February 2026 | Baltimore Beacon

How I learned to be brave

My November column, “How We Learn to Be Afraid,” garnered more responses from readers than anything I have written in years. So I thought I would press my luck and write this companion piece about bravery. Appropriately, it also happens to be the column in which I announce my retirement from the Beacon

Yes, 36 years after my wife, Judy, and I began publishing this monthly newspaper — originally called Senior Beacon of Greater Washington — I am hanging up that hat and donning my “pianist and composer” cap for what I intend to be my encore career.

FROM THE FOUNDER

While many people clearly thought I was nuts, several fellow associates stopped by my office and told me how much they wished they had the guts to walk away like that. Over the years, I’ve been asked where I got the chutzpah to abandon a good thing and head into uncharted waters. I think a few defining experiences early in my life helped me learn to follow my inner voice — even (or especially) when it diverged from “common wisdom.”

By Stuart P. Rosenthal

Regular readers will know that I have taken several short sabbaticals in recent years to test-drive a career in music. Since those have been among the most pleasant times I have ever spent, I am happily giving it a go long-term.

I enter this new phase of my life with the same sense of excitement — plus a soupçon of fear — that I felt when I started the Beacon decades ago. At the time, I left a large law firm where I was a senior associate.

Scene one: In a gradeschool math class, the teacher put a problem on the board and asked two students, including me, to solve it. We came up with different answers. After each of us explained our reasoning, the teacher asked the class to vote on which answer was correct.

The first vote was split. The teacher asked for another vote; this time only one or two students voted with me. She asked yet again. With my heart pounding, I continued to insist that my answer was correct. This time, I stood alone.

The teacher then announced — rather dramatically — that only I had gotten the

IN FOCUS FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

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correct answer, and she praised me for sticking to my guns even when everyone else disagreed.

Scene two: When I was in college, I became interested in the stock market but had little money to invest. My father offered to match whatever I put into a single stock so I could get my feet wet.

I regularly flew Braniff Airlines to and from school and had read that the company was in bankruptcy. The stock had cratered but was still trading as Braniff attempted to reorganize under Chapter 11. I suggested to my father that it was a good airline and that the stock was a bargain. He expressed doubt but supported me.

By the time I graduated, our investment had more than doubled. While at least part good luck, this experience also suggested I could trust my intuition.

I’m not saying those experiences led me to start the Beacon. I left law and started a newspaper for older adults because my heart — and my wife — told me I would wake up with more energy if I did work that better used my talents, allowed me to be my own boss, and helped as many people as possible along the way.

But any new beginning takes courage. And I think those earlier moments in my life that gave me some practice acting courageously have helped me to approach later challenges in life — whether starting a business or retiring from one — and see them as opportunities.

I will deeply miss working every day with the phenomenal Beacon team, who have been like an extension of my family

— most of them for 15, 20, and even more than 25 years. Throughout that time, they have devoted themselves heart and soul to making the Beacon what it has become, which is to say an institution beyond my wildest dreams. (By the way, Judy will continue working with the Beacon for a while longer. She’s younger than I!)

I will also miss engaging with our dedicated readers and longtime advertisers throughout the year at our Expos, on county and nonprofit boards, and at networking and social events.

Even as I say farewell to my role at the Beacon, I hope to continue connecting with you through music. In addition to composing original songs and posting them on my website (please visit stuartsmelodies.com), I plan to perform them along with classical and contemporary favorites at small gatherings throughout the DMV. Activity coordinators, take note: I’m available for bookings!

If you’d like to help give my new career a boost, I invite you to visit my channel on YouTube (search “Stuart’s Melodies”), listen to a piece or two, and hit “subscribe.” There’s no charge — it simply means you’ll be notified when I post something new.

Of course, I also hope you will continue to read the Beacon, patronize its advertisers, and recommend it to your friends. I would love to hear from you. You can respond to this column at info@thebeaconnewspapers.com or write to me personally at stuart@stuartsmelodies.com.

It’s been an amazing and rewarding 36 years. Thank you all!

Letters to the editor

Readers are encouraged to share their opinions 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 email info@thebeaconnewspapers.com.

Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

Dear Editor:

I adore the Beacon, even if the information is out of my age range. It’s the only newspaper at my work whose front cover doesn’t instantly fill me with dread.

I thought I’d contribute a few smartphone camera hacks I’ve learned as a Gen Z-er.

First, for those of us who worry about forgetting to turn off the oven or the lights, I find that taking a picture of the oven or room helps tremendously. Instead of relying on your memory, you have a visual reminder in your pocket that you did, in fact, turn things off.

Second, a photo can be very helpful for remembering where one has parked in a garage. I always take a picture of our spot at the IKEA or airport.

Third, the phone’s camera works very well as a makeshift pair of glasses. As long the camera is in focus, you can see what it sees.

On a similar note, the zoom function on many smartphone cameras serves as a useful magnifying glass. Take a picture (or even just use the camera itself as a magnifying lens) and zoom in on what you want to read.

Lastly, taking pictures of empty bottles or boxes can serve as a shopping list. If you need a specific brand, it’s easier to show a picture of the bottle to an employee.

Hope this helps someone!

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PARKINSON’S SYMPTOMS

Loss of smell, restless sleep and other symptoms may indicate Parkinson’s PICKLEBALL PERILS

As pickleball’s popularity increases, so do visits to the emergency room

MEMORY TRICKS

To refresh your memory, keep lists and recall events with photographs

DRUG DISCOUNTS

Don’t pay full price at the pharmacy; check for Patient Assistance Programs

Ways to find light in dark winter months

By Stefanie Dazio

The winter solstice was Dec. 21, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. While sunlight increases daily after that, winter won’t be over for a while yet.

The Associated Press spoke to experts in Norway, Sweden and Finland about how they cope with the winter blues. Here’s how they suggest looking for light, literally and figuratively, during the darkest months of the year:

Maintain sleep and social habits

The dark winter affects our circadian rhythm. With limited daylight, our internal body clocks cannot reset or synchronize properly, and it throws off our sleep. We may sleep longer in the winter, but we don’t wake up refreshed and can remain tired the rest of the day.

Try a dawn simulator, sometimes known as a sunrise alarm clock, to gradually light up your bedroom and ease you awake, suggested Dr. Timo Partonen, a research professor at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

In addition to being more tired, we’re more likely to withdraw from others in the wintertime. We’re more irritable, Partonen said, and more prone to arguments.

It’s important to maintain our relation-

ships, he said, because symptoms rarely improve in isolation.

And since keeping up with exercise is also key to combating the winter blues, consider inviting a friend along for a workout.

It could also help keep off the wintertime weight gain — typically 4 to 11 pounds a year, Partonen said — that’s fed by cravings for carbohydrates, especially in the evenings.

Light therapy

Millions of people worldwide are estimated to suffer from seasonal depression. Also known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, patients typically have episodes of depression that begin in the fall and ease in the spring or summer.

Scientists are learning how specialized cells in our eyes turn the blue wavelength part of the light spectrum into neural signals affecting mood and alertness. Sunlight is loaded with blue light, so when the cells absorb it, our brains’ alertness centers are activated, and we feel more awake and possibly even happier.

Researcher Kathryn Roecklein at the University of Pittsburgh tested people with and without SAD to see how their eyes reacted to blue light. As a group, people with SAD were less sensitive to blue light than others, especially during winter months.

That suggests a cause for wintertime depression.

In severe cases, people need clinical support and antidepressant medications.

Christian Benedict, a pharmacology professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, suggests light therapy for people with SAD as well as those who have a milder case of the winter blues.

“It’s not like it’s a fate, an annual or a seasonal fate, and you cannot do anything about it,” Benedict said.

A routine of morning light therapy, using devices that emit light about 20 times brighter than regular indoor light, can be beneficial for both people with and without SAD.

Research supports using a light that’s about 10,000 lux, a measure of brightness, for 30 minutes every morning. Special lights run from $20 to $400, though some products marketed for SAD are not bright enough to be useful. Your insurance company might cover at least part of the cost if you’ve been diagnosed with SAD.

Partonen recommended using both a dawn simulator and a light therapy device each day before noon.

Yale has tested products and has a list of recommendations, and the nonprofit Center for Environmental Therapeutics has a consumer guide to selecting a light.

Prioritize a positive outlook

And don’t forget to, well, look on the bright side. It’s crucial to embrace winter instead of dreading it, according to Ida Solhaug, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Tromsø, also known as the Arctic University of Norway — the world’s northernmost university.

Prioritize a positive outlook as a survival strategy and learn to appreciate the seasons. It’s a typical Norwegian way of thinking, she said, that can make all the difference when there’s very little daylight for months.

“It’s part of the culture,” Solhaug said. And don’t forget to take advantage of both outdoor and indoor hobbies, she said. Inside, channel hygge — the Danish obsession with getting cozy — and snuggle up on the couch with blankets and a movie.

But don’t hibernate all winter. After the film finishes, head outside. Even during cloudy days, a quick walk in the fresh air will help, she said. And if you’re brave enough, do a cold plunge.

“Challenge yourself to look for light in the darkness,” she said.

After all, as many Nordic people say, there’s no such thing as bad weather — only bad clothing.

© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

How to locate a good age-friendly doctor

Dear Savvy Senior,

My husband and I are relocating to a nearby state to be closer to our daughter and will need to find a new primary care physician when we arrive. We are both in our late 70s and are interested in getting a geriatrician to oversee our healthcare going forward. Any suggestions for finding someone?

—Searching for Care

primary care doctor with an age-friendly philosophy may be all you need. Here’s what you should know.

Dear Searching, Choosing a geriatrician as your primary care doctor in your 70s is a good idea, especially if you’re dealing with various age-related health problems.

But if you’re in relatively good health, you may not need a geriatrician. A good

Who needs a geriatrician?

Geriatricians are primary care doctors that have additional specialized training in treating older patients. Those who can benefit the most from seeing a geriatrician are seniors age 75 and older with multiple health and age-related problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hyper tension, incontinence, osteoporosis, cognitive decline, frailty, depression or trouble with balance and falls.

Geriatricians are also particularly adept at tackling medication problems. Because

many seniors take multiple medications at the same time for various health conditions, and because aging bodies often absorb and metabolize drugs differently than younger adults, unique side effects and drug interactions are not uncommon. A geriatrician will evaluate and monitor your medications to be sure they are not affecting you in a harmful way.

Geriatricians can also help their patients and families determine their long-term care needs, like how long they can remain in their own homes safely without assistance, and what type of services may be necessary when they do need some extra help.

Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of geriatricians in the U.S., so finding one may be difficult.

To help you locate one in your new area, use Medicare’s online find and compare

search tool. Just go to Medicare.gov/carecompare and click on “Doctors & Clinicians” and type in your location, then type in “geriatric medicine” in the “Name & Keyword” box. You can also get this information by calling Medicare at 1-800-6334227. The American Geriatrics Society also has a geriatrician-finder tool on their website at HealthinAging.org.

If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, contact your plan for a list of network geriatricians in your new area. Keep in mind, though, that locating a geriatrician doesn’t guarantee you will be accepted as a patient. Many doctors already have a full patient roster and don’t accept any new patients. You’ll need to call the individual doctor’s office to find out.

What are the best foods for healthy aging?

By Maureen Salamon

Consuming more flavonoid-rich foods — including berries, apples, oranges and black tea — may promote healthier aging, particularly in women, according to a Harvard-led analysis published in May 2025 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Researchers evaluated data from more than 86,400 adults ages 60 and older (73% women), who were tracked for more than 24 years.

Participants completed food frequency questionnaires at the study’s start and every subsequent four years, and also reported any experiences with frailty, impaired phys-

Age-friendly PCPs

If you and your husband are in relatively good health or if you can’t find a geriatrician in your new area, a good primary care physician (PCP) that practices age-friendly care would also be a viable choice.

To search for new PCPs, use the previously listed Medicare tools. Once you locate a few, call their office and ask if they’re accepting new patients and if they practice the 4Ms of age-friendly care, which include:

ical function or poor mental health.

Women who consumed the highest amounts of flavonoids had a 15% lower risk of frailty, 12% lower risk of impaired physical function, and 12% lower risk of poor mental health compared with women with the lowest flavonoid intake.

In men, higher flavonoid consumption was associated with only a lower risk of poor mental health.

The findings add to earlier research indicating that people who consume higher amounts of flavonoids tend to live longer and are less likely to develop chronic diseases such as dementia, diabetes, or heart disease.

• What Matters (your goals and priorities)

• Medication safety and appropriateness

• Mentation (cognition and mood)

• Mobility (ways to keep you moving)

You can also research new doctors at sites like Healthgrades.com and Vitals.com.

If you’re finding it hard to get into a new practice, you might even consider looking for a geriatric nurse practitioner or advanced practice registered nurse to serve as your PCP.

Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.

Here, assisted living is living, with the right amount of personal assistance… …at a great value.

Flavonoids are well recognized for reducing inflammation, supporting healthy blood vessels, and helping maintain muscle

mass, the study authors said. © 2025 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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What are the early signs of Parkinson’s?

By Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior,

What are the early signs of Parkinson’s disease? My husband was recently diagnosed after noticing a slight thumb tremor, but we’re wondering if we missed any other early warning signs.

—Curious Wife

Dear Curious,

Recognizing the early signs of Parkinson’s disease is challenging because the symptoms are often subtle and/or similar to those in other health conditions, which means they can easily be overlooked, dismissed or misdiagnosed.

Parkinson’s disease, which afflicts around 1 million Americans, is a degenerative disorder that occurs when the brain’s dopamine-producing neurons die or become impaired. This happens in the part of the brain that controls movement, which can cause tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination.

The symptoms usually begin gradually and get worse over time, and the progression of symptoms is often different from one person to another. Some people with Parkinson’s become severely disabled, while others may experience only minor motor disruptions.

While the cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown, scientists believe genetics and

environmental factors (exposure to certain toxins) play a key role.

Most people with Parkinson’s first develop the disease around age 60 or older, and men are more likely to develop it than are women.

Early warning signs

Parkinson’s disease is difficult to diagnose because there’s no definitive test to confirm it. Doctors, usually neurologists, will do an examination and evaluate a combination of warning signs, but symptoms can vary greatly by patient, which often leads to confusion and misdiagnosis.

That said, here are some of the key signs and symptoms everyone should be aware of:

Restless sleeping: Talking in your sleep, sleepwalking and/or acting out your dreams by kicking or jerking. This is a REM sleep behavior disorder and one of the strongest and earliest pre-diagnostic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Loss of smell: Not being able to smell certain foods very well like bananas, dill pickles or licorice. This early symptom occurs in around 70 to 90% of Parkinson’s patients.

Constipation: Problems with digestion and bowel movements are a big problem for people with Parkinson’s, and an early sign that can occur up to 20 years before

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this disease is diagnosed.

Changes in handwriting: Writing may become harder to do, and your handwriting may appear much smaller than it has in the past.

Soft voice: According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 89% of people with Parkinson’s will have speech and voice disorders, which often shows up first in volume of the voice, meaning that you may speak more softly.

Tremors: Slight shaking or tremor in your finger, thumb, hand or chin. The tremor usually happens at rest, and when you move the extremity, it may disappear.

This is the most common and recognizable outward sign of Parkinson’s disease, but by the time tremors start, the brain has already lost more than half of its dopamineproducing cells.

Slowed movement: Over time, Parkinson’s disease can slow movements, making simple tasks difficult and time-consuming. Your steps may become shorter when you walk. It may be difficult to get out of a chair.

You may drag your feet as you try to walk. Masked face: The muscles in the face experience the same gradual stiffening as in the rest of the body, which results in lack of smiling and facial expressions.

Impaired posture and balance: Stooping, leaning or slouching when you stand, and/or balance problems can all be an early sign of Parkinson’s.

Having these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean that a person has Parkinson’s disease. But if you are experiencing any of them, and you’re over age 60, you should consider talking with your doctor, who may order a DaT scan or Syn-One (Skin Biopsy) Test to help diagnose it.

Early detection leads to earlier treatment, which can improve a person’s overall quality of life.

For more information, visit the Parkinson’s Foundation at Parkinson.org or the Michael J. Fox Foundation at michaeljfox.org. Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.

Ongoing smell loss may be one of the most important signals of brain health as we age.

A new study from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is exploring this link. We’re calling on everyone with and without Parkinson’s to request a simple scratch-and-sniff test and contribute to important research.

Request your test at or scan the QR code.

Request your test at 877-525-PPMI (7764) mysmelltest.org/beacon or scan the QR code.

We are looking for older adults (65+) to participate in a research study on personalized exercise. Learn how a tailored exercise program can help you feel stronger and improve your health and well-being. You will be compensated for your time and participation upon successful completion of the study.

For more information, please scan the QR code, call 443-692-7169 or email mpathstudy@jh.edu

Pickleball’s popularity brings more injuries

By Dawn Fallik

Terry Landers’ pickleball injuries include two concussions, a broken wrist, a shoulder injury, a torn thumb and a black eye. None of those disasters kept her from the court. In fact, she had both knees replaced so she could keep playing.

The 69-year-old from Bridgton, Maine, was first drawn to pickleball about a decade ago because it was a sport she could play year-round, and the community she found on the courts kept her coming back.

At one point, Landers taped her fractured wrist to her pickleball paddle to go to the emergency room.

“I broke it pretty good. I’ve got a plate and screws and all kinds of stuff going on in there,” she said.

Landers has a lot of company. Pickleball, a combination of tennis and ping-pong, has been the fastest growing sport in the country for three years in a row, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

Although the highest number of players fall into the 25-34 age bracket, it’s the older players who tend to run into walls and problems.

Taking a toll on the over-50 crowd

A 2024 study in Health analyzed nearly 17,000 pickleball-related injuries and found that 87% of emergency room visits involved

people over 50. Orthopedic injuries were the most common, such as fractures, sprains and muscle tears, but cardiac incidents also stood out.

Ches Jones, an injury researcher at the University of Arkansas and lead author of the study, said the smaller court makes pickleball seem approachable, but too often players don’t realize they need to prepare physically.

“People think, ‘Oh, I can do this without getting proper doctor’s clearance,’” said Jones. “There’s a perception that pickleball is a less strenuous activity than other sports. But in actuality, pickleball can be very strenuous, especially on the cardiovascular system.”

‘Job security’ for surgeons

Frederick Azar is an orthopedic surgeon and director of the sports medicine fellowship at the University of Tennessee-Campbell Clinic. His clinic sees so many referrals to orthopedic surgeons from pickleball injuries that it became a joke that they invented the sport for job security, he said.

Azar said he started noticing that his patients who had pickleball injuries fell into certain patterns and wanted more information to help with injury prevention. In a 2024 review in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, he analyzed emergency room data from pickleball injuries from 2001 to 2017 and also

surveyed clinic patients.

Like the Arkansas study, Azar found that wrist fractures and ankle sprains were common, along with soft-tissue injuries like tears and tendinitis.

Azar’s study also found that there were differences between genders — women were more likely to suffer fractures, often tied to bone health issues like osteoporosis, while men tended to sustain sprains and strains. Many issues stem from loss of balance as players move quickly front-toback and side-to-side, he said.

Both studies highlighted another danger: the heart. In the Arkansas analysis of older players, one out of five injuries resulted in hospital admissions, with most admissions for cardiac arrest and 25% for fractures.

Azar said the cardiac numbers highlighted the need for a good checkup before hitting the court, particularly for sedentary people. In addition to a cardiac checkup, new players should ask their doctors about bone health, balance issues and medication side effects, like dizziness, that might result in injury, he said.

“It’s a new sport, so we’re trying to raise awareness and encourage people to take precautions because people can get hurt here,” he said.

Best to start slowly

Jon Herting, owner of Precision Perform-

ance Physical Therapy in Pennsylvania, holds a doctorate in physical therapy. He said many of the injuries he sees come from people jumping from a sedentary lifestyle onto the pickleball court without a lot of preparation.

One particular challenge with pickleball, Herting said, is that, like tennis, pickleball has a lot of sudden power-based movements, a skill that deteriorates as people age. Leaping suddenly for a ball or pushing off to run puts a lot of stress on the Achilles tendon, potentially causing tears.

“Obviously, we recommend that people maintain their strength to be able to play pickleball and maintain tissue elasticity,” Herting said.

“But on top of that, think about introducing power-based exercise. It doesn’t have to be these big-box jumps that you see NFL players doing, but like simply jumping rope, which is a great activity. That’s a low barrier of entry.”

Start simply and build up, even if it’s starting with 10 repetitions, he said. People can start by holding onto a wall and practicing an explosive calf raise where the toes don’t leave the ground, building up to maintain balance.

© 2025 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Tips to help reduce age-related memory lapses

By Howard LeWine, M.D.

Q: As expected at my age, I am having more trouble quickly retrieving information and remembering names. What might help?

A: At some point, most older adults experience “senior moments.” You misplace your phone or keys, lose your train of thought during a conversation, forget a person’s name, or walk into a room and don’t remember why.

These moments of brain fogginess can be stressful and embarrassing. But if these are the only symptoms, they usually are not a cause for concern.

People often notice memory lapses beginning in their 50s or 60s. This is when age-related chemical and structural changes begin in brain regions devoted to memory, such as the hippocampus and frontal lobes.

Yet age is not always to blame. Your doc-

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tor can help you sort out whether there are other problems contributing to your memory lapses. Here are some of the possibilities:

Depression, anxiety or chronic stress can disrupt the brain’s ability to focus, process and access information. They can also cause negative and preoccupying thoughts that keep people from focusing and being present, which may contribute to memory issues.

Brain fogginess can be a common side effect of some medications. If you are taking a new prescription or over the counter drug, ask your doctor or pharmacist if it could be affecting your cognition.

Sleep problems, such as sleeping less than the recommended seven to nine hours nightly, fragmented sleep and sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea, also affect cognitive function.

What to do about it

Even though most memory lapses are normal, you can take measures to manage and improve your existing brain skills. Here are some memory obstacles people encounter and ways to deal with them.

Absentmindedness: This happens when you take on too many tasks or get distracted. When faced with multiple tasks, make a list, put them in order of impor-

tance, and focus on only one at a time before moving on to the next.

Setting up routines and reminders can also help. For example, put a “memory table” by your front door or in the bedroom where you place vital objects, like your phone, medicines, keys and glasses.

Blocking: A common example of blocking is remembering and recalling names. When you meet someone, try linking that person with something that may help trigger name recall, like their hobby, work, background or spouse.

Another method is to associate the person with someone with the same name or a similar one, like a relative, celebrity or movie character.

Transience: Transience is the loss over time of certain memories like facts and events.

To help retain specific memories, keep the information active in your memory. For instance, share it in conversation whenever possible, record it for future reference or look at related photographs.

Howard LeWine, M.D., is an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. For additional consumer health information, visit health.harvard.edu. © 2025 Harvard University. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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How to save money on prescriptions

Have you ever been standing at the pharmacy counter, minding your own business, when the clerk says, “That’ll be $958,” and you briefly exit your body? I used to be that pharmacist delivering the sticker shock, though I always tried to soften the blow.

I’ve seen people turn pale, mutter words I can’t print here, and leave the pharmacy crying. Back in the 1990s, we didn’t have Google at our fingertips or smartphones in our pockets, and patient assistance programs (PAPs) were mostly reserved for people with no insurance at all.

long lines.

Besides, it’s always up to the consumer to find the best price on things they want to buy. Just so you know, pharmacists are salaried, so it doesn’t affect their pay whether you’re charged a skyhigh price or get your medication for nothing.

DEAR PHARMACIST

By Suzy Cohen

Today, I want to be your hero and explain more about PAPs and how they can slash the cost of many brand-name prescriptions. These programs are offered by the manufacturer, not the pharmacy, and you can save a small fortune if you know how.

Here’s an example: A friend’s husband was prescribed Xifaxan for stubborn stomach symptoms. His doctor prescribed 42 tablets (a two-week supply). The pharmacy price comes up at $2,448. The poor guy nearly needed CPR. His wife (my friend) texted me in a panic. I said, “Don’t pay that — give me a minute.”

Step 1: I Googled “Xifaxan copay card.”

Ten seconds. I see that the manufacturer has a savings program on their website. Many brand-name drugs do. I let her know.

Step 2: They filled out the form, which requires name, email, insurance info, and 30 seconds later — boom! The site instantly generated a digital “card” with four magic numbers: BIN, PCN, group and ID.

Step 3: She read those numbers to the pharmacist.

The price dropped from $2,448 to about $759. That’s a 70% savings in under five minutes! Tell me that isn’t sorcery.

Another quick example: A doctor prescribed a topical analgesic product called Pennsaid for knee pain. The item is priced at $1,500. (Just FYI, Pennsaid is just diclofenac, what you probably know as Voltaren Gel.) I found a PAP for Pennsaid itself, and the price dropped from $1,500 to free for this particular patient!

You might be wondering, why doesn’t the pharmacy tell me if there’s a PAP for a medicine? Because they’re juggling interactions, insurance rejections, refills and

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So you have to become a savvy patient. Here’s how:

1. Google your medication name plus “savings program” or “copay card.”

2. Click ONLY the manufacturer’s website.

3. Fill out the quick form.

4. Screenshot the card with the BIN, PCN number, group number and ID.

5. Call the pharmacy and read the numbers.

6. Watch the price collapse.

If you’d like the full, expanded version of this article with even more money-saving examples and tips, just head over to suzycohen.com and sign up for my free newsletter.

This information is opinion only. It is not

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MEMORY SCREENINGS

intended to treat, cure or diagnose your condition. Consult with your doctor before using any new drug or supplement.

Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist and author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist and Real Solutions from Head to Toe

Free memory screenings are available for adults concerned about memory loss or experiencing warning signs of dementia. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America offers free screening appointments via smartphone, computer or tablet. You can schedule an appointment at bit.ly/memoryscreenings or by calling 1-866-232-8484.

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The Red Cross is seeking blood donors, especially type O and platelet donors. To schedule an appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

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Irvington neighbors support each other

By Peter Smith

Across the country, small groups are working to rebuild social connections amid rising loneliness in their own modest ways. Here in Baltimore, one neighborhood is trying to build a culture of giving and mutual support.

It sounds simple to build relationships. But by many measures, Americans are socially disconnected at historic levels.

They’re joining civic groups, clubs and unions at lower rates than in generations. Recent polling shows that membership rates in religious congregations are around the lowest in nearly a century.

Americans have fewer close friends than they used to. They trust each other less. They’re hanging out less in shared public places like coffee shops and parks.

About one in six adults feels lonely all or most of the time. It’s the same for about one in four young adults.

No one has a simple solution. But small

groups with diverse missions and makeups are recognizing that social disconnection is a big part of the problems they’re trying to address, and reconnection is part of the solution.

“We need to build a movement centered around connection,” former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told The Associated Press. “The good news is that that movement is already starting to build. … What we have to do now is accelerate that movement.”

In 2023, Murthy issued a report on an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” similar to previous surgeon generals’ reports on smoking and obesity. Social isolation and loneliness “are independent risk factors for several major health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and premature mortality,” it said.

Cleaning up together

On an October afternoon in Irvington, in Southwest Baltimore, neighbors set out

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trays heaped with vegan jambalaya, beet salad, fresh-roasted goat meat and more. A rooster crowed insistently from a nearby backyard.

Before the feast, dozens of visitors gathered for a walking tour of the neighborhood. Their tour guide, resident Ulysses Archie, described how this short block of Collins Avenue became a hub of backyard farming, environmental cleanup and neighborly connection.

Visitors got a peek at hens and rabbits raised by neighbors, then explored a “Peace Park” in a once-abandoned lot that now hosts food distributions and summer camps for local kids. Neighbors described how they helped clear overgrowth and create footpaths in an adjacent urban forest.

“The core of what we do is building relationships, and building relationships with nature,” Archie said.

Archie and his neighbors described their “intentional” community — not a formal program, but a commitment to caring for each other and the wider community through potlucks to rides to childcare.

‘Responsible for each other’

Michael Sarbanes and his late wife, Jill Wrigley, moved to the neighborhood three decades ago. They spent long hours mentoring youth and volunteering.

“We were burning out,” Sarbanes recalled. They recognized, “We need to be doing this in community.”

They reached out to other families involved in social justice work. Though not everyone on the block is an active partici-

pant, several moved in or got involved over the years.

Some belong to a local Catholic Worker group. Others are Protestants, Muslims or those with no religion other than “believing we are responsible for each other,” said resident Suzanne Fontanesi.

Participants include Ulysses and Chrysalinn Archie, who founded the Baltimore Gift Economy, a small nonprofit.

Years earlier, Ulysses Archie suffered an injury that left him struggling financially and emotionally.

He joined an urban farming program, “put my hands in the soil, and my life was kind of normal again,” he said. That healing work helped inspire the backyard farming.

While the Archies appreciated the charities that supported their family during his long recovery, they often felt treated impersonally.

With the Baltimore Gift Economy, they’re seeking a more personal approach. A couple times a week, for example, they place food donated by nearby organic stores at the Peace Park. Participants take what suits their diet and needs.

Participants are respectful and don’t hoard food, which is “presented as a gift,” Ulysses Archie said.

The group encourages recipients “to realize that they have something to give,” he said.

Myk Lewis, 56, who returned to Baltimore after years in California, tends chickens and rabbits in his backyard. Neighbors support him as he cares for his aging mother.

“I probably wouldn’t have been able to move back and start my life over if it wasn’t for them,” he said.

Visitors of all ages are invited to welcome the Year of the Horse with art-making, photo booth fun, food, storytime sessions and performances by Baltimore Chinese School and Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe.

The celebration takes place on Sat., Feb. 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Register at thewalters.org/experience/programs/lny or call (410) 547-9000.

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Make some comfort food for dinner this winter

By Family Features

If the holiday season made you want to avoid the kitchen at all costs, a one-pan weeknight meal can help you spend less time at the kitchen counter.

Turn to this Cheesy Spinach Chicken Bake for a casserole that’s equal parts filling, satisfying and simple. It can easily be adapted to your taste by swapping out spinach for broccoli or cauliflower.

Cheesy Spinach Chicken Bake

Recipe courtesy of “Cookin’ Savvy”

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and

drained

15 ounces ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon lemon thyme

Directions

Heat oven to 375° F.

Cut rotisserie chicken and spinach into bite-sized pieces. In a baking dish, mix chicken and spinach with ricotta cheese.

Add mozzarella, Parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and lemon thyme. Mix well, then bake 30 minutes. For more recipes, visit Culinary.net.

Good ways to sneak more fiber into your diet

By Victoria Whittington

How we eat during the holidays can be very different from the rest of the year.

One big change during this season? Your fiber intake may have taken a hit. Consuming enough dietary fiber daily supports your health in many ways. After age 50, women should have around 22 grams of fiber per day, while men should aim for 28 grams per day.

Check out these dietitian-approved tips for eating more fiber in the new year.

1. Start early in the day: Julia Stevens, M.P.H., RDN, CPT, registered dietitian with Active Nutrition, recommends starting the day with a fiber-packed breakfast.

“It’s hard to catch up on your fiber later in the day,” she said. “I recommend adding a tablespoon of chia seeds to breakfast. Mix it into your oatmeal, overnight oats, yogurt or a smoothie to boost that fiber and get you started on the right foot,” Stevens added. One tablespoon of chia seeds has about 5 grams of fiber.

Another idea for a fiber-packed breakfast is to make an egg and veggie bake.

“It is easy to make and can be prepared ahead so that your breakfast is ready to be warmed up in the microwave throughout the week. Add a variety of vegetables to get in more fiber,” said Kate Reeder, M.C.N., RDN, a registered dietitian.

2. Use fruits in desserts: Fruit is a sweet treat and an excellent source of fiber.

That’s why Lilian Shepherd, RD, CDCES, suggests choosing dessert recipes packed with fruit.

Berries with whipped cream are one dessert she recommends. You can also make a berry mix to serve over Greek yogurt.

3. Add almonds or nuts: One strategy to increase fiber intake is to add nuts to your meals, according to Patricia Kolesa, M.S., RDN, founder of Dietitian Dish. “Almonds can be easily added as part of a charcuterie board or cheese plate as an appetizer, blended into an almond butter spread, or used in desserts like cookies and clusters,” Kolesa said. A 1-ounce serving of almonds has about 3.5 grams of fiber.

4. Give vegetables a starring role: Instead of making vegetable side dishes, make them the star of the show. Shepherd suggests combining roasted Brussels sprouts and squash and roasting the vegetables in the same pan. Cranberries can add a sweet-tart edge.

5. Eat more chilis, stews and soups: Enjoying more soups, stews and chilis during the winter is a simple and satisfying way to boost your fiber intake. “Packed with fiber-rich ingredients like beans, lentils, vegetables and whole grains,

these hearty dishes help you stay fuller longer while supporting digestive health,” Shepherd said.

6. Eat consistently throughout the day: Many people skip meals and snacks around the holidays to “save up” for the meals they’ll enjoy later, but this can be more harmful than helpful. Not only does it interfere with your fiber intake, but meal skipping may also lead to headaches, irritability and overeating.

Eating consistently while consciously choosing high-fiber foods will help you eat more fiber. It also keeps blood sugar levels stable and increases feelings of fullness, helping to prevent overeating later in the day.

EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life; visit eatingwell.com.

© 2025 Dotdash Meredith. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MoneyMoney Law & Ditch traditional retirement expectations

By Richard P. Himmer

In the mid-1800s, a young Hungarian doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis made a discovery that should have saved countless lives.

While working at the Vienna General Hospital, he noticed that women giving birth in the doctors’ ward were dying from childbed fever at a staggering rate — five times higher than those in the midwives’ ward.

After months of observation, Semmelweis realized the horrifying truth: Doctors were performing autopsies in the morning, then delivering babies immediately afterward without washing their hands.

He proposed something radical — wash with a chlorine solution before touching a patient. The results were miraculous. Death rates dropped from nearly 30% to just 1% to 2%.

But rather than celebrating him, his peers ridiculed and rejected him. Why? Because his discovery challenged tradition.

The medical establishment believed that “a gentleman’s hands are clean,” and to suggest otherwise was an insult to their pride. Their refusal to adapt cost thousands of lives.

Semmelweis’ story offers a parallel to another tradition — one that quietly claims lives today. It’s the way many people approach retirement.

A tradition that no longer works

For generations, the traditional mindset

about retirement has been singular:

Accumulate enough money to stop working.

Success was measured in account balances, not in the quality or purpose of one’s days. The goal was to retire “on time” with a full nest egg and spend your later years in comfort — or, at least, in security.

That approach once made sense. In the industrial era, retirement was short. People retired around age 65 and lived, on average, less than 10 more years.

But in the 21st century, that same model is fatally outdated.

Today, many retirees will live 25 to 30 years after leaving the workforce. That’s an entire second adulthood. Yet most people still plan as if money alone will ensure fulfillment, health and longevity. It won’t.

Research consistently shows the opposite: Those who retire without structure, purpose or social connection experience faster cognitive decline, higher rates of depression, even shortened life expectancy.

It’s not that money doesn’t matter — it does. But money is not the goal; it’s the means to sustain the life you want to live.

The real risk: running out of meaning

Every financial planner has heard it: “I just want to make sure I don’t outlive my money.” But the data tells a deeper story.

According to the study “Association Between Life Purpose and Mortality Among U.S. Adults Older Than 50 Years,” published on JAMA Network Open ,

retirees who lack purpose are more likely to experience early mortality — even when they’re financially secure.

Purpose, structure and social connection are as essential to health as nutrition or exercise.

When work ends, so do many of the routines and relationships that define our days. Without something meaningful to replace them, the mind and body start to atrophy.

This is where the “Semmelweis effect” creeps into modern retirement: People resist change not because they don’t know better, but because they’re trapped by tradition.

The old formula — save, stop working, relax — is so deeply ingrained that questioning it feels almost heretical. Yet, clinging to it can be deadly.

Redefining retirement

The future of retirement planning must evolve beyond numbers on a page. The best advisers are starting to recognize this shift, helping clients design lives, not just portfolios.

Financial security should serve a bigger purpose — to enable a lifestyle rich in meaning, relationships, health and contribution.

This approach asks new questions:

• What will give your days structure after work ends?

• Who will you spend time with?

• How will you stay mentally and

physically engaged?

• What personal or community goals will drive you forward?

Money becomes the supporting actor, not the star. It funds experiences, enables generosity, supports wellness and removes barriers to engagement. It’s the tool that gives life shape — but it’s not life itself.

A call to action

Today’s retirees — and the professionals who guide them — must admit that their old models of retirement are no longer healthy.

A fulfilling retirement doesn’t begin with a balance sheet; it begins with a blueprint for living. Financial freedom is only meaningful when it supports a life of purpose, connection and vitality.

Perhaps it’s time to do what Semmelweis urged his peers to do — wash our hands of outdated traditions and embrace the science of living well.

The goal of retirement isn’t merely to avoid running out of money. It’s to avoid running out of life.

To learn more, pick up my new book, Your Encore Years: The Psychology of Retirement.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

© 2025 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Your questions on taxes and Social Security

By Elliot Raphaelson

Q: I am confused by the advantages, if any, of using qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) to contribute to charity after I reach 70½, as I am not required yet to take minimum distributions from my IRA. I have read different conclusions. Some sources indicate that there are no tax advantages. In your columns, you have indicated that there are tax advantages. Which is correct?

A: There are definite tax advantages. Slott points out that when you make a contribution to a qualified charity by way of a QCD, you are allowed to reduce your modified adjusted income by the amount of

your QCD contribution, so you are, in effect, reducing your taxes by the amount of your QCD multiplied by your marginal tax bracket. The IRS concurs with this.

Q: In a recent column, you suggested that readers contact their congressional representatives to pass legislation that will provide more income to Social Security so that benefits will not have to be cut in the future. Isn’t it true that the recent legislation did not impact Social Security regulations?

A: That is correct. However, the legislation that was passed at the end of 2024 to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) increased benefits for Social Secu-

rity recipients by hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Although the new legislation passed in 2025 did not provide additional benefits to Social Security participants, the legislation did not provide any new sources of income to the government regarding Social Security. Without significant changes to Social Security regulations in the next few years, it is highly likely that Social Security benefits will have to be reduced in the future.

Q: I plan on purchasing gold coins for investment and possibly provide gifts to some relatives. What are the tax considerations if there are increases in value?

A: An excellent source for this issue is

“Your Guide to Paying Taxes on Precious Metals” by Hero Bullion (herobullion.com; (214) 210-9948).

If you hold the coins for longer than one year before you redeem them, then you can report the gains as long-term capital gains on your tax return.

If you only hold the coins for less than a year, then you have to report the gains and pay tax based on your marginal tax rate. You are allowed to deduct any expenses such as sales tax or storage expenses on your return.

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questions and comments at raphelliot@gmail.com. © 2025 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Tips for job hunting during middle age

By Jayashree Sitaraman

Losing a job is stressful. I worked as a scientist in the federal government for the past 20 years and was laid off last year. Needless to say, it is devastating.

As I look for a job now, I realize how difficult and frustrating it is, as a person in my mid-50s, to find employment in this terrible job market.

Here’s what works for me to reduce stress during my job search. I hope that it will help others in a similar situation.

First, tell yourself it’s okay to feel frustration — and even a tinge of envy for those who still have jobs. Just don’t wallow in it. Acknowledge that we live in unprecedented times.

Accept help from young adults

The last time I had to look for a job, back in 2022, I asked for help from the younger generation. My college-age son helped me polish my resume and gave me tips to prepare for interviews.

This time around, my younger son is helping me troubleshoot technical issues in the job application process.

Ask for help from your young adult children, nephews, nieces, grandchildren or even neighbors. Most likely they are techsavvy and miles ahead of us in speed when it comes to tech-related matters.

Connect with fellow job seekers

Some of us are not that into networking. I get it. If you have been at the same job for several years, you may not have grown your network. Just try to connect with others at your own pace and do whatever is comfortable for you. In middle age, we measure connections by quality, not quantity.

Reach out to others in your field to ask about available positions. Use LinkedIn to connect with others.

Career fairs are good for networking and connections, as well as picking up goodies.

Volunteer your time

If you were a federal employee, you value public service. You can still give back to society. I volunteered at a career fair, and I enjoyed the experience of meeting people. Instead of staying at home, get out there and help. Who knows? Maybe the person next to you at the food pantry will lead you to your next job.

Apply for benefits

I filed for unemployment benefits, and I was happy to see my first check arrive. Though it isn’t much, it is still good to get something in the form of a check.

If you are over age 60 (or over 62 in Maryland), you may be eligible for discounted groceries. Apply for Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by contacting your local Department of Aging.

Take a break from applying

Try to take a break from applying for jobs. Designate specific times or days to search for positions and apply for them.

Even if you search and apply for jobs nonstop, 24/7, it doesn’t mean that you will get a job the next day. We may be unemployed, but we have other things to do, and

our time is valuable.

Pursue your hobbies

Remember that hobby you shelved for lack of time while raising children or working 40 or more hours per week? Now is the perfect time to get back to it.

Take a class, exercise, learn a language, join a book club or writing group — anything to get your mind off being unemployed.

Travel Leisure &

We missed the olive harvest but loved Greece

By Tony Glaros

Less than an hour after my wife, Mary, and I arrived in Athens, we hit the road again, jet lag aside. We hopped aboard a bus for a twisty, three-hour ride to Kalamata.

For my wife, seeing the renowned olivegrowing region in the southern Peloponnese, between the Gulf of Messenia and the foothills of the Taygetos Mountains, had been on her bucket list for years.

Her late mother, misty-eyed and bursting with energy, would mesmerize us with tales about her hometown of Kalamata — how, as a young woman, she would walk an hour each way to school. This journey resonated with me, too. Both of us wanted to see the village where the nervous wartime bride set sail to a new world.

We arrived in October, hoping to time our 150-mile excursion to the upcoming olive harvest. Greece, with as many as 170 million olive trees, ranks third in global olive production (after Spain and Italy).

For years, I’d heard about the unique olive harvest in Kalamata and the surrounding region. These characteristic plump, purple, almond-shaped beauties hold power over me whenever I spot them at Whole Foods. For the most part, Kalamata farmers still harvest them in the ancient way, by beating branches with sticks until the olives freefall onto a tarpaulin on rocky soil.

The harvest season typically runs from late November until late December, even into January, depending on the weather.

While I had aimed for our trip to coincide with reaping, it turned out we had shown up about two to three weeks too early.

A young hotel manager broke the news to us. “The harvest times vary. You never know,” he said, standing ramrod straight like a Spartan warrior.

The olive industry, he went on, “has always been a part of my life here in Kalamata. My family has 43 trees. We have never bought olive oil from a store.”

For the most part, he told us, olive growers are small, family-run enterprises. It’s not uncommon, though, for a farmer with thousands of trees to merge with another large grower.

After all, the act of getting olives off the tree “is one of the hardest things you can do,” he said. “You spend eight hours under the sun, inside the trees.”

Greece’s Fourth of July

Although missing the harvest was a disappointment, we realized that we were just in time for a grand celebration: Oxi Day.

Growing up in Maryland, I had heard snatches of conversation from Greek immigrants about the significance of October 28. Based on the carnival atmosphere in the city, I had a moment of clarity: This holiday is tantamount to the Fourth of July.

On October 28, 1940, during World War II, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered Greece to relinquish control of portions of its land. Failure to do so would result in an attack by the Axis powers.

Tiny and neutral as Greece was, however, it adamantly refused. That action set the stage for what would become a national holiday known as Oxi — “no” in Greek — Day.

To celebrate, schools, offices, and many small businesses across the country shut down. There’s free admission to museums and archeological sites, including the Acropolis.

On this crisp fall morning, my wife and I decided to walk the three miles downtown to watch the parade, to be swept up in the glow.

Flapping from every direction were blueand-white Greek flags, including those on weatherbeaten fishing boats chugging through the calm, turquoise water toward the harbor. Of course, restaurants and cafés, hoping to convert a slice of unfettered patriotism into euros, were open.

On the way, we came across a neighborhood eatery. How could we resist an early lunch?

“Excuse me,” I said to our server, trying to salvage the Greek I learned as a child. “Can you please bring butter?”

The server, a woman in her 70s, cast a pitying look in my direction. “No butter,” came her terse reply. “Here, we only use olive oil on bread.”

Embarrassed, I remembered that this was Kalamata. No wonder she reacted the way she did.

In the far corner of the unadorned dining room, a worker sat snapping green

beans for a signature stew called fasolakia Every few minutes, the waitstaff, balancing trays of moussaka, pastitsio and avgolemono soup, would bump against each other in the narrow aisles.

Flavoring the scene were the unfiltered sounds floating from the kitchen. Though they sounded like arguments, these squabbles had the lifespan of a dinner plate smashed at a Greek wedding: over and out. My mind jumped back to a T-shirt my sister bought me decades ago that read, “I’m Not Yelling. I’m Greek. This is How We Talk.”

While awaiting our food, we chatted with another customer, who, it turned out, had lived in Kalamata his whole life.

“I tell everyone if they really want to take a vacation, we have the best beaches, and we have the best Mediterranean food,” he said. “It’s like a small city. Not a lot of cars. Not a lot of people. Almost no crime.”

On to Corfu

While most discussions about visiting Greece inevitably pivot to the seductive Aegean islands, the Peloponnese offers more than olive groves.

Buoyed by the loveliness of Kalamata, we decided to remain on the western side of the country to see Corfu.

Unlike the parched Aegean landscape, Corfu is lush and green, reminiscent of Italy.

Escape the winter in the Cayman Islands

By Victor Block

When Mother Nature is battering us with winter’s chill, some of us dream of a Caribbean getaway. I recently visited the Cayman Islands and found that, along with typical sun, sand and surf attractions, these three islands have a wide choice of enticing things to see and do.

Their name comes from the ArawakTaíno people, who visited the islands and called them “Caiman” (crocodile) after the semiaquatic reptiles there.

Mention the word Caribbean, and beaches probably come to mind. Those on the Cayman Islands are varied, inviting and covered with postcard-perfect, soft, white sand.

The now-misnamed Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman, where erosion has diminished the beach to about 5.5 miles long, has been declared one of the Caribbean’s “Ultimate Beaches” by Caribbean Travel & Life magazine.

I found Cemetery Beach, nestled at the end of Seven Mile, to be much less crowded. It’s named for the adjacent burial ground, whose weathered headstones relate pages from the islands’ past.

That antiquity is well worth recalling. Early settlers who found their way to the archipelago included shipwrecked pirates, deserters from English troops in Jamaica

and others seeking sanctuary.

Each island offers its own attractions and activities. Grand Cayman, largest of the three (22 miles long, eight miles wide), is home to Stingray City, a group of shallow sandbars where those unusual creatures congregate. After receiving assurances that I could walk among and even pet the strange looking animals, I got close up and personal with several of them.

Little Cayman lives up — or, rather, down — to its name. As one of the least developed islands in the Caribbean, it offers almost unspoiled natural beauty and relaxation.

On Cayman Brac, I encountered rugged terrain and hidden caves, some of which were used by pirates to stash their treasure. This is a birdwatcher’s paradise, where more than 200 species of residents and migrators have been recorded.

Touring the historic Cayman Brac Heritage House, I was introduced to snippets of the past. The building is an old Caymanian home, one of a number of examples of the local heritage.

Historic sites

Christopher Columbus came upon the three unpopulated islands in 1503, during his last journey. But there’s much more history to explore.

Other places also bring stories of the past to the present. The Cayman Islands National Museum keeps alive the islands’ seafaring history. Intricate ship models are displayed near relics recovered from shipwrecks that dot the surrounding reefs.

Visitors to the Central Caribbean Marine Institute learn about the life, and death, of coral; reef restoration; and other solutions to declining ocean health.

I entered a very different setting at Pedro St. James, built in 1780 by people enslaved by an English settler who established a cotton and mahogany plantation. That “Great House” has coralrock walls, wide verandas, shuttered windows and a slate roof brought from England. In December 1831, it hosted a

meeting to form the Cayman Islands’ elected parliament, earning it the title “Birthplace of Caymanian Democracy.”

Another Caymanian house, which is more than a century old, greeted me at Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park. It’s surrounded by wetlands, forested areas and manicured gardens that serve as a haven for blue iguanas, an endangered animal which is endemic to Grand Cayman.

Capital city sights

A very different scene awaits visitors to George Town, capital city of the Cayman Islands. Despite its relatively small size

Its dominant architectural influence comes from its years as a Venetian stronghold. Other conquerors included the Byzantines, French and British. Given the islanders’ emphasis on building fortifications, the Turks never touched Corfu, unlike most of Greece.

When we arrived on a rainy morning, we immediately set out for Corfu’s Old Town, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Its cobblestone alleys were dotted with a variety of tavernas, or cafés. Bakeries displayed kumquat and sykomaida , a beloved fig cake and favorite among islanders. Several Greek Orthodox churches stood practically within the shadows of one another.

As raindrops slid down the canopy outside a shop that sold coffee and kumquats, the owner spoke to us. “When people think of Greek islands,” he said, “they think of Mykonos, Santorini, Crete.” Forming a clockwise sweep with his thick arm, he added, “But they are too busy. We

need tourists’ money. But we also like the peace.”

Back to Athens

With our time in Greece’s west at an end, we headed back to Athens. We stayed in a sweet gem of a hotel in the historic center where the staff learned our names. The front desk served trays overflowing with confections called loukoumi

With the Parthenon beckoning from on high, we had to see it up close. Since it was Monday morning, we assumed the crowd would be thin. We thought wrong.

Humanity crossing every conceivable demographic joined us in scaling level upon level of slippery rocks. Some trekkers wondered aloud where the elevator was located. Negatives aside, reaching the summit was well worth the pain involved.

Later, our son, Andrew, joined us in Athens, and we all walked to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Inside, we marveled at its many pieces of ancient Greek art. Its most famous work is a Roman copy of a statue of Athena that used

to stand in the Acropolis.

One of our favorite displays wasn’t art at all: A device known as the Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analog computer used to calculate time and solar eclipses. While I gawked at this tool that didn’t run on bandwidth, my son checked out the statues, like the Jockey of Artemision , a stunning bronze statue of a galloping horse and child rider.

Greek values

Most of the people we met in Greece shared an outspokenness that we loved. For instance, one cab driver admitted that

he wasn’t a big fan of the Parthenon: “I understand seeing it once, but twice or three times? It’s just a pile of rocks.”

Later, we chatted with a local woman about ways Greece could bolster its economy beyond tourism, noting that many visitors come away with glowing reports about the country’s easier, less complicated lifestyle.

I asked her what the government’s plans were to make life better in the birthplace of western civilization.

“There is no plan,’’ she asserted. “Here, people throw up their hands and say, ‘Opa! Let’s go out for lunch!’”

Sounds like the right plan to me.

(population about 40,000), the metropolis plays a big role in local tourism.

Up to four cruise ships at a time may dock in the harbor, disgorging passengers eager to take advantage of tax-free shopping opportunities and experience a quick taste of what the islands have to offer.

George Town is the quintessential Caribbean waterfront community, with Technicolor wooden buildings that vie for attention with the surrounding natural hues. There’s no shortage of diversions to satisfy history buffs, from ruins of fortifications to a rum distillery to structures remaining from the 19th century.

Shopping and sun worshipping, combined with a wide choice of other things to see and do, make the Cayman Islands an inviting destination, especially, especially during the winter months.

If you go

The Cayman Islands are the Caribbean’s

self-proclaimed leading luxury lifestyle destination, so it’s not surprising to come upon a line of high-priced hotels along Seven Mile Beach. By contrast, The Locale offers budget-stretching accommodations, a pool, restaurant and included breakfast. Double room rates begin at $180 (staylocale.com).

Grand Cayman also is the self-described Culinary Capital of the Caribbean, with more than 200 restaurants to support that claim. Dining options focus upon fresh seafood and traditional island specialties like grilled or broiled fish, oxtail stew and conch (pronounced conk), prepared many ways.

Among factors that make visiting the Cayman Islands convenient are that you may use U.S. money. Public beaches are everywhere, and, for snorkelers, colorful reefs and marine life are just offshore.

Although you must drive on the left, in the British tradition, the roads are wellpaved, and I found most Caymanians to be cautious and courteous motorists.

For more information, see visitcaymanislands.com.

Arts & Style

See cover story on p. 20.

Vagabond’s play dives into the making of Jaws

By Dan Collins

Half a century ago, theaters across the U.S. filled to capacity to watch a film about a giant man-eating shark that terrorizes a summer resort town in New England.

The movie Jaws followed a series of similar disaster-themed films like The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure and Earthquake , all with a simple formula: something terrible (fire, flipped ship, shaking ground) befalls people, several stalwart souls come together to save the day and each other. The End.

Well, turns out Jaws was not just another deliver-us-from-bad-things flick. In fact, it gave birth to the whole notion of “summer blockbusters,” changing Hollywood forever.

But if you asked Jaws stars Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw at the time if they thought they were making cinematic history, they’d have responded with an expletive-laced “ya gotta be (bleeping) kidding!”

That’s the premise of Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon’s play, The Shark Is Broken, a humorous and touching look at these three iconic actors as they endured nine weeks of filming aboard the Orca, a decaying wooden lobster boat, on Menemsha Channel near Martha’s Vineyard in 1974.

And Ian Shaw ought to know. The son of Robert Shaw, Ian was on the set of his fa-

ther’s film as a child, and it is his memories that formed the basis of the script.

The elder Shaw died just three years after the movie came out. Ian Shaw co-wrote the play, which premiered in England in 2019. In a limited r un on Broadway in 2023, Ian Shaw played the role of his father.

The Shark Is Broken is no “behind the scenes” documentary, however. Shaw and Nixon have fashioned a dramedy of sorts that mixes laughs with poignant moments, such as the alcoholic senior Shaw’s determination to both write and then deliver one of the most powerful moments in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film.

Three strong actors

Which brings us to the three-man ensemble who spend this 90-minute Vagabond Players production on a set made to resemble the galley of the Orca where Shaw, as Quint, delivers his harrowing tale of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the close of World War II.

Andy Belt (Dreyfuss), Doug Krehbel (R. Shaw) and Matthew Lindsay Payne (Scheider) are exemplary in their performances.

Belt portrays Dreyfuss as a self-doubting, fame-obsessed young actor, seeking

the role that will catapult him to stardom. Belt seems to draw on ‘70s-era Woody Allen in his cadence and delivery, and it works well. A scene where Belt portrays Dreyfuss imitating both Shaw and Scheider was not only perhaps the funniest moment in the play, but a tribute to Belt’s skills as an actor.

Krehbel’s Shaw uses his height to his advantage, towering over Belt’s Dreyfuss, a physical reminder of Shaw’s status as a well-established and respected English actor whom we learn was a friend of Nobel Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Harold Pinter — a plot point which makes for a running joke in the play.

Krehbel does not try to imitate Shaw as much as he tries to inhabit Shaw’s essence — a man in pain who lost his father by suicide when he was a boy, seeking escape on stage and in a whiskey bottle. As one character notes, how much of Shaw is the character Quint? Through Krehbel’s performance, we find they may indeed have had much in common.

While Krehbel and Belt spar over the absurdity of acting as a profession and who can scoot a coin across a table the farthest without it falling off, Payne plays Scheider as a calming influence between the two.

Payne’s Scheider sets himself apart from his cohorts, almost always sitting in a corner of the galley, finding refuge in daily newspaper headlines and sunbathing on the ship’s deck.

Well-paced play

Stephen M. Deininger does a masterful job as the play’s director, keeping a sprightly pace with telling pieces of music to transition between scenes. Whether through his efforts or just the natural talents of the actors, there is excellent chemistry between these three men on stage as their characters explore the nature of their roles and each other.

One is reminded a bit of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, only in this case, Godot is a broken, three-ton, 25-foot mechanical shark named Bruce.

Will they need a bigger boat? The better question is, will they need a bigger theater? Sell-outs are definitely warranted given the caliber of this fine production.

The Shark Is Broken continues its run at the Vagabond Players theater, 806 S. Broadway in downtown Baltimore, now through Feb. 1, 2026. For tickets, cast and show information, visit vagabondplayers.org or call (410) 563-9135.

In sixth book, author uncovers real Uncle Tom

By Hannah Collins

At 80 years old, Marylander Susan Cooke Soderberg has published the latest in a line of six history books.

In My Name Is Not Tom: The Life of the Reverend Josiah Henson , published last year by Georgetown University Press, Soderberg highlights Josiah Henson, who supposedly inspired the Uncle Tom character in Uncle Tom’s Cabin

“History has always been a passion of mine; finding the facts,” Soderberg said in an interview with the Beacon. “I’m a seeker of truth.”

The book was 10 years in the making. During her research, Soderberg and her husband, Bill, traveled to several of the places Henson lived and visited, gathering information from archives, libraries and museums.

“We tend to think along linear lines when we look at history,” Soderberg said. “African American history and the history of slavery and white history…it’s all our history. We share this history.”

The historical Uncle Tom

Harriet Beecher Stowe originally published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. The only book to sell more copies than Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the entire 19th century was the Bible.

Stowe, an abolitionist, was looking for inspiration from someone with enough Christian piety to become a self-sacrificial martyr. She came across the 1849 autobiography of a man named Josiah Henson.

A devout Christian, Henson had developed a talent for preaching and orating, and Stowe decided he fit the bill. Since then, Henson has been associated with the subservient character of Uncle Tom.

Long before he was labeled “the real Uncle Tom,” Henson was born into slavery in Charles County, Maryland. He was maimed

at a young age by his owner’s neighbor and as a result was unable to raise his hands above his shoulders for the rest of his life.

Henson achieved a degree of fame years before Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. He became an abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor and encountered many important people, including Frederick Douglass. On his book tour, he even met Queen Victoria.

Unlike his fictional counterpart, who was whipped to death, Henson had a happier ending: He purchased his own freedom in 1829, at the age of 33. He then escaped to Canada with his wife and four children, who were still enslaved, in 1830.

Later, Henson became frustrated with being introduced or referred to as “Uncle Tom.” In fact, the title of Soderberg’s book, My Name Is Not Tom, is taken from a speech Henson gave while on a book tour in Scotland.

A historian’s story

Soderberg fell in love with history while growing up in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. She received her bachelor’s degree in art history from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in American Studies from George Washington University.

When Soderberg’s two daughters were Girl Scouts, they wanted to receive their Local Lore badges, but it was difficult to find information on local history in the area. Soderberg decided to record the history herself by writing a weekly history column for the Gazette newspaper.

Since then, she has published multiple books and scholarly articles. Her book Lest We Forget: A Guide to Civil War Monuments in Maryland was developed from her master’s thesis and led her to serve on the Governor’s Commission on Maryland

Military Monuments. She also published books about the B&O Railroad, Civil War correspondents, and the history of Germantown, Maryland, where she lives.

Soderberg also worked as a professional historian. In her job as public historian with the Montgomery County Park and Planning Commission, which she held from 1999 until 2008, she created exhibits for a historic slave cabin and a farmstead. She also helped create the Underground Railroad Experience Trail in Sandy Spring.

After her retirement, Soderberg was able to devote more time to writing.

Next book in the works

Looking forward, Soderberg plans to write more books, including a biography of Jane Claudia Saunders Johnson, who founded a women’s hospital in Baltimore after the Civil War.

In the meantime, her hope for My Name Is Not Tom is that it will help readers better understand slavery in America and its repercussions.

Historian Susan Cooke Soderberg, pictured at Heritage Days at Button Farm Living History Center last year, has more than 40 years of experience as a public historian. Her most recent book, My Name Is Not Tom, will be published as an audiobook later this year.

In the book, Soderberg pays special attention to how Henson was mistreated throughout his life — by his owners, by his editors and publishers, and even by

Stowe. Writing the book, she said, was a way to try to right the wrongs of the past.

“I don’t have much money to give for reparations,” Soderberg said. “This is my contribution.”

Museum president has plans to expand

By Tina Collins

Some museums whisper. Some lecture. Others expect you to admire quietly and move along. The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore does none of these things. It draws you in, focuses your gaze, and invites you to see history in full.

Located in East Baltimore, the museum stands as the first — and still one of the only — institutions in the United States devoted exclusively to African and African American history told through life-size wax figures.

Unlike many traditional museums, this one uses immersive dioramas to guide visitors through 5,000 years of history, from the kingdoms of ancient Africa to the achievements of modern Black leaders.

The museum was founded in 1983 by Dr. Joanne Martin and her late husband, Dr. Elmer P. Martin, two educators who noticed a gap in how Black history was taught.

“History has to meet people where they are,” Martin said in an interview with the Beacon

They began with a traveling exhibit, bringing wax statues of historical figures into schools, churches and community spaces throughout Baltimore.

Bringing history to life was no easy task. Using photographs and historical records, the Martins sculpted early figures themselves from clay and wax, sewing costumes by hand and assembling props from donated materials. These first figures were built for durability as much as detail.

“We learned by doing,” Martin said. “What mattered most was that the figures looked human, and that the history felt real.”

They painstakingly researched the early figures. For ancient African kingdoms, the Martins relied on historical texts, scholarly illustrations and artifacts from museums to recreate the attire, posture and presence of kings, queens, scholars and builders.

Each figure was designed to convey both authority and humanity, teaching visitors to see these leaders as full, complex people, not just names in a textbook.

By the late 1980s, the collection found a permanent home in a former firehouse on East North Avenue. The Martins wanted the museum rooted in the community, not tucked away as a destination piece.

“History doesn’t need a grand entrance,” Martin said. “It needs a place to stand.”

Over time, adjacent buildings — includ-

ing a Victorian mansion and nearby apartments — were incorporated, gradually creating the museum campus that exists today.

Inside the museum

Visitors begin their journey far earlier than many expect. Ancient African civilizations — Egypt, Nubia, Mali, Songhai — set the stage, presenting scholars, builders and leaders whose achievements predate American history by centuries.

These exhibits showcase the sophistication of African societies, their artistry, political systems, and contributions to science and culture. The effect is grounding, a reminder that Black history did not begin with struggle alone.

The Middle Passage exhibit is one of the museum’s most powerful spaces. A full-scale, dimly lit slave ship installation presents visitors with shackled figures. Sound and mirrors place visitors inside the hold, creating a claustrophobic, sobering atmosphere. The experience is emotional and intense.

“People need to feel this history, not just learn dates,” Martin said. “If you don’t feel it, you don’t understand it.”

Emerging from the darkness, visitors enter the resilience and achievement por-

tion of the museum, a space filled with innovation, culture and leadership.

From there, the museum traces Black history through enslavement, abolition, Reconstruction, Civil Rights and into the modern era. Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appear alongside entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and Baltimore icons such as Madam C.J. Walker and Reginald F. Lewis.

Visitors encounter cultural pioneers like Billie Holiday and Eubie Blake, as well as community heroes such as Bea Gaddy. More recent additions include a tribute to Henrietta Lacks, whose cells revolutionized medicine while raising ethical questions.

As the collection expanded, so did the museum itself. Today, the museum spans roughly 30,000 square feet, and plans are underway to add nearly 20,000 more, including outdoor memorial and sculpture gardens. The expansion, more than six years in the works, will improve accessibility and create space for additional educational programming, performances and community events.

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“This work takes space,” Martin acknowledged. “And it takes time.”

Historians and educators

The museum continues its traveling exhibits with the “Beyond the Walls” initiative, bringing wax figures into airports, convention centers and other public spaces. These traveling installations extend the museum’s reach far beyond Baltimore, helping audiences nationwide encounter history in a tangible, memorable way.

The Martins’ approach to curation reflects their decades-long careers as educators. Dr. Joanne Martin, who earned her Ph.D. in educational psychology at Howard University, spent years teaching at Coppin State University before dedicating herself to the museum. Her understanding of pedagogy is evident in every display, from the way exhibits flow to the interactive, experiential design.

The museum’s design and programming make it clear that history is not static; it is present, interactive and evolving.

For local students, teachers and families, the museum is more than a display of figures; it is a living classroom. School groups participate in guided tours, workshops and lectures, while public programming includes forums on African American culture, art and civic engagement.

“We are about empowerment through

knowledge,” Martin said. “When young people see themselves in history, they walk differently.”

The museum’s storytelling is deliberate and respectful. Figures tell their stories in dignified silence, inviting visitors to observe, reflect and draw their own conclusions. Visitors are often struck by the sense that history is watching them in return, prompting questions about memory, responsibility and identity.

Martin describes the museum not as an institution, but as a mission.

Its goal is simple yet ambitious: to ensure that the stories of African and African American history are told clearly, carefully, and with lasting impact. History is presented without haste, with respect for both the past and the people encountering it for the first time.

Truth has a way of sounding like exaggeration when people are unaccustomed to hearing it plainly. The Great Blacks in Wax Museum speaks plainly. It does not flatter, it does not rush, and it assumes visitors are capable of understanding more than they have been told.

When you step back outside, the figures remain — patient, steady, and exactly where they belong. The rest, as history likes to say, is up to you.

The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, located at 1601-03 East North Avenue, Baltimore, is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. For more information, visit greatblacksinwax.org or call (410) 563-3404.

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Scrabble answers on p. 21

Crossword Puzzle

Across

1. More than just willing

5. Take the Enterprise to the Delta Quadrant

9. Good place to quaff some ale

12. Center of “CIRCLE GAME”

13. Banned apple spray

14. Items in a shipping container

16. Concern that the hot chocolate line is too long

18. “Welcome to Honolulu”

19. Suffix that King James likely used

20. Sport ___ (all-purpose vehicle)

21. Deserve

23. The cha-cha-cha has more than three

25. Deal that brings you back to the toy store

28. Ruff acting performance in The Wiz

31. Provoke

32. Cause a wedgie

34. Indecisive person’s drawn-out words

35. Uses allocated funds

37. Send a prude into a tizzy

41. Moment of fresh insight

42. DoubleTree or Home2Suites brand owner

44. Pined away for

48. Touching your opponent’s horse, for example

52. A bit crazy, south of the border

54. One shunned by society

55. It puts color in your cheeks

56. Part of a freshman’s email address

58. Mai ___

59. Scoundrel

61. One appears near the end of Dallas

Cowboys: The Complete Illustrated History

64. Reset magnetic tape

65. Raised in captivity

66. The Titanic’s was about one inch thick

67. Say ___ to the Dress

68. Puerto Rico’s flag has one 69. Eye sore

1. Lobbyist’s value proposition 2. Drunk as a skunk

By Stephen Sherr

3. Tres ___ (Mexican cake)

4. Freudian agent

5. Drift out of a bakery

6. Medicinal plant

7. 1981 rebrand of the Dodge D series truck

8. Brief ad

9. Diplomatic system of rules

10. Yuck!

11. Part of a Hulkamania costume

14. Song on SeriusXM’s Holly channel

15. Excuse

17. Texas home of the SXSW festival

22. CBS logo feature since 1951

24. Dermatologist’s concern

25. “Are ___ kidding me?”

26. Cindy, Jan, or Marcia

27. Tiebreakers, briefly

29. Like Michael Jordan’s, Wayne Gretzky’s and Babe Ruth’s jersey numbers

30. New Age musician John

33. ___ Alto (Silicon Valley city)

35. “Get out of here!”

36. Insulin producer

38. Club hosted by Tammy Faye Bakker

39. Accumulate water

40. The last of Henry VIII’s wives to die

41. European peak

43. Nasdaq debut

45. Henchmen

46. Give the slip to

47. Snoopy or Scooby-Doo

49. Unsubscribe

50. With fastidious care

51. Black and orange bird

53. Proofs of on-line identity

56. Source material for the movie Clueless

57. One who takes the bull by the horns

59. Mark Twain Award winner, Tina

60. Hot temper

62. Source of popular non-dairy creamers

63. Fed dept. that oversees the FDA

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Your Trusted Partner in Elder Support Services. At North Star Navigators, we are dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of our aging population. We understand the challenges that come with aging and are driven by a personal quest to enhance the well-being of seniors. Our telehealth services include: - Comprehensive Assessments & RecommendationsGolden Years Planning - Healthy Ship (Membership). Get Ready to Set Sail with North Star Navigators! Where YOU remain the Captain, and our Stars guide the way. Visit NorthStarNavigators.net or call 833-735-1983 for more information. Your Trusted Team: Anchored in Compassion, Driven by Passion.

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PORTABLE OXYGEN CONCENTRATOR

May Be Covered by Medicare! Reclaim independence and mobility with the compact design and long-lasting battery of Inogen One. Free information kit! Call 855-851-0949.

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JACUZZI BATH REMODEL can install a new, custom bath or shower in as little as one day. For a limited time, waiving ALL installation costs! (Additional terms apply. Subject to change and vary by dealer. (Offer ends 9/30/25.) Call 1-833-994-0538.

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HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

All classified ads must be submitted and paid for online, via our website, www.thebeaconnewspapers.com/classifieds Deadlines and Payments: To appear in the next issue, your ad text and payment must be entered by the 5th of the preceding month (for Baltimore and Howard County editions); by the 20th (for Washington edition).

Cost will be based on the number of characters and spaces in your ad: • $25 for 1-250 • $35 for 251-500. • $50 for 501-750 (maximum length). The website will calculate this for you.

Note: Maryland contractors must provide a valid MHIC number. Each real estate listing qualifies as one ad. All ads are subject to publisher’s discretion. Payment will be refunded if unacceptable for any reason.

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