Archive for December 2022
The Day Santa Died
‘Twas the day before Christmas.
We got to the butcher and picked up our gallantine for Christmas Eve and lasagna for Christmas dinner. Gallantine is a tradition here in Panicale. A chicken is de-boned and stuffed with everything from prosciutto to pistachios and hard-boiled eggs to eggplant, then pressed and cooked, sliced and eaten cold. Got chores done while we were out – cash from the bank ATM, started the car, and checked out our last-minute grocery list — as a humid sirocco-like wind swooped in and made this central Italian town almost summery. Brother Lou dropped by for a grappa and headed home for a shower. Landlord Riccardo stopped by about midday and said he’d skip tonight because he won’t be able to find a parking space because of midnight Mass at the church.
Then he told us. “Bobbie died,” he said
Bobbie Sonnenberg was ambushed by a deadly heart attack on his early-morning walk with his dog. He had been looking forward to playing Santa: “A true Santa Claus from the North,” he told me several days earlier. He was proud of the fact that he was the first non-native offered the role. He even let his beard grow to match his thick head of white hair. He had been a technical-magazine editor in Sweden before chucking it and moving to Panicale, where he augmented whatever pension and other funds he had by managing rental properties, organizing travel tours, and dabbling in real estate.
I skidded down to the piazza to scout out the facts. Lou was right behind me. We ran into Simone’s wife (Aldo’s daughter-in-law who owns and works with her husband at the osteria they opened in the apartment Bev and I rented on our first trip) and she told us “Babbo Natale e morta.” (Father Christmas is dead.) I asked if they found an alternate. She nodded her head: “Qualqu’ uno” (somebody).
I asked if her osteria’s Christmas Eve dinner (30 euros per person) was full. She shook her head “no,” and explained they didn’t start planning/advertising early enough. I said they’ll start earlier next year. She nodded “si.”
Then she added that Santa was due to land in the piazza at 3:30 p.m. We returned to the apartment and sipped a few until it was time to check the piazza. It was still warm and humid but it started to drizzle on the couple of dozen kids and their parents scattered around the 550-year-old fountain. So they trooped into a below-street-level club room across the alley from the osteria. Guillermo said the club room was made available after it started to rain. Santa and his jingling bells were greeted about 4:20 by applauding parents and wide-eyed youngsters. Everyone got something. Even the adults — each received a little package of candy that was handed out by the children.
But no one seemed to miss Bobbie.
(A few days later, a hearse squeezed up through the steep archway and a clutch of mourners followed the casket into the church for Mass. When the service ended and the remains rolled back into the vehicle, no one followed but everyone applauded Bobbie’s passing as the long car slipped down into the piazza and out the Umberto 1 gate.)
‘Tis The Season Once More
The major item this year was a move from one old farts’ facility to another. They’re not all that far apart but I feel like I’m in a different universe. Bev and I sold our Pacific Beach house six years ago and moved into Aridzona’s Sunrise of Gilbert – a combined independent and assisted living complex in metro Phoenix. And I moved six months ago to Verena of Gilbert, a senior-living apartment building just about six miles south.
It was a good move. Sunrise management just suddenly disintegrated. This place is twice as big so that means more people and more activities that keep me busy since I’ve officially become the unofficial photographer – or unofficially the official photographer. The calendar also has me leading a weekly writing class/group and Flashback sessions. And we’re going to launch bocce once a week in the New Year,
It’s been a good year and my health has held up well for the length of time it’s been abused. Staying active and my regular bike rides help.
I still provide copy for a half dozen monthly publications through my Mature Life Features syndicate and write a daily blog that I’m going to have to promote because it’s the only thing that will survive after the papers fade away. It’s where you’re reading this – maturelifefeatures.com
Keep in touch and check this blog periodically. You can contribute if you wish by sending the material to cecilscag@gmail.com.
So have fun and make the most of the New Year.
Haven’t Seen Any Pictures . . .
. . .of Bigfoot for quite awhile.
Maybe he’s moved.
Dementia Debilitating by Any Name
A lot of time and talent has been devoted to eliminating or finding cures for all manner of diseases, developing drugs that diminish debilitation, and producing prosthetics that help make coping comfortable. Despite all the intelligence applied to the science of lengthy living, little is known about enhancing our brain’s power, particularly as it ages.
Dementia — its causes and cures — is still a mystery to the best medical minds. Experienced experts even disagree on the best ways to avoid or alleviate its ravages. Play mental-agility games, such as crossword puzzles, some say. Learn a language to foster the brain’s flexibility. Travel. Join social groups. Stay active. Exercise to maintain a healthy blood flow to the brain. Eat foods containing chemicals that stimulate brain activity and cells.
All of these may be safe and sane advice for anyone wishing to stay healthy, but there’s still no cure for such degenerative brain diseases as Alzheimer’s. The inexorably inevitable result is loss of memory, identity and mobility if death does not intervene. Alzheimer’s disease ambushes a new victim every minute. More than 5 million people in this country reportedly suffer from it. That number is expected to triple over the next three decades as the population ages.
Switching to Orange Juice . . .
. . . has made my mornings
much more enjoyable.
It mixes with my vodka
much better than coffee.
Listen to Help Alzheimer’s Victims
A friend has a running gag that he received a solicitation for a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association but he forgot where he put it. It’s his bit of gallows humor to forget the fact that more than 6 million Americans are victims of this disorder.
The association urges victims to be candid about their disease and, at the appearance of its signs, to discuss their symptoms with family and friends. Maintaining open lines of communication with people doomed by dementia is critical to keeping victims, caregivers, relatives and friends on as even a keel as possible as the disability progresses.
The first step recommended by the AA to everyone around an Alzheimer’s sufferer is to listen. Communicating with an Alzheimer’s victim requires patience and understanding, so those around such a person must be good listeners. And they must let the sufferer know they are listening, are being patient, and are trying to understand what he or she is saying.
If the person is having difficulty finding the right word or phrase, encourage him or her to take their time and continue to explain. Don’t cut in and correct the speaker. You can repeat what was said if you feel some clarification is needed.
Some Mornings . . .
. . . I just feel like
skipping my meds
and stirring things up a bit.
Painkillers Can Kill
Regular use of painkilling medication can kill pain but also can lead to addiction and even death. Such common over-the-counter brands as Advil and Motrin are among the roots of an opioid epidemic that has spread across the nation, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths each year.
Doctors have been prescribing such pain relievers as ibuprofen for years under the belief that prevailed until recently that opioids were not addictive.
As early as 2014, the Food and Drug Administration reported that regular use of OTC painkilling opioids could raise the risk of heart attack and stroke by as much as 10 percent. Using stronger prescription-strength painkillers could increase that risk by as much as 50 percent. To avoid such peril, medical and health experts caution that these drugs should be used only for severe pain at the lowest possible dose for the shortest amount of time.
The Recognition . . .
. . . and celebration
of this season
goes all the way back to Adam
when he took a present to the Garden,
and said, “It’s Christmas, Eve.”
Moving May Damage Your Credit
Moving can result in a lower credit score because bills may get lost in the mail or may be forwarded but arrive too late to pay on time. The delayed payments, or lack of payment, become blots on your credit history.
Another bit of misinformation is that canceling unused credit cards will improve your credit score. It can do the opposite because you dump a chunk of available credit. It lowers the amount of credit available to you while increasing the percentage of available credit you use. If you do close down a credit card, do it to one with a low credit limit.
A Guy . . .
. . . in our Happy Hour group this afternoon
was a bit unsettled and sweaty.
He said he went to McDonald’s for lunch and
ate a kids’ meal and
the kid’s mother went ballistic.
Falls Kill the Aging
More than 36 million people report falling each year resulting in more than 32,000 deaths. One-third of seniors 65 years or older are among those who have fallen and 25 percent of those who sustain a hip fracture die within a year.
Falls are the No. 1 cause of injury for men 80 years of age and older and women over 70. Two-thirds of all falls occur around the house and individuals over 65 account for 60 percent of fall-related deaths.
Some People . . .
. . . don’t know
what happiness is
until they get married,
and by then, it’s too late.
‘Tis Always the Season to Protect Your Identity
Identity theft, which is easier to commit than credit-card fraud because the criminal only has to steal your name and not your card, accounts for almost half of the thousands of consumer fraud complaints made to the Federal Trade Commission each year. Almost 10 percent of the population become victims of identity thieves each year. These are just the ones we know of because they are reported to the FTC.
You can lose your identity in an instant – the time it takes for a crook to memorize your birth date or Social Security number as you give it to a shop clerk, for example. The hurly-burly of holiday weekends and the Santa season are the identity thief’s playground.
Modern thieves can hack your cell phone and get your most personal information, such as your name, Social Security number, address, and other valuable data, to use to make a purchases and loans in your name. Many steal identities from mailboxes – more than 100,000 residential mailboxes are raided every day in this country – or they fish bank and credit-card statements from trash.
An identity thief may use your name but another address so you won’t be aware of the debt made in your name because statements will be sent to that other address and your credit will be trampled.
Something to Always Remember . . .
. . .about statistics
is that
you can drown easily in a river
that’s an average of three feet deep.
Don’t Drink and Dive
Ten people drown on an average day. Alcohol combined with water recreation is a factor in about one third of the adult drownings. That’s why it’s important to understand the dangers alcohol consumption can pose, especially near the water.
When people drink alcohol, their judgment and inhibitions are impaired. That is a dangerous situation, especially near water.
Medical experts suggest teaching children early about the dangers of water and alcohol by setting an example by never drinking alcohol before or while swimming or boating, and never drinking while supervising children near the water.
It’s Unfortunate . . .
. . . that we’re living in a time
when intelligent people
have to watch what they say
so stupid people won’t be offended.
Insert Incentives in Inheritance
If you have a son-in-law whose drinking has been nettling you for years, there is a way for you to get him under control. If your grandchild hasn’t an ambitious bone in her head, there’s a way to give her some direction.
You can make bequests with conditions that your daughter’s husband curb his alcoholism and improve his relationship with his family and that her daughter complete college before either receives any benefits. Their inheritances can be received all at once, after they’ve achieved the plateaus you’ve established, or incrementally as they progress along the paths you’ve outlined for them.
Incentive trusts can be fashioned in such a way that you can set criteria and conditions for the beneficiaries to meet before collecting any of the inheritance you leave them. If they don’t meet your requirements, they receive nothing – or the minimal amount you’ve decided to allow them.
You can work out the details with your attorney and estate planner.
Mature Life Features 