Newsletter July-August 2021 |
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Note From Skyline Village Chicago President Phyllis Mitzen |
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We’re on our long-anticipated road trip to Montgomery, Birmingham, Selma and Memphis. We embarked with some trepidation-fully vaccinated, but still uncertain about connecting with strangers, unfamiliar states, unfamiliar hotels and restaurants. Masks in tow, we’ve immersed ourselves in the roots of the Civil Rights Movement.
Walking down Commerce Street in Montgomery leading from the river to the Fountain Square, we could imagine the stream of ‘Negroes and mules’, being brought from boats and the nearby warehouses to the auction blocks. The streets are eerily quiet and empty today with few visitors except for the timed entry lines to The Legacy Museum, housed in a former slave warehouse. But last Thursday, as we walked to dinner in Montgomery, we passed City Hall where the Mayor spoke to a cheering crowd as Gay Pride flags and banners were raised. The sight was welcoming and so hopeful.
We walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma along with others reverently tracing the steps of John Lewis and the multitude of brave men and women desperate to be known as people, citizens. The US Park Ranger said John Lewis was adamant the name remain on the bridge, forever a reminder of Pettus’ KKK past.
Birmingham, incorporated as a city in 1871, post-Civil War and post emancipation as the coal and iron ore industries boomed, was nicknamed Bombingham during the fifties and sixties. It reached its peak with the shocking bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, killing four young girls coming from Sunday school. With no history of slavery, Jim Crow defined Birmingham, and Birmingham defined Jim Crow.
Our final stop: Memphis. We toured Graceland, just because Elvis dominated my teenage dreams. We made a final pilgrimage to the Lorraine Motel, now a Civil Rights Museum.
Everyone we’ve met along the way has been kind, welcoming, helpful, but the roots of today’s obsession with voter suppression, and the passions that underlie these efforts become clear as we explore the history of these places. Alabama’s slogan displayed at the Welcome Center entrance proudly states “Alabama: We Dare to Defend Our Rights”.
As we emerge from 2020 into the sunlight of summer 2021, Skyline Village Chicago will continue to explore the critical issues of the day, and plan ways we can share our experiences and have some fun along the way--with the Beatles and Bocce!
Warm regards, Phyllis
—-Phyllis Mitzen, President Skyline Village Chicago
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Artist: Bisa Butler: Photo Credit: Lenore A. Holt-Darcy |
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Thank you for supporting Skyline Village Chicago
Please consider making a donation to help us keep our virtual doors open.
Annual Dues $75 per individual, $100 per couple
Mail check: Skyline Village Chicago, PO Box 11606, Chicago, IL 60611
Our 501C3 status affords members tax deductions to the extent allowed by law.
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Bocce Anyone?
Join new friends and old on August 25 for lunch and a game of Bocce. If you have played before, you know how much fun it is, and if you haven't, here's your chance to try. It's easy to learn and no skills are needed.
Bocce is usually $5 but the fee is included with lunch for Skyline Village guests.
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Lunch on the Water and Free Bocce |
Pinstripes
435 E. Illinois
August 25 at 12:00
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Restored to Sanity Singers, Skyline Village Chicago, Amada Senior Care, Museum of Contemporary Art
Present
Beatles Sing Along
July 25, 2021 5:00 pm
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Outside Steps, 220 E. Chicago Ave
Rain or Shine
Seating on the Steps or Bring Your Own Chair
Songbooks Provided
Choirmasters: Curt & Chris Powell (Father & Son)
5:00-6:00: Sing Along - 22 Beatles Tunes!
6:00-6:30: Curt & Chris Powell Performance
All Invited! Neighbors, Friends, Families, Singers, Non-Singers, Show-offs & Introverts; Ukeleles, Accordions,Tambourines, Marimbas and Singing Dogs
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Water, Visors, Handheld Fans Provided by Amada Senior Care Chicago
or for a practice song list.
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Skyline Village Chicago is using Zoom to connect with members and friends. Please join us at one of the following. |
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Women’s Salon Zoom
Second Tuesday of Every Month, 3:30-5:00 PM
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SVC members gather in conversation monthly to increase their awareness of cultural and societal notions on aging. If you’re interested in joining us and are not already on the Zoom list, contact info@SkylineVillageChicago.org and write SALON on the subject line.
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Check in for a backyard over-the-fence chat with new friends and old. If you’re not already on the Zoom list, contact info@SkylineVillageChicago.org and write Monthly Chat on the Subject Line.
Date and time to be published soon.
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We vaccinated old people are getting out and about and enjoying life. When you take your summer trips – local, national or across the pond - please take a few pictures and make a few notes. In late August, send your article to judy.karlov@gmail.com for the September-October issue of the Skyline Village Newsletter. Please remember to make the pictures large.
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Life-In-Florida
By Anna Rappaport
Here are three life-in-Florida sketches. The beach/pool drawing I did at an event at a nearby community pool. People in the pool and on the deck were playing with balls. The house with flowers is one of the houses in the community with a really outstanding gardener (that is not me). The small recital took place in front of Jeremy’s house, with people watching in golf carts. Jeremy is a ten year old who lives a couple of blocks away and has been taking piano lessons.
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Ups and Downs
By Judy Karlov
Life has its ups and downs, not necessarily in that order. On April 20th at 5 PM I came home to find the door stuck; got it open and saw hot steam swirling from wall to wall and ceiling to floor. I closed the door, called 911, and within a few minutes ten firemen arrived. The first picture shows what they did to my wall to find exactly where the pipe had burst. Then I stood in the hallway and called Allstate, wondering where I would sleep. I chose the Best Western on Broadway for proximity. Luckily, it’s very nice, because I had to stay there for the next 27 nights.
A few days later I took pictures of the damage. The second picture shows one of my beloved Wassily chairs; notice the backstrap on this one. Allstate’s cleaners were excellent, but the movers were very inexperienced. It took them four days to move my stuff out and three days to put it all in a different apartment in my building, where I now live. In between were three weeks of refurbishing what could be saved and packing stuff in 169 boxes plus wardrobes.
During the month in the hotel I missed my PC and eating dinner at home the most; during the second month of unpacking boxes day and night I missed my normal life. But, as my dad used to say when I would ask him what he wanted for Father’s Day, “As long as I have my health I don’t need anything else.” As a teen I used to think he was incredibly boring, but now I appreciate that. Unpacking all those boxes didn’t do my back any good, but that’s what excellent medical care for severe pain problems is meant to accomplish.
After two months of downs I really appreciate the ups. Every member of my family has helped tremendously. My new apartment faces the lake and Belmont Harbor instead of the parking lot. A few times a day I check the color of the lake and the harbor, along with the sky. The two bodies of water never match, which is great fun, and something I didn’t know from walking along the drive or along the harbor. As you can see in the last picture, this week I was happy to celebrate my granddaughter Jamie’s graduation from Lane Tech College Prep.
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Bisa Butler Show
By Lenore A. Holt-Darcy
These photographs are from the Bisa Butler show at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is the best art show I have seen in years. She is an African American artist working in quilting, which is often overlooked as an art form. The work is vibrant, capturing expressions and stances of people we have seen. I would strongly urge you to go, before September 6th, and see this beautiful display of talent! A wonderful and upbeat return to normalcy.
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Show off your Livable City
Museums? Long walks? Restaurants? Send us a photo of what you’re doing or planning to do as it gets warmer. Show us your livable city. Send to info@skylinevillagechicago.org
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Don't forget your whistle! |
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Let’s create walkable winters in Chicago |
Act now! Sign the petition demanding the City of Chicago prepare a plan and allocate the resources to make municipal sidewalk snow clearance a reality by next winter. It’s not too early!
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Many of our friends are conducting online classes and events. Click into their newsletters and websites for information.
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Forward Chicago Website
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The Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy Website
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Beth Finke MasterTeachers™: Website
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Center for Life and Learning 4th Presbyterian Church: Website
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Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease: website
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Rush Generations Center for Excellence in Aging: Website
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Streeterville Organization for Active Residents: Newsletter
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AARP Chicago Newsletter
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Sounds Good/Good Memories |
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Submitted by Michael Darcy
Excerpted from Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Tips for older adults to regain their game
after being cooped up for more than a year
Older Americans are struggling with physical, emotional and cognitive challenges following a year of being cooped up inside, stopping usual activities and seeing few, if any, people. If they don't address issues that have arisen during the pandemic—muscle weakness, poor nutrition, disrupted sleep, anxiety, social isolation and more—these older adults face the prospect of poorer health and increased frailty, experts warn.
What should people do to address challenges of this kind? Several experts shared advice:
Reconnect with your physician. Large numbers of older adults have delayed medical care for fear of covid. Now that most seniors have been vaccinated, they should schedule visits with primary care physicians and preventive care screenings, such as mammograms, dental cleanings, eye exams and hearing checks, said Dr. Robert MacArthur, chief medical officer of the Commonwealth Care Alliance in Massachusetts.
Have your functioning assessed. Primary care visits should include a basic assessment of how older patients are functioning physically, according to Dr. Jonathan Bean, an expert in geriatric rehabilitation and director of the New England Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System. At a minimum, doctors should ask, "Are you having difficulty walking a quarter-mile or climbing a flight of stairs? Have you changed the way you perform ordinary tasks such as getting dressed?" Bean suggested.
Get a referral to therapy. If you're having trouble moving around or doing things you used to do, get a referral to a physical or occupational therapist. A physical therapist can work with you on strength, balance, range of motion and stamina. An occupational therapist can help you change the way you perform various tasks, evaluate your home for safety and identify needed improvements, such as installing a second railing on a staircase. Don't wait for your doctor to take the initiative; too often this doesn't happen. "Speak up and say: Please, can you write me a referral? I think a skilled evaluation would be helpful," said James Nussbaum, clinical and research director at ProHealth & Fitness in New York City, a therapy provider.
Start slow and build steadily. Be realistic about your current abilities. "From my experience, older adults are eager to get out of the house and do what they did a year ago. And guess what. After being inactive for more than a year, they can't," said Dr. John Batsis, associate professor of geriatrics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "I'm a fan of start low, go slow," Batsis continued. "Be honest with yourself as to what you feel capable of doing and what you are afraid of doing. Identify your limitations. It's probably going to take some time and adjustments along the way.” Nina DePaola, vice president of post-acute services for Northwell Health, the largest health care system in New York, cautioned that getting back in shape may take time. "Pace yourself. Listen to your body. Don't do anything that causes discomfort or pain. Introduce yourself to new environments in a thoughtful and a measured fashion," she said.
Be physically active. Engaging regularly in physical activity of some kind — a walk in the park, chair exercises at home, video fitness programs — is the experts' top recommendation. The Go4Life program, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, is a valuable resource for those getting started and you can find videos of some sample exercise routines on YouTube. The YMCA has put exercise classes online, as have many senior centers.
Have realistic expectations. If you're afraid of getting started, try a bit of activity and see how you feel. Then try a little bit more and see if that's OK. "This kind of repeated exposure is a good way to deal with residual fear and hesitation," said Rachel Botkin, a physical therapist in Columbus, Ohio. "Understand that this has been a time of psychological trauma for many people and it's impacted the way we behave," said Dr. Thomas Cudjoe, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. "We're not going to go back to pre-pandemic activity and engagement like turning on a light switch. We need to respect what people's limits are."
Eat well. Make sure you're eating a well-balanced diet that includes a good amount of protein. Adequate protein consumption is even more important for older adults during times of stress or when they're sedentary and not getting much activity, noted a recent study on health aging during covid-19. For more information, see my column about how much protein older adults should consume.
Reestablish routines. "Having a structure to the day that involves social interactions, whether virtual or in person, and various activities, including some time outside when the weather is good, is important to older adults," said Dr. Lauren Beth Gerlach, a geriatric psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Routines are especially true for older adults with cognitive impairment, who tend to do best when their days have a dependable structure and they know what to expect, she noted. End-of-day routines are also useful in addressing sleep problems, which have become more common during the pandemic. According to a University of Michigan poll, administered in January, 19% of adults ages 50 to 80 report sleeping worse than they did before the pandemic.
Reconnect socially. Mental health problems have also worsened for a segment of older adults, according to the University of Michigan poll: 19% reported experiencing more sadness or depression while 28% reported being more anxious or worried. Social isolation and loneliness may be contributing and it's a good idea to start "shoring up social support" and seeing other people in person if seniors are vaccinated, Gerlach said. Families have an important role to play in re-engaging loved ones with the world around them, Batsis suggested. "You've had 15 months or so of only a few face-to-face interactions: Make it up now by visiting more often. Make the effort."
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NEW
Irena Chen
Kuo Ching Chen
Patty Frost
Ian Frost
Donna Gutman
Delia Siegrist
Kyle Siegrist
Eva Wahl
RENEWING
Michael Darcy
Lenore Holt-Darcy
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Annual Dues:
$75 Individual, $100 Couple
Send a check to: Skyline Village Chicago, P.O. Box 11606, Chicago, IL 60611
Join online:
Email us:
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The Skyline Village Chicago community of older adults engages
in cultural, educational and social programs. We are active, informed
and connected advocates within our unique, vibrant high-rise neighborhoods.
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Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved |
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