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Age Well Senior Services

Food & Games at Mission Viejo

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

By Riley McDavid

When I drove into the parking lot of the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center last week, my immediate impression was that the people walking about were some of the youngest retirees I had ever seen. Right. They were. That’s because I had turned too quickly off Veterans Way and was actually in the parking lot of the Fred L. Newhart Middle School.

I made a quick U-turn, stopped just long enough to clean my bifocals, headed back out to Veterans and then went another tenth of a mile to my destination.

The occasion was a day of fun, food, games, entertainment and crafts for the seniors. As it turned out, the indoor games were far more popular than those outside, where the temperature was pushing 100 by late morning.

The event was sponsored by Oakley, Inc. the world renowned designer, manufacturer and distributor of high performance sunglasses, prescription lenses and frames, goggles, apparel, footwear, and accessories. About 40 volunteers from Oakley’s retail group put up festive decorations, provided all the activities for the day and at meal time served the lunch.

Nicole DaCosta, Retail Training and Development Manager for Oakley, said her group has been doing outreach activities since 2005, but had never done anything for seniors. When the idea was proposed, she went on the web, eventually finding the Age Well web site, and the event was born. Oakley CEO Colin Baden said that sometimes the company supports a cause like this “because someone in the company champions it.”

Oakley CEO Colin Baden

According to Age Well Dietician Lisa Gibson, about 40 or 50 seniors normally come to the center on a weekday, but the Oakley event attracted 80 — the maximum the room could accommodate.

I like to talk to people at events like this, and get some quotes for my blog. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to talk to me. “When I say, ‘May I interview you?’ some seem to suspect I’m from the National Enquirer or maybe the IRS, so like a single guy who’s not very good at getting dates, I’ve developed some different approaches.

“Hello,” I said to one fellow seated at a table. “I’d like to make you famous.”

“Famous?” he said.

“Well, I’d like to interview you, and the story will be on our web site, so that means anybody in the world can read it.”

“I don’t want to be famous,” he said, and he went back to talking with his buddies.

The next fellow I approached proved to be considerably more accommodating. He was Richard Wu, a slim retiree with a pleasant smile and, on this day, a definite interest in ping pong. He and his wife Julia, who had not yet arrived for this day’s activities. first came to the center 15 years ago. “We were new to the city,” Richard said. “We had just moved here from Arcadia.” The Wu’s first visit turned into a daily habit that has lasted to this day. Richard got into volunteering and eventually served as an advisory commissioner for Mission Viejo.

Richard and Julia Wu

“I come here every weekday,” he said.

“Do you meet friends here?”

“Oh yes,” he said, “You meet lots of friends here.”

I later asked Bertha Sheren, a lady originally from Michigan, if I could interview her. “Oh!” she said. “I can’t remember anything.” But then she consented, and over the next ten minutes or so she demonstrated she could remember a lot going way back to her childhood.

Bertha Sheren

She wanted to let me know about her parents, who came to the United States from Yugoslavia, and about her father’s work ethic in particular.. “When my father got here he went to the welfare office and said, ‘I no want welfare. I want job.’ And he got one right away.”

Bertha, who has been coming here for six years, spends mornings at the center from 9 to 12:30. “My daughter likes that because I live alone. I like it because there are so many wonderful people here,” she said giving sideways glances at two ladies she was sitting with.

The event was hardly a one-time thing for Oakley. In Orange County, the company has been involved in holiday food and toy drives, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the end-of summer Snowball Express at the Great Park, and many other causes.

Nationally it has been a huge supporter of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, contributing $20 for each product purchased from its Livestrong Collection. That translates into $5 million donated thus far to help fight cancer.

Among the many other causes it supports are SurfAid Earthquake Relief and OneSight, which since 1986, has provided free vision care and eyewear to more than seven million people in need around the world.

Everybody in attendance received an Oakley swag bag with a key chain and eyeglass cleaning kit. Winners of the golf and ping pong competitions received Oakley glasses and backpacks.

The morning concluded with the Oakley volunteers serving a picnic-style lunch: Cheeseburgers, coleslaw, baked beans, and strawberry shortcake.

Posted in Age Well Senior Services, Past Events | 1 Comment »

A Mind Game

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

About six years ago I went out to play golf and was put with three guys I didn’t know — two who played together regularly and a third, named Robert who, like me, had come to the course alone in search of a game. Robert was a tallish slim fellow with a traditional East Coast taste in clothing and a beautiful golf swing. I guessed that at one time he had been a very low handicapper or possibly even a pro.

But his play this day proved to be inconsistent, and he was also a bit slow, both in his movements and his speech. All of this clearly bothered the two we were paired with and as the round progressed, they became impatient and eventually left after nine holes. It took me several holes to realize it, but Robert was afflicted with some sort of dementia. Several times he left clubs behind, and once he walked off towards his second shot without realizing he had left his golf cart at the tee. On the sixth fairway, Robert asked how far we were from the green.

“200 yards,” I said.

So he reached in his bag and pulled out a one-iron, a club so rare these days that I doubt anyone in our men’s club carries one. On it in hand-painting were the numbers “200.” “My wife did that for me on all my clubs. I can’t always remember how far I hit them.” Nice, I thought, but, given his spotty play, I cringed at the idea of his trying to hit a one-iron. It’s a club so difficult to master that Lee Trevino once said, “If I ever get caught in a lightning storm, I’m going to hold up a one-iron because even God can’t hit a one-iron.”

Robert took several practice swings, and I waited for the inevitable. But when he swung, for just one moment, every muscle, every sinew, every synapse in his body remembered what it had probably done perfectly thousands of times before. The ball took off on a low trajectory, rising ever so steadily until it was over its target. Then it seemed to pause in the air before finally falling softly to the green. It was the closest thing to poetry I have ever seen on a golf course. In years past, I thought, he must have played entire rounds filled with magnificent shots like that. Alas few of his hits this day were that fluid. He took four swings to get out of a bunker and much of his fairway play was poor.

At the end of the round, Robert asked me if he could have the scorecard. He said his wife really liked it when he showed her his score.

“Unfortunately, I can’t,” I said. “I’m a club member and I have to turn it in for handicap purposes.” But I suggested we go up on the verandah and make out a duplicate card for his wife. So we sat and sipped some soft drinks as he dictated scores for me to write down, and then we each signed the card.

Afterwards, I asked him where he was from, and he said North Carolina. He went on to describe some lakes and cabins and small towns, but it was apparent after about four sentences that he couldn’t remember what question he was answering. Eventually we got up to leave, and he said, “What’s your name again?” I told him and he said, “Oh, yes. You’re that nice fellow who helped me on the golf course.”

Since that day I have encountered three or four more golfing partners in various stages of dementia, not an unusual number considering the advanced age of the majority of our club members. Once, in a moment of dark impatience, I remember thinking that I wished they could have been mean or vulgar or profane, so I could have said, “See! You got what you deserved.”

But the ones I’ve met, at least, are not any of those things. They’re just sweet people, walking slowly into that gentle fog, just over the next hill.

Next Week: Food & Games at Mission Viejo

Posted in Age Well Senior Services, Inspirational Stories | 1 Comment »

The McDavids Step Out to a Tea Dance

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

“Well laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-deeeee-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

When you hear a yelp like that in our neighborhood, you know Arnie is lurking nearby. At the time Mrs. McDavid and I had just come out of our front door on the way to our car. She was wearing a colorful cotton summer dress, and I was sporting an industrial strength preppy outfit: blazer, prep school tie, tan slacks, tassel loafers, etc.

“What’s with all this tonsorial splendor?” Arnie asked as he approached.

“Tonsorial?” Mrs. McDavid said to me. “You haven’t had a haircut in weeks.”

“He means sartorial, Honey.”

“Ah,” she said, with a knowing nod.

“What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?” I asked.

“It’s hot and it’s the middle of the afternoon,” he said. “Usually at this time of day you’re paddling around in a ratty 49er t-shirt, hippy flip flops and those silly plaid shorts that look like they’re underwear. I think they are underwear. Are you sure they’re not underwear?”

“I’m sure. Anyway the reason that we’re dressed up is that we’re going to tea.”

“Tea?” he said.

“Yes. High tea actually.”

“You mean they spike the stuff?”

“No, Arnie,” Mrs. McDavid said. “It’s a British term. Every afternoon the Ritz-Carlton serves high tea.”

“High tea at the Ritz,” Arnie said, suddenly looking quite serious and lowering his voice. “Are you guys sure you want to be seen talking to me?” he said softly.

“Do you drink tea, Arnie?” I asked.

“Heavens to Honolulu, no! I don’t touch the stuff. I’m what they call a teetotaller.”

“I think you’ve got it backwards Arnie.

“Whatever,” Arnie said. “Anyway, you guys get going. And listen — you drive home real careful after drinking all that high tea.”

If I’d been honest I would have told Arnie that I’d never been to high tea or a tea dance in my entire life. But off we went, and a half-hour later we were at Age Well’s 15^th Annual Founders’ Club Tea Dance, which was hosted by First Bank.

While those of us at the tables enjoyed tea and plates of traditional scones, sinful sweets and delicious nibblies like smoked salmon and cream cheese, a number of speakers from the podium welcomed us, led us in the flag salute, and gave an invocation.

The event gave Age Well CEO Dr. Marilyn Ditty and Board President Steve Moyer the opportunity to say a very public “Thank you” to Age Well’s many community partners, individual supporters, and volunteers.

The members of the 2010-11 Board of Directors came forward individually and then sworn in as a group by Orange County Superior Judge John Adams.

Dr. Ditty recounted some highlights of Age Well’s 2009-2010 year.

• She said the 42,000 rides to places like medical appointments, adult day services, and senior centers were double the number of just a year earlier.

• Meals on Wheels delivered over 458,00 meals to 1,525 homebound seniors and another 2,326 seniors enjoyed the nutrition and the social benefits of 87,222 congregate meals. Impressive numbers considering that donations to Meals on Wheels were down 15%. “People are feeling the pinch these days,” Dr. Ditty said. “Still we’ve never turned anyone away from our Meals program and never put anyone on a waiting list.”

• The Case Management team helped 365 seniors with 3,437 hours of case management and another 2,488 hours of in-house supportive services.

• Age Well helped 208 participants and their families by providing more than 82,000 hours of Adult Day Health Care and Adult Care, and provided much needed respite for caregivers and ongoing free caregiver support groups.

Although numbers are important, they don’t tell what Age Well and its volunteers mean to seniors. That important task was left to two speakers — one a client and the other a client and volunteer — whose testimonials each put a human face on the statistics.

Martha Waggoner, a caregiver for her parents, who both attend our Adult Day Health Care Center, spoke passionately about the support she gets and the healthcare and therapy services her folks receive during the day.

Gene Burrus, who is both a volunteer and a client at Dana Point, delivered a witty and eloquent appraisal of what it means to be a volunteer.

After all this, there was dancing to the music of the Sam Conti Band Ensemble. All in all, it was a most positive evening.

Sam Conti Band Ensemble

The next day I ran into Arnie, and he asked me about the event. I told him many of these same things.

“So what did you like best about the tea,” he asked. “The food, the speeches, what?”

“Arnie,” I said, “the thing I liked best was spending three hours in the company of so many caring people.”

Next Week: A Mind Game

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Help! My Mom Needs Help!

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

Trying to explain in a single blog all that the Case Management team does is like trying to compress War and Peace into a single haiku. There’s just too much there. Fortunately we produce 52 blogs a year so we will come back to various other aspects of their services in the months to come. This week: What the case managers can do to help the families of seniors get assistance for their loved one.

One morning nearly thirty-five years ago, the McDavid family, while visiting Mrs. McDavid’s parents in Laguna Woods Village (back then it was Leisure World) went to breakfast at Carrows Restaurant in Laguna Hills (back then it was Bob’s Big Boy). As soon as we walked in we sensed that the patrons and the staff were all tingly aflutter about something.

“What’s up?” I asked our waitress.

She pointed (quite discreetly) to the far back left corner of the restaurant where a famous movie actor, who shall remain anonymous in this blog, was sitting alone. “He’s waiting for his mom,” The waitress giggled. “She lives in Leisure World.”

Mrs. McDavid craned her head in the direction of the actor’s table. “It’s him alright.” she pronounced.

Daughter McDavid, about nine at the time, just rolled her eyes. “Mom, dad, please!” she said. “It’s not like he’s David Cassidy or something,”

Son McDavid, a budding artist, gave the star the ultimate disrespect. He kept on coloring his Bob’s Big Boy Kidz Menu and never even looked up.

Those were happy visiting days for our family and, I presume, for the actor’s as well. But as parents age, things change, for all families. One day the phone rings, and it’s mom calling, barely able to speak through her tears, saying, “They’ve taken away my license. How will I shop? How will I get to the doctor?”

Or maybe, in what has become an increasingly common scenario as seniors live longer into their 80’s and 90’s, it’s a friend or neighbor of the senior parent telling the child that her dad has become confused and frighteningly forgetful, and needs help badly.

Or, as happened to the McDavid’s in the early 80’s, the call is from a doctor 450 miles away who says, “Your father has suffered a serious stroke. He’s in ICU.” We were very concerned about him of course, but we also had to do something about mom. She couldn’t drive, and without him, she was a prisoner in her own home.

“Many family members in that situation are lost and don’t know where to turn for help, particularly if they live far away. They don’t know what services are available, and they don’t know how to reach these services.”

The speaker is Emma Barrera, one of four case managers for Age Well Senior Services, professionals who can evaluate a senior’s situation, identify resources for the senior and the family members to successfully cope with that situation, and then make referrals to the appropriate agency.

: Emma Barrera

Their first step is evaluation – finding out what the senior needs. “If it’s a simple case, we can make a referral right away,” says Cheryl Wieland, Age Well’s Case Management Coordinator. “If it’s more complex we’ll make a home visit in order to evaluate what the person needs.” There is no charge for assessments by case managers.

: Cheryl Wieland

One of the major goals of the Case Management team is for the senior to live as independently as possible. They can refer the person to a variety of services to achieve this. For example:

• In-home help with normal daily activities

• Home delivered meals for someone who can no longer cook or can’t get out to shop

• Transportation

• Physician and attorney referrals.

• Adult day care

• Information about Medicare and Medi-Cal

The list could go on much longer, but the point is, when an elder parent needs help, there are professionals who can figure out what that person needs, and point the senior and the senior’s children in the direction of the right agency.

The services are for seniors who live within the geographic area that Age Well covers — roughly from San Clemente northward to Lake Forest and east to Rancho Santa Margarita. You can reach Age Well by going to any of the ten senior centers where Age Well has staff. You can also phone Age Well at (949) 855-8033. If you need someone who speaks Spanish, contact Emma Barrera (949) 855-8033, ext 102.

If the senior lives in Orange County but outside Age Well’s area, you can contact the Office on Aging for the County of Orange in Santa Ana: http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Office on Aging.

So the moral is, you don’t have to go it alone when it comes to tracking down resources when mom or dad needs help. The Case Management team at Age Well has already done many years of homework for you.

Age Well’s four case managers and the centers where they are based are Cheryl Wieland (Florence Sylvester Memorial Center, Laguna Hills), Lauren Anderson (Del Obispo Community Center, Dana Point), Lauren Freeman (Norman P. Murray, Sr. Community Center, Mission Viejo), and Emma Barrera (San Clemente Senior Center, San Clemente).

Next week: The McDavids step out to a tea dance!

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Meals on Wheels: What Else it Does

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

By Riley McDavid

Part 2 of 2

When my friend Al Wegel said last week that the name “Meals on Wheels” says it all, I chose to differ. Yes its primary benefit is bringing great nutrition to seniors — three meals a day, each furnishing one-third of the person’s daily nutritional requirements.

But there are other benefits as well. One, as we found out during last week’s ride-along with Muriel and Al Calfe, is the daily social contact the homebound senior has with Meals volunteers.

Meals on Wheels magnetic sign on volunteer's car

Another is that Meals is the reason many seniors are able to stay in their homes. The people who receive Meals on Wheels are unable to prepare their own meals or go out to eat, and have little or no assistance to obtain adequate meals. If it weren’t for Meals on Wheels many of them would be forced to go into some kind of care facility. Which is not a rap on care facilities, but just a recognition that for seniors who are capable of it, living independently at home is much more desirable. “If the only missing piece of the puzzle that’s needed to keep people in their homes is food, then we can provide that,” said Robin Trexler, site manager at Laguna Niguel.

Sometimes people become homebound quite unexpectedly. One of the people we visited last week during the ride-along with Muriel and Al was a quiet spoken, down-to-earth fellow named Norm. For 25 years Norm had been a volunteer helping to feed others. He trucked produce long distances to food banks and to reservations. During the last three years of his volunteer career, he delivered for Meals on Wheels.

Then came an extended hospital stay. After Norm got out, he was devastated to find out he could no longer drive. Suddenly the Meals volunteer had become a Meals recipient.

Volunteer drivers also function as cautionary eyes that can report back if a senior appears to be ill or has a marked change in demeanor. They can help seniors in most unexpected ways. Al told of the woman who had just started chemo and asked the Calfe’s if the organization could provide her with a wig. Al said he didn’t know but said he’d ask. “I don’t know how.” Al says, “but they got her a wig and she looked really good in it.”

Many of the people who receive Meals on Wheels are able to pay the suggested donation of $6.50 a day, and at least one we know of pays for himself and contributes an equal amount for someone who cannot afford to.

But there are others who have little money. “There are impoverished seniors out there, some of whom have to make the decision, ‘Do I eat today or do I buy my meds?’” said Robin Trexler. “Meals on Wheels makes a huge difference in the lives of those people.”

The Calfe’s once had a friend who lived on a tiny pension and who in his later years couldn’t afford proper food. “I just know he wasn’t getting the right nutrition,” Al said.

“I wish we’d known about Meals on Wheels,” Muriel added. “He could have used it. But back then we didn’t know.”

These are the Meals on Wheels distribution centers: Corona Del Mar/Oasis Senior Center; Dana Point/Del Obispo Community Center; Laguna Beach/Susi Q Senior Center; Laguna Hills/Florence Sylvester Memorial Senior Center; Laguna Niguel/Sea County Community Center; Mission Viejo/Norman P, Murray Senior Community Center; Rancho Santa Margarita/Bell Tower Community Center; San Clemente/San Clemente Senior Center; San Juan Capistrano/San Juan Capistrano Community Center.

Want to make a positive difference in the lives of deserving seniors? Donate to Meals on Wheels today. Go to Age Well’s home page and click on “Donate Now.” If you want to deliver meals one or more days a week, contact Becky Lomaka at blomaka@myagewell.org or (949) 855-8033.

Next Week: “Help! My Mom Needs Help”

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RSS feed implemented

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Since Blog for Causes contains frequently updated content, we now allow viewers to subscribe to an RSS feed. To view your options, click “Entries RSS” at the very bottom of the page. If you subscribe to this feed, updated content will automatically be downloaded to your computer and can be viewed in Internet Explorer, Google Reader and other programs.

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Meals on Wheels: The Social Aspect

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

Part 1 of 2

My friend Al Wegel is a retired editor who loves words and wordplay. He and I both do the New York Times crossword, but with different results. He finishes the Friday puzzle, which, in case you didn’t know, is sadistically difficult, in about 30 minutes. I finish the Friday puzzle — IF I finish the Friday puzzle — shortly before going to bed Sunday night.

He abhors inflated language (“Caregivers for the non-ambulatory shall not attempt to effect ingress to or egress from…” etc.), and collects examples of good plain English. Among his favorites, the word “stop” on a stop sign. (“One of the most perfect complete sentences in the English Language.”) and Amazon’s “Where’s my stuff?” (“Why can’t all instructions be that simple?”)

Needless to say (a phrase, by the way, he would never use because if it’s needless, why say it?) anyway, needless to say I consider him the ultimate arbiter in all matters verbal. So it was with some trepidation I asked Al what he thought of our organization’s new name.

He didn’t so much as blink. “’Age Well’ is outstanding!” he raved. Then he added, ‘You know what else I love? ‘Meals on Wheels.’ That says it all.”

I had to think about that. “Yes and no,” I said at last. Certainly Meals on Wheels is primarily about nutrition. For the 12-month period ending June 30, for example, Age Well’s ten Meals on Wheels locations delivered 458,029 meals to 1,525 homebound seniors. Each delivery consisted of a hot, ready-to-eat meal, a cold meal to eat later in the day, and a breakfast meal for the following morning. Every meal furnished one-third of a person’s daily nutritional requirements.

But, I told him, “Meals” offers other benefits. For example, for some homebound seniors, it is a daily social event, a few minutes of friendly contact with someone who obviously cares about their well-being.

I got to see this first hand last Thursday when I rode along with two of Meals more than 600 volunteers, Muriel and Albert Calfe, retirees who met years ago in Pittsburgh and have been delivering for the past three years. Muriel, who is originally from Manchester, England and has a delightful accent to prove it, is currently President of the Laguna Niguel Senior Citizens Club. Al is a golfer, who enjoys talking about his younger days as a caddy at the famed Oakmont Country Club.

Muriel and Albert Calfe

“Why do you do this?” I asked Al, as we headed out.

“Satisfaction,” he replied. Later he added, “Plus I get to tell all my old jokes that nobody else will laugh at.”

We pulled up to a house and Muriel said, “Come meet Penny. You must meet Penny!” and I realized I was about to see the social aspect of Meals in action.

When Penny opened the door, I saw instantly why I had to meet her. She is a short slight woman in her 80’s with a contagious smile and an energetic wit. We all went into her kitchen, and the three of them talked on like old friends. This week the subject was movies.

Muriel told Penny about a movie she had seen on TV, “De-Lovely,” a Cole Porter biopic starring Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd. When Muriel mentioned a Robert DeNiro-Liza Minelli movie, Penny said she saw DeNiro in “Goodfellas.”

Al couldn’t resist teasing her. “Goodfellas?” he said. “You went to Catholic schools! What do you think the nuns would say if they knew you went to a movie like that?”

We talked on about other things, and eventually we all had to say our goodbyes,

Once we got back to the car, Muriel explained that not all visits were like this. “People like Penny throw their doors open wide for us and say, ‘Come on in!’ Others barely crack the door, take their food and go back inside.”

Next Week: Part Two — A Meals Volunteer Becomes a Meals Recipient

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Dr. Robert Butler 1927-2010

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

Robert Butler’s life did not get off to a promising start. Eleven months after he was born in New York in 1927, his parents broke up. He was sent to live with his grandparents on their chicken farm in New Jersey, but just six years later his grandfather, whom he revered, died unexpectedly. Not long after that, in the midst of the great depression, his grandmother lost the farm, and she and Robert moved to New York City, where they lived in a cheap hotel, ate government surplus food, and Robert sold newspapers to help them get by. Then the hotel burned down and they lost all their possessions.

Many years later Robert Butler recalled this period of his life not with bitterness but with appreciation. “What I remember about those years more than the hardship was my grandmother’s triumphant spirit and determination,” he wrote. “Experiencing at first hand an older person’s struggle to survive, I was myself helped to survive as well.”

Robert Butler’s appreciation of his grandparents would transform not only his life, but the lives of millions of other people. He eventually went to medical school, where he was horrified at his professors’ attitude towards the elderly. “Those professors frequently referred to older people as crocks because they viewed their older patients as being as fragile as crockery,” Thomas Maugh II wrote in his obituary of Dr. Butler in the Los Angeles Times. “I had grown up with grandparents, and it seemed quite disrespectful to me.”

Butler devoted the rest of his life to the study of aging, and literally founded the field of gerontology. He did a groundbreaking eleven-year study on aging, which helped establish that senility was not the result of growing old but of disease. That study resulted in his 1975 book Why Survive: Being Old in America, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize.

In 1975 he created the National Institute on Aging, which he headed for six years. In 1982 he founded the Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, the first such department at a medical school.

He coined the term “ageism,” and in his writings and speeches pounded home a single basic but not often recognized fact: in the 20^th century the average life span increased 30 years, which is greater than the increases in the last 5,000 years of human existence.

Frequently reporters would call Dr. Butler for a quote on some matter having to do with aging, but he wouldn’t let them get away with just a sound bite.

“When I was an editor at a health professions magazine trying to get a call back and a quote,” said journalist Paul Kleyman, “I’d get my quote, all right, but more than that, I’d get an education. Bob, far from being a publicity hound, wanted to fill you in with background and other sources to interview for your story. And, if you had time and seemed interested in writing more about issues in aging, he wanted to know about you and your work.”

Dr. Butler died on July 4 at age 83. “He was a giant and was one of my mentors,” said Dr. Marilyn Ditty, CEO of Age Well. “One of his quotes I repeat all the time in talks: ‘Are we living 20 more years with purpose and joy, or is it just taking us 20 more years to die?’”

“No one, his colleagues said, had done more to improve the image of aging in America,” Kate Zernike wrote in the New York Times later that week. “His work established that the old did not inevitably become senile, and that they could be productive, intellectually engaged, and active — sexually and otherwise. His life provided a good example: He worked until three days before his death from acute leukemia.”

“I always thought Bob Butler would live forever,” journalist Trudy Lieberman wrote in Columbia Journalism Review. “After all, he was Mr. Live A Long Life, and preached the gospel of helping Americans do just that. I never thought of Bob getting old.”

But he did, and when he passed away, he left behind not only four daughters and six grandchildren, but countless colleagues and adherents to carry on his work, and millions of seniors all over the globe, many of whom had never heard of Dr. Butler but whose lives are far richer because of his pioneering successes.

Next Week: We Ride Shotgun for Meals on Wheels

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Signs of the Times

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

As I suggested last week, my neighbor Arnie isn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but give him credit, he really tries. Earlier this year his daughter gave him his first ever computer so they could e-mail each other. It’s taken him a few months, but Arnie is finally online and e-mail literate. It’s really great for the both of them because Arnie’s daughter lives overseas in Vienna, which, Arnie told me yesterday, is in Australia.

Anyway, Arnie is so proud of his e-literacy that he wanted to send me an e-mail just to show he could do it. Today I got his message:

“Dear sir or madam.” (Not a promising start.) “Have you noticed all the great new buses around town with Age Well’s terrific green signs? And the Meals-on-Wheels drivers all have magnesium signs on the side of their cars. I have to go now. Arnie.”

Let me correct a couple of things in Arnie’s e-mail. The buses aren’t new at all. They just have an upbeat new look. And the signs on the Meals-on-Wheels volunteers’ cars aren’t magnesium, they’re magnetic.

But Arnie was right when he said the signs are terrific. This is the story of how they came into being.

In 2009, at the same time South County’s volunteer marketing committee was zeroing in on recommending that Age Well Senior Services be the organization’s new name, it began looking at various graphic ideas of how to portray the name visually.

Several logos were developed pro bono by Bates-Lee Advertising of Costa Mesa, whose president, Bob Bates, is on the Age Well board of directors and also on the marketing committee. As you can see in the accompanying photo, the logo that resulted has a green gradient and contemporary “W” swoosh logo. Bob says this look was designed “to complement the upbeat, forward-thinking vitality we hope to bring to the seniors we serve, regardless of their life stage or medical condition.”

Designers are not above having a bit of fun with their work, and a little of that happened with this logo. “The stylized ‘W’ swoosh,” Bob says, “is actually the old Saddleback Mountain graphic from the South County Senior Services logo, flipped on its back, melted a bit and colored green.”

The great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot just by watching,” and Age Well wanted lots and lots of people to observe its new signs. So the decision was made to wrap all 14 of the buses and related vehicles with the new name and logo. That, of course, costs money, so Age Well approached Monarch Health Care, a long-time supporter, with the idea of having Monarch advertise on all the vehicles for one year. Monarch agreed, and the revenue from that advertising essentially pays for the wrapping of the buses.

“It’s great exposure for Monarch,” says Becky Lomaka, Director of Fund Development for Age Well. “Those vehicles go 15,000 miles a month from San Clemente in the south to the Long Beach VA in the north. That means thousands of drivers and passengers and pedestrians see the Monarch message every weekday.” Needless to say, it’s great exposure for Age Well’s new name as well.

Putting magnetic signs on the cars of the Meal-on-Wheels volunteers was a logical next step. It not only promotes the Age Well identity, but it lets people see how important the Meals program is to so many people in the various communities Age Well serves and makes a pitch for support as well.

Let me get back to Yogi for a moment, so he can defend himself. Over the years, dozens of logic-defying quotes have been attributed to him. (My personal favorite: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”) But he denies uttering many of them. As he reportedly complained to one interviewer, “I never said most of the things I said.”

Next Week: The Amazing Life of Dr. Robert Butler

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Who Are These Guys?

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

By Riley McDavid

“You know what they’ve done now?”

The irate speaker was my neighbor Arnie, who has a habit of blaming all the ills in the world on “they,” regardless of whether the offending party is singular or plural or even human for that matter.

“No, Arnie, “ I said, “I certainly do not know. What have they done now?”

“Well this new senior services group called Age Well has set up shop in town, and with their classy buses and green signs and everything they’re going to drive South County Senior Services right out of business. And you know who is the head of this new outfit?”

“Let me guess,” I replied. “Ah … Dr. Marilyn Ditty?”

“That’s right! Those scoundrels probably lured her over by promising a fat salary, plush new offices, and an unlimited expense account. Who are these guys anyway?”

In spite of being a truly nice guy, Arnie isn’t the sharpest tack in the tool kit. He is prone to accepting wild misinformation as proven fact, the more menacing the better, and then passing it on to others. I figured I really should set him straight before this fantasy of his went viral.

Age Well Senior Services is South County Senior Services, I told him. The organization changed its name back in January. And before he could say, “Why?” I told him.

Too many people — users, donors and the general public — were confused by the term South County Senior Services, I said. Many thought it was a government agency run and funded by the County of Orange. So some potential donors would say, “Why should I contribute to you? You’re already getting my tax money.”

But it isn’t a county agency. It is a nonprofit public benefit organization that can do its work only because of the generous contributions of corporations, communities and individuals. So to help correct the public misconception, the words South County had to go from the name.

Arnie thought about that a bit. “Okay,” he said. “But why name it Age Well?”
“Think about it. You’re aging, aren’t you?”
”Sure.”

“Well wouldn’t you like to age well? Wouldn’t you like to stay healthy and active and independent?” Arnie nodded. “That’s exactly what South County has been helping seniors do all these years. They work with those who are fit, active and determined to stay vital, as well as with those with age-related mental or physical disabilities that restrict them to their homes. They want every senior to have the best possible quality of life. So now the group has a new name that better tells people what its mission is: Age Well Senior Services.”

When I got done, Arnie was so impressed that he said he wanted to be an Age Well volunteer. “I could deliver meals on wheels and cheer up all those homebound seniors with my stories,” he said.

Immediately I had this frightening picture of seniors, some of whom had only limited contact with the outside world, cowering in their living rooms as Arnie spun out his dark and wildly inaccurate tales of life just beyond their doorsteps.

“Don’t do it, Arnie,” I said. “Just send Age Well a check. They’ll appreciate that a lot more.”

Next Week: The new signs and the classy buses.

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