased risk of death. With consequences that serious, you’d think that doctors would routinely check both arms….Unfortunately, most doctors don’t do it, say the authors of the study published Monday in The Lancet. In Britain, fewer than half of all doctors say they make a habit of meas-

uring blood pressure in both arms, and the same is likely in the U.S., Christopher Clark, M.D., lead author of the study, told the New York Times.” Carol went on to say that a difference in readings was associated with a 70 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 60 percent increased risk of death from any cause. It’s the difference that is important— it indicates that one artery is more blocked on one side than on the other, and needs further attention or treatment. The AARP Bulletin says a target for sys-tolic/diastolic pressure for 65-79 year olds is less than 140/90. Mine was 112/80 last month—what’s yours?

Health News & Tips from Twitter

This space available—ask a

business you know and trust to

sponsor an ad!

Our Vets really love to play Bingo, and they welcome our assistance and our companionship each month. The next bingo is February 8. So, if Gabi calls you for help, join in and have some fun while helping out. Or, give her a call at 813-996-9793 and volunteer. Thanks to everyone who has helped out. It’s only a couple of hours and our Vets really appreciate it. As always, the animal shelter needs soft items for their animal guests. Also,

donations of food items for Christian Social Services are welcome—please bring them to the meeting and Gabi will drop them off.

Community Ser v ice—Gabrie le Hansen Page 3

This space available, $25 per

year. Talk to your local mer-

chant today.

Volunteers

CARES: Gabriele Hansen 3.5 hrs; Friendship

Singers: Steve Dierking, 8 hrs; Our Lady of the

Rosary: Jean Cangelosi 24 hours; Lopez Veterans

Home, Gabriele Hansen, Steve, & Marion Meier—2 hrs each. Animal Shelter & CSS: Gabriele 1.5 hrs. Alzheimer’s Support Group: Phyllis, 3.5 hours, Rich 1.5 hours. If you do volunteer work for local organizations, please report the hours each month either to the newsletter editor (996-6100) or to any of the Board members.

Congratu lat ions ! February birthdays: Gloria Baronak, Gabriele Hansen, Gene Pool, & Mary Woodwell. Congratulations to all of you. If you have a birthday to celebrate and we missed you, let us know !

Sunsh ine and Sympathy Anita Kennebeck sends birthday and other

special occasion cards to Chapter members on

behalf of the Chapter. She sent 2 birthday cards

and a missing you card this month. If you know of

anyone who needs Sunshine, Anita would

appreciate a call at 813-948-8289, or email her at

akennebeck@tampabay.rr.com. Thanks!

22722 State Road 54 ;

Lutz, FL 33549; 813-909-8434

A Member In The Hospital

Gloria Dale had heart surgery. She will be moved out of the ICU and into rehab soon. She is re-ported to be her feisty self already! We wish her a speedy recovery.

Coffee & Cake

For the January meeting, we had a coffee and cake format, where you brought the “cake” and we brought the coffee. We had some very tasty goodies and some purchased coffee from Dunkin Donuts. We’re going to try this again for the Feb-ruary meeting, but we definitely need a volunteer to make the coffee. Call the editor if you can help!

An older lady was calling the newspaper office demanding to

know where her Sunday paper was. They said, “Madam, it is Sat-

urday; your Sunday paper will be delivered tomorrow, on Sunday.”

After a long pause the lady muttered, “Well, crap . . . that’s why

there wasn’t anyone in church today.”

A Word From Our Sponsor Page 4

The Chapter has adopted a policy of having an occasional commercial sponsor who would subsidize the cost of the meeting room in exchange for an opportunity to make a brief presentation. Our commercial sponsor for January was George Cooper. As George is our President, Phyllis asked Walt, as Vice Presi-dent, to serve as Interim Vice President so that George could step down and talk about his "day job" as our sponsor. Phyllis introduced George, who then explained to the membership what he does in his current ca-reer as a Mortgage Loan Originator for Open Mortgage, LLC. Explaining that he is able to handle any kind of mortgage or mortgage related issue, he said that his specialty is the "reverse mortgage", which can serve as the perfect life line for persons age 62 and over. George reminded us that although we were once in our "go go" years, we have moved or will move into our "go slow" years, to be followed by our "no go" years. He then focused on the latter of those three phases, reporting that the average net worth of a 75 year old in our country is only $65,000, and that those funds may well not last throughout our lifetime. Even folks who own an expensive, well appointed home may nev-ertheless be cash poor. Pointing out that seniors in the latter stage of life may not qualify for a home equity loan or a bank loan, George stressed that there are no credit qualifications for a reverse mortgage so those seniors who need money - whether for health reasons, to pay bills, or for any other purpose - may want to take a look at securing a reverse mortgage. With a reverse mortgage for the 62 and over crowd, there are no monthly mortgage payments to worry about. The most common type of reverse mortgage these days is the FHA insured, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), which is available only for a primary resi-dence. Naturally, when the homeowner moves out or passes on, that mortgage loan will become due, typi-cally handled by selling the home. In any case, with an FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, no debt will be passed on to the heirs—a HECM is a non-recourse loan. Mortgage proceeds are not taxed, and may be taken as a lump sum, line of credit, or monthly payments. Closing costs include the closing costs typical of any mortgage, and in addition an upfront FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium, and a counseling fee. (Those seniors who pursue a reverse mortgage must go through a counseling session to ensure that they understand the process and consequences). Even those seniors who want to acquire a new home (as opposed to mortgaging one that they already own) can now use a reverse mortgage as a way to purchase the home. Again, even with a new home, there are no credit qualifications for the purchase and once the down payment is made there are no monthly mortgage payments. George also has vast experience in medicare insurance and the best choices to make, and he can be contacted at 813-996-6100. You can also email him at George@Cooper-Financial.com. . . . Phyllis Bross, Board Secretary

Editor ’s Corner Page 5

This space available!

I’ll begin this month with a plea for everyone to reach out to potential new members for the Chapter. The Church is large enough to accommodate a good number of members and guests, so please encourage your friends and neighbors to join us for a preview of our Chapter. We won’t twist their arm to join at the meeting, but hopefully they will decide in our favor. We did not have a winner for our membership contest last year. So, I have decided to extend

the contest for a limited time, to May 1. First person to sign up 3 new members in 2012 will receive a $25 gift card. And I will sweeten the prize to include a $15 gift card to Cold Stone Creamery! So, let’s get busy—remember, AARP membership is open to anyone over 50!

There sure are a lot of holidays in February, all good excuses to have a party. For ex-ample, February 22 is National Margarita Day. I personally believe you have to squeeze limes to make a decent Margarita—no sugary lime-flavored bar mix for me. I combine equal parts fresh-squeezed lime juice and triple sec with 2 or 3 (depending on the amount of pain you have) parts tequila, shake with ice, and serve in a glass with salted rim. That’s a cocktail. You can keep your foo-foo mango/lemongrass/guava/whatever margaritas.

Be sure to patronize our advertisers!

This space available—ask a business

you like and trust if they would like

to sponsor an ad.

If you don’t know where you are going, you

might wind up someplace else. - Yogi Berra

Do you have a financial plan?

Guess Who—the Answers , & More Quest ions

The doctor who became famous for pronouncing people dead was Deforest Kelley, who played Dr. Leonard Bones McCoy in Startrek, where he was fa-mous for saying, “He’s dead, Jim.” But he got his start in “Man in the Grey Flannel Suit” in 1956 in which he utters the diagnosis, “This man’s dead, Cap-tain.” Miley Cyrus’ godmother is Dolly Parton who, by the way, has no children of her own. The record for the longest time span between Emmy nominations is Betty White—first nominated in 1851 and most recently in 2011—a 60 year span. All these had birthdays in January. Now, who is the cute young lady at left? And, what famous personality was Clark Gable’s golf caddie? Who is the only actor to play Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers? Who was seven of nine? Who was innkeeper Dick Loudon’s wife? Think about it!

George Cooper, Editor

5420 Land O’Lakes Blvd, Suite 101

Land O’ Lakes, Fl. 34639

editor@AARPnews.org

813-996-6100

2012 COMMITTEES

Advertising Sales - Helen Fornino

Community Service - Gabriele Hansen

Legislative - Marion Meier

Membership - Rich Abbattista

Newsletter - George Cooper

Nominating - Peggy Cooper

Public Relations - Elaine Northrup

Programs - Walter Dummeldinger

Sunshine - Anita Kennebeck

Refreshments - ???

Telephone - Phyllis Rowan

50/50 - Elfreida Rapp

2012 BOARD MEMBERS

President - George Cooper

Vice.-Pres. - Walter Dummeldinger

Secretary - Phyllis Bross

Treasurer - Elaine Northrup

Helen Fornino

Rich Abbattista

Gabriele Hansen

Gloria Baronak

National Strawberry Month