PP Marsha Clark welcomed us Zoomers to the Warm and Friendly (and
virtual) Westwood Village Rotary Club (aged 93) at exactly 12:30 PM. A few of our
members were on their way to the District Conference at Arrowhead, but
there were also familiar faces from afar-like Marsha herself, who dialed in
from Arkansas.
Jim Crane, a member for 12 years and change, was called forth to lead
us in the Pledge. Aaron Donahue, 2 years a member and our Community
Chair, was asked for a Thought of the Day. Aaron gave us a short refresher about
how he found a community at the YMCA (which he now manages here in West
LA). The Y has been active in Los Angeles for 140 years, but one morning two
years ago, he woke up in the 77,000 square foot building (Collins and Katz YMCA)
all alone, shut down and isolated due to Covid-19. He remembered how the Y
had been a sanctuary for him as a youth, off troubled streets. He remembered
first meeting his wife at the Y and all the activities their daughter had enjoyed
there.
Now, after 20 years with the Y management, he felt sad and empty.
It occurred to him that the homeless on our streets had nowhere to go and
clean up so he started up a program of free shower access that grew to
100 grateful clients per day. This action improved local mental health as well as,
hygiene. Both the Y and WVRC are his community and support groups and he is
always looking for helpers to give back. He also distributes donated food on
Thursday mornings, so don’t be a stranger! Volunteer!!
PP Marsha called on PP Steve Scherer to comment on the Rotary
Four Way Test. Steve said he remembers the test well as “is it-is it-
will it-will it,” as in “Is it the Truth? ” “ Is it Fair to all concerned?”
“Will it build Goodwill and better Friendships?” and “Will it be Beneficial
to all concerned?” A nice mnemonic device from a barrister-thanks!
PP Marsha shared with us that she has a good friend and Rotary
Member in Kyiv-which itself has nine clubs and I’m sure they’re all doing
what they can to help their community. It’s an understatement to say
that the Russian attack on Ukraine has been a terrible blunder and crime from
the very start, PP Steve Day, our relentless Rotary Foundation Chair, was next up
reporting an additional club member has joined the Paul Harris Society-none
other than our gracious meeting host, PP Marsha Clark. She is now formally
our ninth WVRC PHS member.
Phil Gabriel, our Youth Chair, enjoyed a birthday AND a new granddaughter
last week. Nice work, Phil!
PP Marsha couldn’t wait to introduce our guest speaker, our own
Carol Rosenstein. Although Carol has given us regular updates on her
success with Music Mends Minds since she joined WVRC, sometimes the
poet gets little recognition in her home town. When Carol hit the cover of
the RI world magazine, our interest was much whetted. A few details:
Carol originally came to LA for college and her parents also moved here.
In 2018, she was named a CNN Hero. The National Advertising Council recently
recognized her at a large event. The band she created, “the 5th Dementia
Band,” composed of Alzheimer's and dementia and other patients with neurological disorders who were greatly helped by "music therapy" has became the symbol of her theory. She is
in contact now with 20 such bands around the world. In 2020, the Covid pandemic
wreaked havoc on her therapeutic gatherings. But Zoom came to
the rescue. After his long struggle with dementia, her husband
Irwin passed on in 2021. Only the music Carol brought him proved to be
a light that could pierce his darkness. Carol’s dream lives on with
more patient bands and drum circles, which are really a sight to see. As they play
their instruments and sing and dance, their smiling faces are
animated and alive, in contrast to their usual lack of energy.
In essence, Carol’s theory is that the sound of music can
stimulate healing chemicals in the blood stream and brain to help
rejuvenate brain cells that had been deteriorating. The net effect
on the brain is that the patient can walk and talk better and
exhibit real enjoyment with his surroundings. Different types of
familiar music seem to have different effects, but instrumental
music, even drums, seems to have more power than vocal. One
patient Carol described could not normally speak with any clarity,
but after synching with the rhythm of a metronome, he produced perfectly
articulated full sentences. A short video of Carol provided was truly amazing.
Drum circles have been equally effective and the possibilities for
therapies are endless. An educator all her life, Carol has become a
researcher and mentor in this area.
She has created an official Rotary Group-the Dementia Action
Group- of which our own PP Diane Good is a board member and, going
International in Rotary with her board is the next step. She is receiving more
and more inquiries about her program through Rotary and elsewhere as
news of her therapy is spread through international concerts and word of mouth.
An International Sing-off Day is being prepared and her contact data base
now exceeds 5000 interested souls.
I literally wanted to report everything she said, but could not keep up
with her pace as my mind raced ahead in excitement. A few facts to leave
you with: Music Therapy seems to help Alzheimer and dementia patients more
than those with Parkinson’s dementia. 67% of them are women. The effect
of music has been called a “back door to the brain” and a “path to enhancing
neural plasticity.” Considering the small progress that our medical
professional community has made with helping those with Alzheimer and dementia, Carol
and her enthusiasts have delivered a very BIG spoonful of medicine and
joy to those in need, as well as, their care givers. Read more about Carol and MMM at info@musicmendsminds.org
Well done, Carol! Out of love and concern for your husband has sprung
a new pathway for exploring and enhancing our brains and humanity.
YOPP Dwight
