a newspaper for asbury methodist village residents ...filmmaking.” associate membership entitles...

June 2012Volume 19 Number 5

Residents, Associates, Families & Friends www.asburymethodistvillage.org

A NEWSPAPER FOR ASBURY METHODIST VILLAGE

By Jean Hubbell, Villas

If you have had occasion to call Asbury’s Transportation Office on 4019 to request a

ride, you have probably heard a pleasant and upbeat voice answer and chances are it was Transpor-tation Manager Sue Wood. Some-times Dispatchers Ben or Vincent answer and they are cheerful too; however, Sue is the one who can tell you just about all you would want to know about alpacas. Yes, not dogs or cats or horses or even sheep – alpacas, closely related to llamas and members of the camel family.

Sue lives near New Market and happened to attend a seminar there about four years ago. The focus was on alpacas and Sue was quite interested. Then, about three and a half years ago she started out boarding some alpacas on another farm and progressed to raising them on the l25-acre farm that had been in her husband’s family for many years. Sue said she was thinking ahead to what she would do in retirement and con-sequently, has a small herd provid-ing fiber that is marketable and used in many ways depending on the softness degree. The softest is used for baby wear, mid-range for such things as socks, hats and

gloves, the thicker fiber for sweat-ers and coats while the heaviest fiber goes into fillings for quilts and duvets, rugs and inside the booms used in oil spills (who would have guessed that?). It’s a lux-ury fiber, can be blend-ed with others, is hypo-

allergenic, warmer than wool but lighter weight, so is good for all four seasons and it comes in 22 natural colors.

If you thought alpacas lived in South America, you’re right. They are found mostly in Peru, Bolivia,

and Chile but they were intro-duced to U.S. by l984 and are also now to be found in Europe, but South America remains the pri-mary source. All alpacas coming to the U.S. must be DNA regis-

Learning About Alpacas From Sue Wood

Alpacas—So many colors to choose from!

Asbury’s Transportation Manager has an unusual outside inter-est—alpacas! Here’s Sue with award winner, Cookie!

Sue gets a kiss from one of her prize alpacas.

Continued on page 12

2 June 2012 Village life

VILLAGELIFE

Asbury Methodist Village

201 Russell Avenue

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

[email protected]

General information: 301-330-3000

Website: www.asburymethodistvillage.org

Village Life brought to you in part by

Resident EditorsGeorge Lane, Mund

Marilyn Gaut, Trott

Norma Barr, Diamond

Bob Bernero, Wallace

Gladys Sillcox, Edwards-Fisher

Al Tholen, Park View

Marilyn Carter, Courtyard Homes

Help Wanted, Kindley

Resident StaffCourtyard Homes: Peter Cascio

and Maria E. Roberts

Diamond: Alma Stewart

Mac McCullough, Edith Isacke,

Jan Garman and Hal Garman

Edwards-Fisher: Joan Dunlop,

Rosemary Pasek, Luella LeVee

and Happy Summer, Betty Goen,

we miss you!

Mund: Gil Snyder, Jack Brinley,

Anne Porter and Tommie Tralka

Park View: Duane McKenna,

Anita Taylor, John Eberhard

and Tom McIlrath.

Trott: Jeanne North, Reporter and

Copy Editor, Hal Gaut,

Joan Brubaker, Becky Ratliff,

Howard Morris, Jack Hutchings

and Dr. Bob Hartman

Villas: Carol Dennis, Dan Muller,

Jean Hubbell, Jay Hatch

and Marolyn Hatch

Wallace: Keith Steele

Design/Layout:Mina Rempe @ Electronic Ink

Printing: Chesapeake Publishing Corp..

Village Life is published by Asbury Methodist Village

Communications Department

“The mission of Village Life is to provide timely, interesting and entertaining news about the lives, concerns and activities of the peo-ple who reside, work and volunteer at Asbury Methodist Village.”

Shuttle Schedule And Transportation CallsBy Jean Hubbell, Villas

Questions have come up con-cerning transportation ser-vices at Asbury. Information

is available in the phone directory regarding routes and hours of ser-vice and also in the Asbury Hand-book. Shuttle time schedules should be posted in building mailrooms. I believe the complete circuit takes about twenty minutes. On weekdays the shuttle runs between 7:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. with stops at WHCC, Mund, Trott, Edwards-Fisher, 333 Kindley, Hefner Community Center, Park View, Rehab lst Center, Mont-gomery Medical at Asbury and the Rosborough Center. An evening shut-tle runs from 3:45 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with stops at WHCC, Apartment

Center, Hefner Community Building, Park View, Kindley, Rosborough, and on request at Rehab lst and Mont-gomery Medical. This service is not provided to the Villas but if you live there and need transportation, call 4019 between 7:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. or after hours, the gatehouse. I have had occasion to use this service many times and have found a car and driver arrive within five to ten minutes. Be ready to leave when you call. That is also the number to call to request transportation for doctor appointments, but for those call, a couple of days in advance so a driver will definitely be available.

On Saturday and Sunday service is available from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by calling receptionists at 4006 (Apt.

Ctr.), 4008 ( Hefner), 4003 (Kind-ley), 4004 (WHCC), 6107 (Park View) or Gatehouse if you are in the Vil-las . I have not yet seen service for the Courtyard Homes listed so that would be available by calling 4019 weekdays and the Gatehouse on weekends.

The Tuesday and Thursday shop-ping schedules are listed with times. The Tuesday shopping shuttle covers K Mart, Giant, CVS, Sears, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Lord and Taylor and Thurs-day shopping goes to Giant, Kohls, Wal-Mart and Target at the Milestone Center. The Tuesday grocery shuttle goes to the Goshen Safeway, Goshen Giant and Trader Joe’s. Consult the back pages of your phone directory for shopping shuttle times.

ATTENTION GE RETIREES

Do you receive a pension from General Electric?

If yes, are you aware of their Matching Gift program? The Asbury Foundation can help you take advantage of this generous GE benefit.

Call Carol Eller at Ext. 7008 for more information.

The Apple Corps CelebratesBy Jeanne North, Trott

At a collegial reception/cel-ebration on Friday, May 18, Apple Corps members, fans

and aficionados gathered in the liv-ing room of Arcadia Place to lift a glass (of apple juice, what else?) to the benefactors of the newly mint-ed organization, Asbury Methodist Village, represented by AMV Exec-utive Director David Denton and AMV Director of Administration of Residential Living Betsey Hudson, and Donor Walter J. Bank of Trott, who had stepped forward offering to supply the Apple computers for the new space.

In a week of good fortune leav-ing Apple Corps leaders and fans breathless with disbelief and joy, the two offers gave a jolt of new ener-gy to the Apple Corps. Apple com-puters in a space for Apple users means that even those without an Apple computer of their own could take lessons, learn to use email, get on the internet to do research or make purchases, learn how to Skype friends and relatives living near and far.

In short, the Apple Place will offer residents a new opportunity to con-

nect with family and friends and offer them a window on the world. At the Apple celebration, one Apple Corps member told of playing long distance Scrabble with a relative. How’s that for staying connected?

Furthermore, in the best of old possible worlds, Apple people and PC people can collaborate and cooperate, complementing and sup-plementing each other’s offerings to the AMV community. Keeping up with fast moving technological advances in the Cyber world will be ever more possible when PCs and Apples work together.

Apple Corps members and friends at the celebration included Bill Fair-ley, Charlie Fullerton, Charlotte F. Fischer, Hal Garman, Jay Hatch, Bar-bara Meltzer, Hubert Morsink, Mur-ray Schulman, Aurora Sevilla, Keith Steele, George Stosur, Tommie Tralka and Jim Utterback, Also present was Instructor Jim Clark and the Apple Corps leadership team: Marybeth Morsink, Dave Kosow, Eloise John-son and Jeanne North.

For details on the Apple Corps, check the website: https://sites.google.com/site/asburyapplecorps/home

Photo: Howard Morris, Trott

Village life June 2012 3

JOHN PAUL EBERHARD: Commencement Speaker at the University at BuffaloBy Lois Eberhard, Park View

On May 11, 2012, John Eber-hard gave the Commence-ment address at the School

of Architecture and Planning, State University of New York at Buffalo and was honored with the Dean’s Medal for his contribution to the School. John was the found-ing Dean of the School, then and now the only Architecture School in the State University system. His first challenge was to link the new School with components of the Fac-ulties of the Schools of Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. After a year of planning, hiring faculty and recruit-ing students, the School opened in the spring of 1969. It now has more than 800 students and a faculty of

120. For John, the highlight of the

graduation ceremony was receiving the Dean’s Medal and the accolades describing his accomplishments. The most rewarding part of the

event was the return of his students from places as far away as Denver and the many comments from grate-ful graduates about how their edu-cation had affected their lives.

In his Commencement address, John told the story of developing an innovative curriculum that included not only an education in architec-tural design, but also in the many other skills and roles involved in the fields of architecture and the built environment. He described the careers of some of the early gradu-ates which ranged from becoming the Director of Planning for the City of Chicago, to leading large archi-tectural design practices, to gain-ing recognition as nationally-known environmentalists.

One of the School’s most innova-tive programs was a 3-night a week

program for Community College students to meet the requirements for a professional degree that would allow them to take the examination for state certification as licensed architects. Another innovation was the establishment, external to the University, of the Buffalo Organiza-tion for Social and Technical Inno-vation (BOSTI) offering a broad experience for students to address real-world issues. Funds from the BOSTI contracts provided income for each of the students, many of whom were supporting families.

His years at SUNY Buffalo were exciting and indicative of his life-long interest in mentoring young people and encouraging them to use their minds and talents to build the future.

Osher Lecture and Discussion Series at Asbury Applications are Here

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute registration time is now. This exciting

opportunity to register for Asso-ciate Membership in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins Uni-versity Asbury campus location is open and you are encouraged to sign up early to reserve your space.

Two classes begin on Monday, September 24 and continue through Monday December 10. The morn-ing class given by musician and music historian Saul Lilienstein will be held in the Rosborough Theatre from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The subject is “For the Love of

Schubert.” After a one-hour break for lunch, the afternoon class given by film critic, teacher and lecturer Stan Levin will be held in the Rosborough Theatre from

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The subject is “The Arts of

Filmmaking.” Associate Membership entitles you to both classes, but you may choose to attend only one.If you need a regis-

tration form or have any questions about the Osher

Lecture and Discussion Series at Asbury please call Linda Aber at x4106.

Applications may be found at your Reception Desk and Mailbox locations.

Asbury’s Grass – The Long and The Short of It

Over the decades lawn mowing has evolved from a weekly chore to a turf

master’s science. Where we used to make sure we didn’t cut it so short that it burned out in August or leave it too long so we either had to mow again before next Saturday or suf-fer our tidy neighbor’s supercilious sneer, we can now tap a greater pool of knowledge.

Research has shown that cutting it short reduces the amount of leaf blade surface for photosynthesis, thus reducing the amount of root mass. Root mass shortages limit the plant’s ability to withstand mechani-cal and environmental stresses like traffic, heat and drought. Limited root mass also cuts the capability of the plant to reach available pools of nutrients and allows weeds to find space to intercede.

On the other side of the coin, too great a cutting height decreases the turf density. Root strength and the sprouting from the base of the plant become diminished without which the plant becomes less competi-tive. Weeds may then encroach and chemical control may become nec-essary.

Turf folks now consider no less than seven parameters to judge our mowing height. Our grass competes for the available space to grow, access to water and nutrients in the soil. It competes for sunlight, to resist dis-

ease and insects and to maintain vigor. Different types of grass have different requirements …but the same elements of competition.

Over the years these requirements have been applied to the various types of the best lawn grasses wheth-er putting green, fairway, rough or your old back 40 Acres.

The Asbury lawn is a mixture of several types of grass seeds consist-ing of both cool weather varieties and warm weather varieties. In the spring, the cool types thrive and give us the early green sward. As the summer heats up the cool types die down and the hot weather varieties try to maintain the greenness. Brick-man would like to mow only after the blades reach a full 4” height in order to maintain root strength and plant spread. Because of resident pressure for shorter grass Brickman has lowered the mowers to cut at 3 ½”. This article is an attempt to present some education on the sub-ject instead of simply yielding to tra-ditional pre-science prejudices. We hope it helps the resident depth of knowledge and subsequently the height of our grass back to 4”.

Residents may note that less grass area is being mowed, fertilized and weed-treated around the ponds this year. This is in the interests of encouraging native plants and wild-life to occupy a greater part of our natural environment.

Stan Levin presents “The Arts of Filmmaking

Saul Lilienstein presents “For the Love of Schubert”


Aiming High: The Keese School AwardeesBy Jeanne North, Trott

The William A. Keese School of Continuing Education, estab-lished by residents in 1978,

has long had the practice of grant-ing educational awards to selected members of the wait staff to help them continue their higher educa-tion. Since 2002, there have been 42 recipients of such awards. This year Keese School funds have been aug-mented by voluntary contributions from residents, allowing awards of $1,200 to be granted. Of the many young people in the Crawford and Hefner dining rooms aspiring to con-tinue their education at institutions of higher education, six were chosen this year to receive the Keese School monetary awards to use to further their schooling.

The accomplishments and aspira-tions of the awardees cry out for recognition: all have distinguished themselves in their academic stud-ies and with admirable work in AMV dining rooms, and all plan to attend Montgomery Colleges in the fall.

The young people have set high goals for themselves: Kimberly Agu-ilar, who has volunteered at school

and at the Wilson Health Care Center, hopes to go into Dentistry; Shayana Islam received her Geriatric Nurs-ing Assistant License in September, 2011, and in May of this year started working as a CNA, and would like to become a Registered Nurse;Aniqua Matthews is drawn to Medicine and hopes to become a NursePractitio-ner; Chris McConnell is currently enrolled in his high school JROTC, where he has attained the rank of

Cadet Regimental Command Ser-geant Major; he is also involved in the Civil Air Patrol and is well on his way to a military career in the Air Force, his chosen field; Sabrina Omar, who volunteers with chil-dren and loves to write, especially short stories and plays, wants to go into Broadcast Journalism. Olufunke Sholola has volunteered at school and at church, hopes for an intern-ship at the State Department and

wants to become a Diplomat.At a Celebration of the Keese

School 2011-2012 Academic Year and of the Educational Award Winners on Wednesday, May 16 in Hefner Audi-torium, certificates of awards were given to each of the six recipients. In addition, Mary Lou Luff, on behalf of Asbury’s Catholic Community, pre-sented each of the recipients with a certificate and a check for $200 to be used for books.

Asked to say a few words, Aniqua Matthews, well known to those who dine at Crawford, evoked laughter when she said that “We are the seeds, and you guys the fertilizer.” Execu-tive Director David Denton picked up quickly on that opportunity for a one-liner, and came back with, “That makes Asbury the Field of Dreams.”

Presiding at the May 16 Celebra-tion was President Frances Stick-les. Marybeth Morsink, Chair of the Keese School Educational Awards Committee, which interviewed the applicants and made the difficult decisions on the awardees, present-ed the awards.

Congratulations to all!

Keese School

Gaithersburg Book Festival Year 3By Marilyn Gaut, Trott

It was a grand day May 19 for the Gaithersburg Book Festival. Many people, including Asbury

residents and staff, were there to enjoy it. I was there to (wo)man the Literacy Council booth. What better place than one full of book lovers to entice people to tutor those who are not reading.

One of the highlights this year was having Milton Whitley there to

autograph the book he wrote about learning to read at age 52. (See pic-ture of me buying his book.) Milton was born in North Carolina, one of 17 children. His mother and the chil-dren lived on a sharecropping farm. He got lost in the school system and ended up in a vocational school where most were mentally retard-ed. As a young adult he gravitated toward the drug users and homeless because those people accepted him

as he was. Finally he was in such bad shape that he ended up in detox and then a shelter. There he got counseling and help. When he told them he wanted an edu-cation and would have to learn to read first, he was directed to the Literacy Council. With learning to read, Milton has

become a confident, outgoing per-son who enjoys his life.

Author and panel presentations took place throughout the day fol-lowed by author signings. In the Ogden Nash Coffee House people were enjoying melodies and poetry of local musicians and poets. There were writing workshops for those aged 13 through adult and in Chil-dren’s Village books came alive as children acted them out, put them

to music, created them…and even tasted them.

At Celebrity Stage people could enjoy story time with a celebrity, as well as some pretty impressive awards presentations. (See picture of Mayor Katz and some young award winners.)

If you missed this year’s event, watch for it in 2013. I guarantee you a wonderful time.

Photo: Hal Gaut

Smiling faces, left to right: Marybeth Morsink, Chair of Keese School Educational Awards Committee; Aniqua Matthews; Sabrina Omar;

Chris McConnell; Kimberly Aguilar; Shayana Islam and Frances Stick-les, President, the Keese School of Continuing Education. Not shown:

Olufunke Sholola, absent due to a family medical emergency.

Mayor Sidney Katz surrounded by book-loving kids of Gaithersburg.

Marilyn Gaut buys a book from festival celebrity author Milton Whitley.


By Luella Nash LeVee, Edwards-Fisher

Mother’s Day was packed with activities for resi-dents of AMV, from going

to church with family members, swimming in our pool and walk-ing by our ponds, to sharing dinner with several generations.

But it was interacting with charm-ing children that brought the most smiles. Two of these large groups (with reservations for 12 each) were the one hosted at Crawford Dining Room by Alma Rhodes, Edwards-Fisher, and one presided over at the Hefner Dining Room by Joan and Dan Muller, the Villas, who planned a swimming party after-wards for afternoon entertainment.

I enjoyed dining with my son, Biff, after church. We saw lots of other families, large and small; some were borrowed families just for Mother’s Day because blood relatives live far away. We had a table for two, a little oasis midst a flurry of activity, and we were served by the very com-petent and smiling Esther Sekyi, originally from Ghana. I had met Esther a few weeks earlier at a Wait-ers’ Table and this made the conver-

sation easy and pleasant. Superlative crab cakes headlined a spectacular meal. (Our compliments to the chef.)

Actually, my Mother’s Day had begun several days earlier when cards and e-mail messages and early gifts brought smiles to my face. Ditto with my time as reception-ist in the E-F lobby the day before when florists delivered a bevy of colorful flowers for residents. (My own Mother’s Day flowers are gera-niums – a beautiful shade of pink – which will be planted on my bal-cony to bring smiles all summer.)I closed the day by giving thanks that I am blessed to have a large, loving family, including five grands and five

greats and another great coming in June. I was reminded of the words of an old friend that morning after services when he came up and put his arms around me, saying “Happy Mother’s Day to one of the great matriarchs of our church!”

And this matriarch smiled as wide a smile as any in her history.

* * * *A regular feature of the SMILES

column is a tip of our hat to folks whose kindness evokes a smile. One is courtesy of Charlotte Hoyle, Edwards-Fisher, who passed me a slip of paper which read:

“Since my alarm clock has been broken for some time, I call the

Gatehouse on Saturday night and ask for a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call on Sunday morning. Many times, I have been awakened by this bubbly happy ‘smile in the voice’ call from Rhian. Thank you, Rhian, for awak-ening me with a smile – not easy on an early Sunday morning!!!”

I would also like to salute Maria Martinez, my housekeeper, who always is on the lookout for little things she can do to make life easier for me despite my disabilities. And Ben Monroe, Transportation, also deserves a tip of our hat. At work, he goes out of his way to accommodate those of us who need rides, but I learned that he follows the same rule all the time. Case in point: I was outdoors, tooling around on my power scooter when it slipped in a crack in the pave-ment. I was trying, unsuccessfully, to rescue myself when along came Ben, out for a walk on his break. With one powerful arm, he righted the scooter and I was on my way.

Summing it all up, I guess it’s what Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” called “plain everyday kindness.”

Congratulations, Chef GusBy Marilyn Gaut, Trott

Our Chef Gus is going to the 2012 Lon-don Olympics! Gus

began the application process last January. In April he was asked for more paperwork and learned this May that he has been selected, one of 27 Sodexo workers in the U.S., one of 2500 around the world. Of the 27 from the U.S. Gus is one of 5 from the senior living venue. So far he has no idea what he will be doing or where he’ll be staying. He did not know if he would get to see any of the events, but did say he was interested in the softball and equestrian events, because of his wife’s interest. She hopes to fly over if he has a place that she can stay. As well, he has never been to London and would enjoy see-ing some of the city.

Sodexo, with other compa-nies, will be providing food to 15,000 athletes, 100,000 staff,

20,000 journalists and 70,000 volunteers. During game days, fourteen million meals will be needed, equivalent to around two percent of the number of school meals served in the United Kingdom schools over a year. Sodexo won the contract for spectator cater-ing across the Olympic Park South, including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Water Polo Arena. In addition they will also be providing catering at other Olympic ven-ues, including Hampden Park, St. James’ Park, the Royal Artil-lery, and Lord’s cricket ground. Catering will range from fish and chips at concessions, to an a la carte restaurant and canapé reception for 10,000

VIPs at the opening and closing ceremonies.

We are very proud and excit-ed that Chef Gus is going from Asbury and we hope he can keep us updated from London.

Photo: Hal Gaut

What’s cooking with Chef Gus? He’s going to the Olympics!


Outside My Apartment, Most and Least Favorite Sounds

By Jeanne North, Trott

Most favorite? The cheery whistle of the cardinal in the oak tree out back, and

the sound of the female cardinal chirping as she hops around my patio; all the while the memory of the recent visit of her bright red mate lingers fresh in my mind.

Least favorite? The piercing wail of an ambulance making yet anoth-er visit to Asbury.

Too many times, the ambulance takes a resident to the hos-pital after a fall. How soon they come back, and in what condition, is a ques-tion often too unpleasant to face. Will the resident be able to stay in indepen-dent living?

Asbury Methodist Vil-lage has a plan to help res-idents take steps to stay independent. You Trott people are lucky: you get to be first, because the Falls Prevention Initiative will roll out first for Trott residents. Other buildings will get their turns later.

Starting in June, you Trotters can first fill out a questionnaire estab-lishing what your apartment is like. Care Management can arrange for more grab bars in your bathroom, for instance, or for the delay on your front door to be reset. Is your ther-mostat easily accessible? (Mine is.) Are you able to get up easily from a seated position? (Alas, no.) Do you have enough night lights? (No, I really have to get another one. put it on my list.) There are more ques-tions, but you can see them when you fill out the form.

Now the bad news: you get to take a Fall Prevention Assessment to see what you need to do to prevent future falls. You have all heard the statistics before:

n one in three people over 65 fall each year;

n more than half of falls occur in the home;

n many of those injured are never able to return to inde-pendent living.

That last point? That is something none of us wants. So here’s what you do: sign up for a Falls Preven-tion Assessment. It only takes about 15 minutes. You can have it done here on campus by Home Therapy Services, a licensed outfit with 20 years of geriatric and fall preven-

tion experience. The assessment includes standing and walking bal-ance tests, as well as a test to gauge neuropathy, or how sensitive your feet are, important in walking. After that they can devise a program for you (yes, there’s that dreaded word, exercise!) to improve your perfor-mance and status. Of course, you don’t have to do this. Even though it’s free. Even though its for your own enlightenment and well-being. Even though its the thing to do! But

who would want to be left out of the loop? Besides, these are steps to staying independent! That, surely, is what we all want.

One other thing. Some of us, including me, have had fitness assessments with the Wellness Cen-ter, or perhaps with another outside therapy group. No one is saying you have to have your assessment with Home Therapy Services, or indeed that you have to have an assessment at all. This is all entirely voluntary. You can have an assessment by any-one you choose.

In any case, do continue to get a Senior Fit test conducted by the AMV Fitness professionals. Or get one if you haven’t done so, to see your current status and monitor your on-going progress.

If you opt for an assessment by Home Therapy Services, here’s how to go about it. Pick a sign-up date for assessment appointments (Trott residents only) and call Amy Ostro-lenk at x4747 to schedule it.

Wednesday, June 6: 10 a.m. - 12 noon in Conley Hall

Tuesday, June 12: 10 a.m. - 12 noon in Conley Hall

Wednesday, June 20: 10a.m. - 12 noon in Conley Hall

This is our chance. Maybe we can reduce the number of those wail-ing ambulance sirens. Maybe we can take these important steps to stay independent.

EIGHT TIPS TO PREVENT FALLS©

The CDC statistics show that falls are the leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in the home. The following eight tips can help keep you

safely on your feet.

EXERCISE REGULARLYExercise is the only intervention that by itself reduces falls.

Build strength and improve your balance and coordination. Obtain a Senior Fit test to evaluate your capabilities. Classes are available on campus, in your building as well as on AVTV for you to do in your home.

TAKE YOUR TIMEBeing rushed or distracted increases your chances of falling. Get

out of chairs slowly. Sit a moment before you get out of bed. Stand and get your balance before you walk. Use steady step stools that have a handle to grab.

CLEAR THE WAYKeep stairs and walking area free of electrical cords, shoes,

clothing, books, magazine, and other clutter.

LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELFSee an eye specialist once a year. Poor vision can increase your

chance of falling. Do not wear multifocal glasses climbing up or down stairs or walking. Improve the lighting in your home. Use night-lights to light the path between your bedroom and bath-room. Turn on the lights before using stairs.

SLIPPERY WHEN WETUse non-slip mats in the bathtub and on shower floors. Install

grab bars on the wall next to the bathtub, shower and toilet. Wipe up spilled liquids immediately.

THROW RUGS CAN THROW YOUUse only throw rugs with non-skid backing. Always smooth out

wrinkles and folds in carpeting.

TREAD CAREFULLYStairways should be well lit from top to bottom. Have easy-to-

grip handrails installed along the full length of both side of the stairs.

BEST FOOT FORWARDWear sturdy, well-fitted, low-heeled shoes with non-slip soles.

These are safer than high heels, thick-soled athletic shoes, slippers or stocking feet.

©NFPA Center for High-Risk Outreach

Use the Internet to become better informed:http://www.amvresidents.org/medical

Bob Hartman, MD – retired family practice and geriatric physician.

Asbury Methodist Village, Gaithersburg, MD

Ask Dr. Bob


It’s A Guy Thing

By Dan Muller, Villas

Afew years ago when I start-ed to write the Guy Thing, I promised myself that I

would never write about growing old, but now I’m in a dilemma. A lady friend whom I like and respect very much suggested that as we grow older there is less and less need to impress people, and this might be a good subject for a Guy Thing piece.

I’m going to do my best to side-step writing about growing old, but it’s a slippery slope.

Guys, and also many of you gals, think back on our lives when we were working. Most of the day-to-day effort was doing our best to complete the work assigned, to pro-vide accurate results, to finish proj-ects in a timely manner, to make suggestions to improve the work-ing environment and the final prod-

uct, and to innovate where possible and where prudent. This sounds a lot like the way we would achieve job satisfaction, but also what I just wrote smells a lot like doing our best to impress our supervisors. That’s the way it was in the working world I am familiar with. Largely, the key to advancement was to impress the right people, and some advance-ment might be provided.

Take a look at the political world. It seems to me that a political per-son who periodically must run for election must always be thinking of how to impress people.

Now I go to retired life, and although we all try to be congenial, friendly, helpful, positive people, there is little need to go as far as the need to impress people. But, Guys, there is an exception.

Don’t we all do our best to impress the ladies?

The Asbury Tree Program – A Stitch in Time Saves NineBy Peter Cascio, Courtyard Homes

During the first week of May, Brickman Branch Manager Bridget Cahill, Brickman

Chief Arborist Andy Hogan with Asbury’s Evan Haynes and Peter Cascio walked the campus to dis-cuss and evaluate the larger campus trees and their future.

The majority of our trees are healthy and thriving but many will need attention in coming years to maintain their health and longevity through proper pruning. “Pruning” covers elimination of dead or dying branches, low hanging limbs, cross-ing interior branches, elimination of co-dominant leaders, potential safety concerns and in some cases, beyond pruning, removal of the entire tree. Other sustaining treatments include cabling of divergent branches, elimi-nation of pockets of rot and poten-tial disease and attention to damage by insects and violent weather.

During our walk Mr. Hogan iden-tified a dying tree that showed its lack of strength by not being able to resist a fungus thriving on its weakened tissue. He surmised that the roots below the declining sec-tion were probably damaged during nearby construction. He also point-

ed out two ungainly and poten-tially dangerous trees that should be removed before causing injury. They were doing the beauty of our landscape no favors and should be replaced when funds become avail-able.

Additional trees and replacement trees will be coordinated with the Brickman Landscape Architect, the Wildlife Habitat Program and the Asbury Tree Replacement Program. Emphasis will be placed on the trees of our native habitat which act as hosts to our native pollinators such as red and sugar maples, red and yellow buckeye, pawpaw, red-bud, dogwood, hawthorn, American holly, tulip tree, sourwood, sassafras, yellowwood and American linden.

The campus also enjoys the pres-ence of non-native trees that add to its arboreal beauty such as the legacy and traditional Yoshino cher-ries, Lebanese and deodar cedars, Kousa dogwoods, purple leafed plums, crepe myrtle and Japanese crabapples and other Japanese cher-ry varieties to name a few.

We have a beautiful campus and we aim to not only preserve its quality but also enhance its future attractiveness, practicality and sus-tainability.

Green Team April Adopt-a-PotBy Peter Cascio, Courtyard Homes

On April 17th Brickman Group Branch Manager Bridget Cahill conducted

a gardening session for folks with limited outdoor exposure but who were interested in planting in con-tainers in the spaces that they might have.

The demonstration and discus-sions covered the full spectrum of the how and why of successful container gardening. First was the selection of the correct container for your space and then how to pro-vide adequate drainage. Tradition-ally old broken clay pots were used over the drainage holes to keep the soil from washing out, but one can use stones, bricks or even Styro-foam packing peanuts to do the job underneath the soil. The next layer is the soil which for most purposes should be a mix of topsoil and pot-ting mix. Potting mix alone will dry out too fast because it is very light. Mixing it with topsoil will help the result to retain moisture better.

Often the soil mix you used suc-cessfully this year will serve you well next year, too. Elaine Kielman showed some self-watering contain-ers which not only cut down on watering time but may help with a memory lapse now and then, too.

You wouldn’t plant a skunk cab-bage in the Sahara. Evaluate your climate and the exposure you

have in the locations available to you. Barbara Ellis presented her simple sun/shade rule of thumb. If the sun shines on your container only between sunrise and noon, you should select only shade lov-ing plants because you do not have SUN. If the sun is on your location between noon and sunset, you have SUN and are free to select your live-stock accordingly. It works. Try it, you’ll like it.

Needless to say, your sun location is going to need more water than your shade location. The scientific approach to irrigation is the human finger. If you stick it in the soil and it comes out cool and dirty, the plant has moisture. If the finger comes out dry and clean, it is time to water. The use of Miracle Grow is optional but can often break the lingering dormancy of a nursery purchase into a spring awakening which might not have occurred nat-urally (a.k.a. dead plant avoidance).

Pollinator attracting perenni-als were given out by Bridget who asked the recipients to enter their pollinator beckoning plant and the environment in which they grow it in Brickman’s container contest. Prizes will be awarded in the cat-egories of Best Window Boxes, Best Patio Containers and Best Small Ground Plots. Judging is scheduled for September. Criticism will be con-ducted by your neighbors through-out the summer. Good Luck.

Photo: Hal Gaut

This beautiful and healthy tri-colored beech shows off its colors in front of the Wilson Health Care Center. Thanks to Margaret Johnson

for sending us out to photograph it!

8 June 2012 Village life Village life June 2012 9

This Month in the Gallery

The Rosborough Cultural Arts and Wellness Center is home to

an ever-changing gallery of arts and handiwork created by our

residents. Stop by and see what’s new. With 12 display cases to look at, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Here’s this

month’s sampling of art.

Margot Dibble, Edwards-Fisher

Watercolor

Photo: Howard Morris

Heddy Taima, Park ViewFujiko Kakefuda, Wallace

Origami

By Bob Wood, Villas

Costa Rica in January was beautiful and filled with sights worth talk-ing about and sharing. While the trip offered

many experiences in which walking was a necessity, there were plenty of other less strenuous things to do too. Early morning on January 4th we caught the 7:00a.m. commuter bus here in Gaithersburg (about 1 mile away) to BWI, flew to Miami, changed planes then on to San Jose, Costa Rica arriving about 7:00 in the evening. Actually we gained an hour since Costa Rica is on central time.

We met up with forty others in our Vantage group and headed for Arenal, a lovely resort site on the river. A city tour took us to a grand National The-ater built around 1890; the Nation-al Museum with not only historical items of interest but an unusual room filled with plants, shrubs and literally hundreds of flying butterflies; and a market place that’s always filled with interesting folks doing their daily shopping. On the way we stopped at an Ox Cart builders’ place and watched them do the painting. They really are colorful.

A guided boat tour occurred the next morning along the Rio Frio. For a couple of hours we saw monkeys, iguana, sloths, other animals, and lots of birds. At one point we actually entered Nicaragua. After lunch we took a leisurely drive back to the resort and enjoyed a dip in the hot tub.

The next day was a real highlight, a two-mile walk through the rain for-est on the Hanging Bridges trail. This was our only encounter with rain and really only a drizzle at that. But with ponchos on we walked for about three hours over some twelve well-constructed foot bridges that provid-ed sights of many animals and birds. We even got a real close-up picture

of a pit viper. Sometimes the bridge was far above the forest floor with a stream below, and once or twice a waterfall in the distance. Mary bypassed this one since the walking was too much, and spent the morn-ing doing her sketching thing.

A sailing ship experience was next, but on the way a stop at an Eco Farm. Lettuce the size of a bushel basket, fruit trees just loaded, sugar cane that we pulled up and all without artifi-cial fertilizer. We ran the sugar cane through what looked like an old fash-ioned clothes ringer to squeeze out the liquid, added a good measure of rum and all enjoyed a drink before lunch. We got to the ship and board-ed about 5:00 p.m. and settled in for a delightful week-long cruise down to Panama and back.

Our first day was spent at sea on our way to Isla Gamez, Panama. So we enjoyed lots of sunshine, lazing on deck chairs reading, or joining everyone else at the six opportuni-ties to eat during the day. (That’s not counting the snacks you could take

back to your cabin if you wanted!!!) We did have the required life boat drill in the morning and there were a number of activities scheduled, such as water aerobics and water gymnas-tics that Mary joined.

My activity for the day was climbing the mast. Anyone who wanted could climb the rope ladder that went from the deck railing up the first level on the mast. Of course we wore a har-ness and were firmly hooked to a cable running next to the rope ladder so you couldn’t fall off even if you wanted to. We ended up about 60 feet up with a great view of the ship. Much fun!

Our only day in Panama was on Isla

Gamez where we enjoyed swimming, snorkeling, and a very fine BBQ on the beach. Actually the snorkeling wasn’t very interesting, only tiny fish without much color and some rocks, but the water was on the warm side so I enjoyed it anyway.

Then we were sailing back north with stops each day at different ports in Costa Rica. At each port there were two or three optional excursions from the ship that of course cost extra. Many of them were bus trips to the interior with either hikes or river boat trips for a few hours. Since we had already experienced this we passed up most of these excursions and spent each day either walking about the port town with a small group from the ship or just relaxing and soaking up the sunshine on our favorite deck chair. Mary did take an excursion, a Mangrove wildlife boat cruise, which wasn’t that great and certainly not worth the cost. On the other hand I joined about a dozen others for a drive inland to a place where we rode a zip line through the forest canopy. That was fabulous! There were twelve lines from 100-yards long up to one that was over a quarter mile. I asked our guide how fast we could go and he said up to 85 km/hr. That’s like 50 mi/hr. Really cool! The only problem was if you slowed too soon before arriving at the next station you had to pull your-self up by the cable, but that wasn’t too bad.

Our next to last day on board we stopped at another beach on Isla Tor-

tugas. Again, enjoyable swimming but not- so-hot snorkeling. However, the beaches were really lovely: palm trees, soft sand, warm weather; you could get used to that!

And then our cruise was over. We docked back at Puerto Caldera and headed off for San José. On the way we stopped at a coffee plantation

and enjoyed a tour, lunch, and lots of coffee for the coffee drinkers. Not a bad visit. That evening we all were treated to dinner at the home of the local Vantage Office Manager. A very nice and enjoyable affair.

Next day our flight back home was just the way it should be, completely uneventful. We landed at BWI about 8:30 in the evening wondering if we would make the 9:00 commuter bus back to Gaithersburg. Fortunately our bags arrived quickly for once, and we literally ran — or what passes for running with me. Mary was pushed in the wheelchair by a young track star!! And we did make it by about 45 seconds; the bus was arriving as we

got to the stop. So home by 10:00.This was a very relaxing, gentle trip

compared with many of our other adventures. Costa Rica doesn’t have the fascinating history that we found elsewhere. For example no domi-nant people like the Maya or the Inca. And they didn’t experience the many local uprisings, assassinations, and internal warfare found in other Cen-tral American countries. They seem to have a very stable government which is one reason many Americans retire there or have homes and spend part of the year there. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit in Costa Rica and now are reviewing the literature to decide where we might go next.

Turtle Shell-Shocked

It may look like Mark of Brickman and George Stosur are pallbearers about to perform a burial at sea (pond), but the body in that container is very much alive. The large turtle which barely fit was found at the Courtyard Homes. It was not a happy turtle and kept snapping at Mark as they tried to get it into the pond. So if you see a large turtle sitting on a log don’t get too close.

—Marilyn Gaut, Trott

Adventures in Costa Rica

Photo: Mary and Bob Wood

One of the 12 hanging bridgesPhoto: Mary and Bob Wood

Costa Rica sphere

Photos: Hal Gaut

Photo: Mary and Bob Wood

Bananas entice birds

Bob Wood climbs the mast of the ship


By Gil Snyder

After our brief encounter with the three young French ladies, my traveling compan-

ions and I continued to the Repub-lic of San Marino, the third smallest state in Europe and completely sur-rounded by Italy. After checking in to our hotel we wandered around this delightful country and met many of the workers in the various small stores; many of these workers were, surprisingly, from the US. Get-ting up the next morning we looked forward to what was described as an American breakfast with Ameri-can coffee; the coffee wasn’t much weaker than the coffee we had been drinking all week that was just short of being cappuccino.

Leaving San Marino behind we arrived in Florence late Saturday afternoon which allowed us little time to visit any museums or the like. We were able to pay a short visit to the Duomo dI Ferenze (Flor-ence Cathedral), where on exiting I

was literally patted down by a small girl of about 10 who was stand-ing with a woman , most likely her mother, who was nursing a small child. I had everything I was car-rying close to my body so I lost no property. Later that evening, having grown tired of the great cuisine we had all week, we decided to go Chi-nese after which we partook of the local gelato; one of my companions had the largest cone I have ever seen, costing some $14 in today’s economy.

Prior to our leaving Florence Sunday, we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia (Academy Gal-lery) where we saw Michelangelo’s David, a sight to behold. Leaving Florence, we struck out for Lerici where we would be staying while

meeting with Oto Melera, manufac-turer of the 76 mm (3 inch) gun mount installed on many of our Navy’s frigates as well on several other world navy ships. The trip to Lerici was uneventful, but we did pass though some beautiful areas including where most Italian marble is mined.

Lerici, a small town and beach resort sits on the Gulf of Poets, a nickname for the Gulf of La Spezia, and so named because of the vari-ous poets who used to frequent the area. A few of the poets included Dante, Lord Byron, and Percy Shelly; in fact, Shelly drowned in the Bay of La Spezia on a return trip from Livorno and Pisa. Our accommoda-tions were at the Hotel Bryon, a small family operated facility that

was fronted by a public beach that was my first encounter with a top less beach. Enough said.

We met for two days with Oto Melera discussing engineering, logistics and business issues. These meetings always included lunch in the executive dining room where a traditional Italian lunch was served. This so called lunch was what we might call a dinner of several cours-es and was always ended with a drink of grappa, an Italian brandy –- must be an acquired taste. The meetings lasted until early after-noon allowing time to visit nearby Pisa and other points of interest.

Our return to the U.S. originated in Pisa where we were to fly to Rome and then home. Our flight from Pisa was delayed for several hours but we did make our con-nection in Rome. This was the only delay I ever experienced in all my overseas travel; wish I could say that for my U.S. travels by air.

A great trip but it’s always good to return home.

Grins and GrimacesITALY, PART TWO

Alzheimers Research Enrolls Asbury ResidentBy Al Tholen, Park View

The headline at the top of page of May 5th issue of USA TODAY read in bold black letters

“Could Red Wine help in Alzheim-er’s fight?” However, do not rush out to the State Liquor store and stock up on red wine. The main value of

the headline was to get the reader’s attention to read the article. The USA report refers to a new government study to determine “whether resvera-trol can alter or delay the destruction of the brain in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease”. Res-veratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and in other fruits, thereby the connection to red wine. Again, accord-ing to the article, the test will involve giving the participants 1000 mg of resveratrol daily (equivalent to drink-ing 1000 bottles of wine a day).

The National Alzheimer’s Proj-ect Act was signed into law last year by President Obama. Key goals,

according to the article are “find-ing a cure (for Alzheimer’s) by 2025, encouraging early diagnosis of the dis-ease, ensuring quality treatment for patients, and helping caregivers get support.” The therapeutic value of res-veratrol has been and continues to be examined in the laboratory. Positive

outcomes have been identified in research including cancer prevention, reducing the risk of heart disease, and ameliorating symptoms. Recently, researchers of Cornell University reported that dietary supplements with resveratrol significantly reduced plaque formation in animal brains, a component of Alzheim-er’s disease.

Of special interest for Asbury residents is the fact that Bob Ses-sions, a resident of Park View, has been enrolled in the Nation-al Alzheimer’s Project at George-

town University Medical Center (one of 26 sites nationwide affiliated with the project). In fact, the USA Today article begins with the following para-graph “Bob Sessions has never had a drop of alcohol in his life. Yet at 86, the teetotaler is eager to see if a natu-ral compound found in red wine can combat his disease”. For Bob and the other estimated 5.3 million Ameri-cans who have Alzheimer’s, this study offers new hope for earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of this debilitating disease.

Get a Grip!By Marolyn Hatch, Villas

At a recent Village Life meeting of writers from most of the residen-

tial buildings, the fall preven-tion campaign was a hot topic. Since the Health and Wellness PAC drew residents’ attention to the issue, stories abound of friends “dropping from sight/site” and often ending up recu-perating at Wilson. Nighttime bathroom misadventures, throw rugs that threw someone, and lack of focus either literally or from competing attention grab-bers seem to take a troublesome number of us down.

And like many medical issues, there are many who tumble but who are not counted statistical-ly. Being in a hurry, embarrass-ment, and self-sufficiency can all prevent us from mentioning to our physicians or even spous-es or friends that we have, in fact, hit the ground. As children we grew up being told to just get up and get going. And in my case, the fear of the sting of iodine kept me mum on a number of knee knockers. True, the current young set make a big scene about “boo boos” and have even caused band aid mak-ers to make “plasters” with dino-saurs or Ninja Turtles on them. These kids, however, are part of the helicopter parenting move-

ment, something under which we never suffered.

But back to those returning from Wilson after bone-breaking convalescences. Care Manage-ment that makes a safety assess-ment on such returns found that some bathrooms lacked grab bars. One would think this incomprehensible at a retire-ment facility’s public and private bathrooms. But considering the age of some buildings and the lack of awareness and law during their constructions, it shouldn’t be such a surprise. After all, how many of us moved from houses with these bars?

Lenny Hines states that grab bars are part of all renovation projects. And if your physician deems that a grab bar is necessary and you do not have one,with a doctor’s note of approval there will be no installation charge unless you decide that you want a bar that is out of the ordinary. And of course when you have a grab bar, grab it, think about what you are doing, look where you are about to move before you move. The CDC tells us that falls of those over 65 are the leading cause of hospitalization. But using these supports will save you the risk of being like one of the 340 residents last year who were medically attended to due to a fall. Don’t become a sta-tistic; get a grip!

Bob and Julia Sessions with their dog Wesley


Let’s Hear It for the Bargain Mart

By Marolyn Hatch, Villas

Every Monday through Thurs-day morning and every 2nd Friday of every month except

July and August , a half dozen men and women from Asbury and the community come to a room in the lower level of the Mund building to go through items that have spent long months in attics, in the backs of closets, under beds and other-wise in the dark. They are treasures that, like Sleeping Beauty, need the tender love and care of dedicated people to regain their luster and life. These men and women donate

roughly 1500 volunteer hours a year to this place. They are the engine of the Bargain Mart.

In 2011 alone these roughly 48 people raised $30,000 for the Asbury Guild. This money was used to buy the Kindley rockers, expand the Kindley patio and support both Kindley and Wilson’s efforts to pro-vide activities for residents of these two precious facilities. Over the years, the Bargain Mart has raised over $100,000, for the Benevolent Care Fund and its Kindley and Wil-son Mission.

The Bargain Mart had humble beginnings. In 1995, resident Elea-nor Jones collected a few simple household items such as irons and toasters in case a resident needed a replacement. From that single shelf experience, the Bargain Mart now has closer to 20 multi-shelved units full of “everything”! Need a wedding gift? Is your grandchild setting up his or her dorm room? First apartment or home? We often have full sets of china, pottery, flat-ware, glasses, linens, lamps, clean-ing equipment, tools, and cookware.

We may have small to medium-sized furniture. All this is at costs of 25-35% of current value.

How do we do this? By your generosity. New residents almost always have a few cartons of things they couldn’t part with until they had to choose between keeping their spouse or keeping the second set of china, the barrel of yard tools, the multiple guest room linens or those family items that children and grandchildren screw up their faces at when they are offered to them. And we residents accumulate through gifts we have received or our own shopping therapy, items the accumulation of which could be overwhelming.

Slightly used or in need of scrub-bing or a light repair, these things are always welcome at the Bargain Mart. Associates, friends of Asbury, residents and family know to keep the 2nd Friday morning of the month on their calendars to browse, shop or socialize at the Bargain Mart on the Mund lower level. We even have regulars who buy one month and return the item a little later. It is an

inexpensive way to change one’s décor or to find the de rigueur fake Christmas tree or Easter basket for visiting grandkids.

And the Bargain Mart currently works with a consignment person who will market what we haven’t sold to people who are thrilled to have our excesses. So while we are not planning a sale during July and August, keep your eyes open in case we find ourselves overwhelmed in our small space. And by all means look for fliers announcing our Sep-tember reopening.

In the meantime, we celebrate for their Bargain Mart service: Ned, 3 Joyces, Al, Kathy, Fran, Peggy, Elea-nor, Ed, Dolly, “CC”, 2 Joans, Bernice, Jan, Vera, Betty, Marolyn, Jay, Tony, Russ, Ginny, Cathy, Jo, Charlotte, 2 Carolyns, 2 Annes, Peg, Phyllis, 2 Bar-baras, Ann, Opal, Elizabeth, Arthur, Virginia, Jean, Margaret, 2 Carols, Bea, Arna, Jay, Alice, Gladys, Marion, Lee, Reba and anyone else who my aging mind has forgotten to name. And of course, ALL of you who are our most needed shoppers! See you in September.

By Bob Yount, Villas

I can’t find any official informa-tion, but based on experience I know there is sub-rosa branch

of engineering that didn’t exist when I was at the U. of MD. It is fairly new with adherents growing at an exponential rate. What I am talking about is a deviant branch of Cantankerous Engineering devoted to Opening Difficulty. I expect you have encountered some of the out-put of these engineers. I do every day.

A simple example is that individu-al bag of potato chips, inflat-ed to protect the prod-uct. It has a heat seal at the top which can be pulled apart to get the chips out. Except, the seal is so tight that when at tempt ing to open and the seal finally gives and the bag tears apart sending the chips all over the room.

Engineers can minor in Make it Really Difficult. One of the special-ties is to make sure that any instruc-tions are in a type size that it takes

a three power magnifying to read them.

How about packages that have a pull tab to open. A neat concept until the tab breaks.

Some food comes in thin, flimsy, plastic containers that clip the top and bottom halves together with bumps and inserts. Sometimes to get those open you have to share the contents with the floor.

Blister packs have become a favor-ite of the dia-bolical engineers.

Depending on what you buy you will need a knife, scissors, a saw and one of several power tools.

I love it when the pack looks like opening

one side will allow access. Wise up, they don’t do that. To try and save part of the packaging — you might want to return the item — you cut three sides and try to pull the fourth side open. This is not recommended and may result in lacerations.

They have the pull tabs on drink cans working well but try sardines or other meat products. The tabs break off or the tin won’t tear in the right place. The same is true for some of the coffee cans that need to be opened to grind the beans.

If you don’t know that God invent-ed computers to test mankind’s patience you don’t use a computer. There is a special category of pack-aging related to computer products. A new program comes in a plas-tic wrap which covers a box out of which slides another box which you can eventually open after cutting the seal. Inside is a disc which, if you are lucky, you might get out with-out breaking.

There are two specialty groups that have achieved remarka b l e success. One relates to bottles and the other is sealable plastic bags.

Start with the bottles — to open many bottles you need a pet gorilla and a serviceable sponge.

Plastic bags are frequently diffi-cult to open even right out of the box. The two sides don’t separate so you can use the bag, and if you try to pull the sides apart below the seal, when the seal gives way you are apt to have torn the bag apart.

Special kudos to the fellow who came up with the slider tab that eas-ily activates the seal. Unfortunately he was cashiered out of the Corps of the Diabolic and exiled to a fish processing ship in the Grand Banks.

Cantankerous Engineering


Would You Like to Work in a Gift Shop?By Alma Stewart

There are many pleasant things to do here at Asbury, and one thing that I have enjoyed is working in the Asbury Guild Gift Shop at Wil-son. Here, in this bright room, I have helped a customer find a gift

for a friend, or sold a snack to an associate who needs a lift during a busy day. Choosing a greeting card is a personal decision, so I’ve left that to the shopper who is browsing the racks. I’ve also tried to keep my brain sharp by making change and keeping a record of sales.

The shop is staffed by volunteers from Asbury and the nearby commu-nity. Many of them have worked their weekly two hour stint for a long time. One lady was there every Tuesday afternoon for 16 years. But now some of them would like to retire, and new workers are needed to take their place. There is also a need for volunteers at the Kindley Kart, a branch of the Gift Shop that is held in the lobby of Kindley on Friday afternoons.

If you think you would enjoy working in either Gift Shop, you may call Ginnabeth Butts at 301-963-2010. She will be glad to show you what to do and to find a place for you.

Resident Facility Date of Death

Catharine Weis WHCC/Kindley/Mund 04-21-2012John Timberlake Park View 04-21-2012Ellen Keyes WHCC/Kindley/Edwards-Fisher 04-26-2012Teresa Johnson WHCC/Community 04-27-2012Rodney Mills Mund 05-01-2012Barbara Sweeney Former AMV Trott resident 05-03-2012Rex Naylor Trott 05-12-2012Marguerite Sherman WHCC 05-12-2012Mary LePrince WHCC/Kindley 05-14-2012Clara Wilson WHCC 05-14-2012Robert Higgins Diamond 05-14-2012Carl Olson WHCC/Kindley 05-15-2012Sarah Want Kindley 05-16-2012Charles Sisson Kindley/Villas 05-17-2012

In Memoriam

The Wise

Seven characteristics distin-guish the wise: He does not speak in the presence of one

wiser than himself, does not inter-rupt, is not hasty to answer, asks and answers the point, talks about first things first and about last things last, admits when she does not know, and acknowledges the truth.

— The Talmud

Inspiration Point

Martha A. Brown, Director of Pastoral Care

tered from the original. They are not inexpensive. A premier herd sire was sold for a whopping $675,000 in Vir-ginia but the average price ranges from $12,000 to $15,000 and some can go as low as $500. Breeding fees can also run high -- as much as $10,000 for a prize winner. Those who visit the county fairs may have seen alpacas there but they are not to be confused with llamas which are from the same family but larger and quite different in temperament. In fact, llamas are sometimes used as guards to protect the alpacas from wild dogs or coyotes.

Sue is so enthusiastic about alpac-as that she makes me wonder if we should have some at Asbury to “mow the lawn.” They are very good for the environment as they have a hard upper palate but no upper teeth so when they eat grass they are cutting it and not pulling it up. AND unlike our Asbury geese, who make it haz-ardous to walk even on the black-top paths, let alone the grass, the alpacas have several designated “bathroom sites” in a pasture and -- if you have ever attended a theater production with an intermission and witnessed the long line waiting by the ladies’ door, you will appreciate this -- alpac-

as line up and use the same spot which can later be cleared and the “beans” removed for compost and fer-tilizer. How considerate can you get?

They also have two toes with toenails that need clipping but no hooves to damage the pasture grass. They don’t eat a lot, just grass or hay and grain, and they like snow. They are mild mannered and train-able, curious and they play games like follow-the-leader, king of the moun-tain, or neck wrestling (the boys do that). They hum to talk and squeal if frightened.

They usually have one baby -- a cría -- at a time and nurse it for six months before weaning, but they are bred just seventeen days after a birth. Since pregnancy lasts ll ½ months, they are pregnant most of the time and get started on this parenthood adventure at the age of l ½ or 2 years old. They live to be about twenty years old. They are not tall - about thirty-six inches and weigh between l00 and 200 lbs.

Have you learned enough about alpacas yet? Sue can tell you more. She obviously loves her alpacas and has a blue ribbon prize winner, too. She thoroughly enjoys talking about them but one caution: be sure when you call Transportation for a ride, Sue sends you a car and driver, not an alpaca.

ALPACAContinued from page 1

The GypsyBy Felicia Stokely, Mund

My father was a man of the cloth and unfortunately for a man of his profession

had very poor eyesight. My mother and we children, there were four of us, read to him. We read “The Chris-tian Advocate: and other Christian journals, the newspaper and secu-lar literature. I, being the youngest, read the Oz books and was surprised when he laughed at things I had not considered funny.

He had a very unusual way of pre-paring his sermons. He accomplished this while taking long walks. One summer morning while on his walk, he became so engrossed in Sunday’s sermon that he walked farther than usual, right outside the city limits and unknowingly straight into a gypsy camp. A gypsy came running up to him and said, “Cross my palm with silver and I will tell your fortune. My father, ready for some fun, put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a dime. At that time a dime was not an insignificant coin. It bought many things such as a loaf of bread. The gypsy was pleased. She told him that

on September 17 his home would be full of people and that there would be many gifts.

My father thanked her and went home to tell my mother. She smiled skeptically when she heard it and said, “Now that would be appreci-ated.”

The hot summer was busy with sermon preparation, socials and societies. The gypsy was completely forgotten and the summer passed quickly.

On the evening of September 17 the first guest arrived about seven. From then on the Parsonage filled up with people. Each person brought a gift. My parents were taken com-pletely by surprise.

It was an old-fashioned “Pound-ing.” Each person brought a pound of something—flour, sugar, peanut but-ter, anything sold by the pound. There was singing and entertainment, and it became quite a festive evening.

It was not until the last guest departed and the ample food safely stored away in the pantry for the coming winter that my father remem-bered the gypsy. How did she know?


Welcome New Residents

Peter Maroulis Diamond 1119, x5303Peter Maroulis moved into Asbury

on January 12, 2012 for two reasons. He wanted to relieve his children of the responsibility of having to worry about his needs as he got older and he wanted to stay in the area in order to maintain his friend-ships and activities. He is happy with his decision as he has met a lot of great people and has had good experiences here. We in the Dia-mond building are delighted that he chose to join us.

A native of DC, Peter has lived in both Kensington and North Bethes-da and in 29 Palms, California when he was on active duty in the United State Marine Corps from 1962-1965. He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Delaware and spent thirty years with IBM as a systems engineer in marketing, staff and technical man-agement and in program manage-ment. He still gets together with his colleagues from IBM and other local friends.

Peter has a son who lives in Gaith-ersburg and a daughter who lives in Newark, Delaware as well as four grandsons, three in college and one in high school. He enjoys travel-ing and has visited all over the U.S. and in Europe, Israel, China, Tahiti, Australia and New Zealand. Every Thursday finds Peter at The Chil-dren’s Inn at The National Institutes of Health where he maintains their website and manages their online fund raising and awareness of The Inn via advertisements.

—Jan Garman, Diamond Reporter

Bill and Elaine White Mund 205, x6230

Bill and Elaine are a distinguished couple who moved from Minneapolis to Maryland because of their two daughters living in this area—one in Bethesda and one in McLean. Bill was a staff physician at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for 49 years. He was awarded an Outstanding Career Award, participated in numerous research projects and collaborated in the publication of more than 75 professional papers. Elaine was a social worker and also President of the local League of Women Voters, County Chair of the Democratic Party,President of her synagogue and was a member of the National Board of Women of Reform Judaism. She was hon-ored as “A Woman Who Made a Difference” by the League of Women Voters in the 1950s.

Bill was born in San Antonio, TX but studied medi-cine at Tulane University in New Orleans. Elaine was born in St. Paul, MN but attended Brandeis Univer-sity in Boston and the University of Wisconsin study-ing sociology. She later received a Masters in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. She held workshops and was a trainer in meditation while living in Rochester.

The couple met in Minneapolis at a Seder and mar-ried in 1966. They are widely traveled, having visited Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, and Mexico as well as many trips to Israel. They were stationed in Korea for 13

months during the 1960s when Bill was an Army medical officer. They made many Korean friends. With daughters in Tampa, FL and the DC area, they have made a number of circuit auto trips between Minneapolis, DC and Florida over recent years. They have four grandsons between 8 and 13 years of age.

Following retirement, Bill and Elaine lived for ten years in Minneapolis, moving to AMV in September 2011. Their Asbury apartment testifies to their devo-tion to the fine arts with paintings and etchings from abroad. They are also music lovers, and Elaine sang in choruses while living in the Midwest. Bill is an avid golfer who began playing at age 10. He was a member of various men’s clubs and joined Elaine in the League of Women Voters.

—George Lane, Mund Reporter

Bill and Gerry Bernard Courtyard Homes, x6965

Bill and Gerry are Pennsylvania natives who met at the University of Pennsylvania after Bill returned from Army service in Korea. Bill’s sister was Ger-ry’s roommate, and the rest is history. At Penn Bill received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in physics, studying for a time on a Philco physics fellowship, and Gerry attained her nursing degree.

The working world found Bill in the research labs of General Electric in New York State and later at Raytheon and NASA in Massachusetts. In the early 1970’s, he began what would become a 20-year National Science Foundation career in theoretical physics and material science, eventually as Deputy Assistant Director of Mathematical and Physical Sci-ences. Among other pursuits, Bill served as senior advisor to the National Science Board’s Committee on Openness of Scientific Communication.

Gerry’s nursing career began at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, continuing in physician offices in New England and later in Kensington, MD. With mid-career training in psychiatric nursing, she worked in several psychiatric facilities, ending her career as a therapist at Arlington County Mental Health in 1999. The Bernards have a son and a daughter living in the DC area and another son on the west coast. They have three grandchildren.

Gerry and Bill have enjoyed extensive travels, both cruising and bicycling. They’ve been to France six times and can surely recommend their favorite Paris restaurant. They’ve also travelled to England,

Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy, Costa Rica, Australia and New Zealand and snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. They trained for bicycle trips in Holland and southern France by biking through Delaware and South Carolina.

The Bernards moved to their Courtyard Home in 2011 from Potomac, MD. This year they enjoy being Washington Nationals fans since the team is having a successful season. Gerry has served over 12 years as a Corcoran Gallery of Art docent; she enjoys help-ing visitors, especially school groups, fine tune their appreciation of art. She is a founding member and former president of the Friends of Potomac Library. You will frequently find Gerry on AMV’s tennis court and she hopes that more players will join her in that healthy pursuit.

—Maria Roberts, Courtyard Homes Reporter

Photo: Maria Roberts



Julia Rosenberg Villa 390, x6417

After over 45 years in the same house in Silver Spring, Julia Rosen-berg moved to Asbury because she knew Montgomery County and the area’s opportunities. Downsizing gives her the time to use these resources to continue her arts interests and to fos-ter her academic growth. In spite of the movers arriving at 8 PM instead of 8 AM, Julia made the move on Decem-ber 11, 2011. Settling in has taken some time, especially in disengaging from her former home that. as of the end of March, has not yet sold.

Born in New York City, Julia met her husband there when both attended a party for an out-of-town visitor to the neighborhood who was suppos-edly a relative of Paul Newman. After two years of marriage they moved to Washington because of her hus-band’s employment as a lawyer for the federal government. While Julia was primarily engaged in child rear-ing and house managing, she did take part-time courses for many years eventually earning a B.Ed. in Art Edu-cation. Because of her love of intel-lectual engagement, she has contin-ued taking courses, earning an A. A. in Mental Health in the process. Though she worked briefly for the F.D.A., she did mostly volunteer work including many years at the Kennedy Center on a variety of activities including run-ning the freight elevator!

One son works in New York in media, another teaches law at Wil-liam and Mary, the third is a freelance computer programmer living in Mt. Airy, and her daughter works for a computer technology firm in the Sili-con Valley area of Northern Califor-nia—grandchildren are thus scattered about.

Julia was active with the American Field Service (AFS) while raising her children. She says that she cooked so many fund-raising, chicken dinners to support her daughter’s AFS trip to Japan that she couldn’t eat chicken for ten years thereafter. The daughter ended up majoring in Japanese and lived a few times in Japan. Julia took

Tilk (Robert) And Nancy Tilkemeier Trott 801, x4585

Tilk and Nancy moved into Trott apartment 801 in mid- April. They were both born and received their primary and secondary education in Freeport, IL where they met in high school. They look forward to living here and being near their daughter Polly and son-in-law Kevin in Potomac, MD.

Nancy attended Illinois College in a liberal arts cur-riculum. They married five years after high school grad-uation. Nancy was a stay-at-home Mom until their two children left to obtain their college education. Nancy then worked at Marshall-Fields for ten years in the busi-ness office. She continues to enjoy reading and knitting.

Their son Peter is a cardiologist in Providence, RI. He is an associate professor at Brown University Medical School. His wife is a nurse and does consulting for hos-pitals regarding nursing policies and procedures.

Daughter Polly’s husband conducts his own software business, Potomac Digitek in Gaithersburg, MD. Polly vis-its her parents frequently as she helps them get settled in their new home. Their granddaughters both attend Penn State, the older a junior in an aerospace engineer-ing curriculum and the younger a sophomore complet-ing requirements for a physician assistant degree.

Robert worked as an ambulance driver during high school. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1945 where he served for one year. He attended Illinois University for two years, and completed his education at the Cincin-nati College of Mortuary Science, after which he was employed as a funeral director for five years. He next sought employment with a Rockford, IL commercial glass company. He worked there for 40 years. He had an excellent reputation in his work there with fre-quent promotions. He retired as a senior vice-president in charge of the glazing division. The firm’s business included insurance claims, retail and commercial con-struction. He enjoyed hunting and fishing in the past and now limits his outdoor sports activity to fishing.

—Dr. Bob Hartman, Trott Reporter

Carlee and Howard Hallman Diamond 719, x5331

“Pastor,” “Poet,” and “Peace Advocate” are apt descrip-tions of Carlee and Howard Hallman who moved to Asbury from their home in Bethesda on April 27, 2012. The pastor and poet are Carlee, who wrote her first poem when she was in third grade back in her home-town of Galesburg, Illinois. Since then she has had several poems published. In 2006, Abingdon Press pub-lished a books of her prayers, in the form of poems, for older people. She belongs to a poetry group in Kensing-ton and would be interested in a such a group at AMV. Carlee also reviews books for both children and adults for a review service.

Pastoring came later in Carlee’s life, long after she graduated from Knox College and traveled to Philadel-phia where she enrolled in medical school with the intention of becoming a medical missionary. Instead she met and married Howard and became the mother of two daughters, both of whom live in this area as does the Hallman’s grandson. Carlee worked for a couple of years for the American Council for the Blind and then entered Wesley Seminary at age fifty. For eleven years, she pastored churches near Cumberland, Westminster and Frederick. After retiring, Carlee put her pastoral skills to good use as a volunteer visitor at Manor Care in Bethesda. She looks forward to volunteering through the Pastoral Care Department at Asbury, a department that she is familiar with since she served an internship at the Wilson Health Care Center in 1981-82 in connection with her seminary training.

The peace advocate is Howard, who was born in Pitts-burgh, Kansas and received a BA and an MA in political Science at the University of Kansas and has spent his life working on peace and justice issues. He was working in Philadelphia for a housing advocacy organization when he and Carlee met. He also worked for better housing and community development in New Haven, Connecti-

cut. He was involved in the War on Poverty Task Force, created by President Lyndon Johnson, that helped set up the Office of Economic Opportunity. Because of his experience in New Haven, he consulted with a number of cities in setting up community action programs. In 1967, he conducted a study of the War on Poverty for a Senate subcommittee, participating in hearings around the country. After the riots of 1967-68, he organized the Civic Action Institute which conducted studies and held training sessions around the nation helping communi-ties to become more responsive to their neighborhoods. He continued this work until 1982. In 1976 he helped found Neighborhoods USA, a national organization of city officials and neighborhood leaders. It is still going and about to hold its 37th annual conference.

Since 1982, he has devoted his time and energy to peace issues, especially nuclear disarmament. In 1987 after the United Methodist bishops issued their docu-ment “In Defense of Creation,” advocating for nuclear disarmament, he helped set up Methodists United for Peace with Justice. He now serves as chair. He is a member of the Outreach and Advocacy Committee at Bethesda United Methodist Church. He enjoys playing the violin and viola and senior softball. He, too, was familiar with Asbury as he has come here to play cham-ber music with Sylva McCulloh.

—Jan Garman, Diamond Reporter\

Photo: Jay Hatch



Molly Reilly Diamond 118, x 4882

Molly and her small white dog, Mad-die, moved from a condo in the Kent-lands into their Diamond apartment on May 1, 2012. The Kentlands was Molly’s home for only two and a half years. She moved there from Greens-burg, PA where she and her husband lived for fifty years. While in the Pittsburgh area, she enjoyed auditing courses at Carnegie Mellon. Originally from Ohio, she received a BS in Busi-ness and Teaching from Grove City College and put it to use as an admin-istrative secretary at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company. She also served as the assistant to the Dean of Education at the University of Illi-nois at Urbana while her husband was earning his Master’s Degree.

Molly’s Asbury apartment reflects her love of antiques, especially unusu-al pieces of furniture. As one might expect, she is a big fan of “Antiques Roadshow.” Molly also enjoys doing cross-stitch and applique and corre-sponding with her friends. Another interest of Molly’s is reading and she is a long-distance member of her book club in Greensburg as she receives and reads the books that her friends are reading back in PA. She and her husband enjoyed traveling and spent several winters in Florida and Arizona. Molly has volunteered as a reading tutor, employing the Laubach method. She has also volunteered at a nursing home and at her church. Her son and daughter-in-law and two grand-daughters, aged eleven and fourteen, live in Potomac. We welcome Molly to Asbury.—Jan Garman, Diamond Reporter

those occasions to visit her there and learn about Japanese culture and his-tory.

Julia looks forward to engaging in the arts at Asbury and is submitting a painting to the Spring Arts Show. She has been an active participant in the Keese School’s Great Decisions course and looks forward to enrolling in an Osher course at Asbury as soon as that is available.

—Jay Hatch, Villas Reporter

Dory and Fred Lippert Trott 711, x5351

Dory was born in Savannah, GA; and Fred in Char-lotte, NC. They met and fell in love when Dory was in high school in Connecticut and Fred was at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. Dory went on to graduate from UCONN in Nursing; while Fred after graduation went on to serve six years in the Navy on both a destroyer and a minesweeper. Dory and Fred, apart for so long, broke up.

Dory worked in nursing and received a Master’s Degree from the University of Colorado. She married and her hus-band’s career took them to several towns in Oregon and finally back to this area. She has two children and three granddaughters. Dory continued with a varied career, including ten years in Europe teaching for the Army. She returned to this area in 2000, and began work with Mont-gomery Hospice.

Fred’s career took a different direction after leaving the Navy. Quickly completing Pre-Med, he went to Med school, interned, and completed orthopedic surgery resi-dency training. He then earned a PhD in biomechanics at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Fred married and has three children and five grandchildren from his first marriage. Fred served on the faculty of the University of Washington Medical School, which was interrupted for eight months Active Duty in the Navy during Desert Storm. He ended up in this area on Active Duty at the Bethesda Naval Hospital as Chief of Orthopedic Surgery. He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 2000, and received the Legion of Merit. He stayed on at the hospital as a civilian.

During the years from 1957 through 2004 Dory and Fred occasionally heard about one another through mutual friends. Finally one of these brought them together in 2004. One thing led to another and they were married in 2009. Unfortunately a year later Fred came down with a difficult

neurological illness. After hospitalization and rehab he was able to work part time until he retired in 2011. Dory and Fred selected their Trott home in January 2012, but Fred suffered a stroke, requiring hospitalization and rehab at Wilson HCC. Dory was able to move into their apartment in March, and happily Fred recently joined her.

Fred is somewhat of a Renaissance man — with all his degrees and honors I think we might call him Captain Doctor Doctor Lippert — he had a pilot’s license and flew his own plane, was a champion ballroom dancer, avidly plays the trumpet, and has created several bands. Dory enjoys reading and has continued to work one day a week at Hospice. She finds “working in bereavement is a privi-lege”. She also keeps busy as a nurse manager for Fred. They both are enjoying meeting new friends at Asbury, and those of us who live near them are enjoying the occasional trumpet concerts.

I learned that the Lipperts were moving to Trott from a mutual friend and was eager to meet them. I had spoken to Dory about getting together for dinner, but fate intervened, and I ended up in Wilson. We three became acquainted during meal times there, but are delighted now to be able to continue in the more pleasant milieu of the Crawford Dining Room. —Jack Hutchings, Trott Reporter

Marion and Frank Schreyer Courtyard Homes, x6969

On St. Patrick’s Day 1953 Frank from Johnstown, PA and Marion from St. John’s, Newfoundland met on a blind date, a dance at Pepperrell Air Force Base Offi-cers Club in Newfoundland. Frank was on contract with the USAF as a technical advisor for the North American Air Defense Radar Extension Program and was a veteran of the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift. Marion, a Newfoundland native before it became part of Cana-da, had just completed registered nurse training.

Frank attended the University of Maryland and received his electronics engineering education in Ger-many, followed by executive communications training from the University of Michigan. He embarked on a 42-year career in the aerospace and defense industry starting with the Philco Corporation. A series of cor-porate acquisitions caused his employer to transition to Ford Aerospace, then to Loral Systems, and finally to Lockheed-Martin from which he retired in 1994. Dur-ing his career he served as manager of the air defense systems engineering programs, subsequently transfer-ring to Washington operations as manager of Air Force programs, and later serving as new business develop-ment executive for Air Warfare programs. Frank is a Life Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

After her nursing degree and training in operating room techniques and management, Marion worked in

the St. John’s General Hospital OR, then for 15 years as a full time mother of five. With the children in school she returned to nursing for 30 more years, as a family physician’s office nurse, and later with an endocri-nologist. The Schreyer children are all professionals and two of them live in this area. The other three live in places Frank and Marion love to visit: Manhattan, Connecticut and southern California.

The Schreyers belong to Lakewood Country Club, enjoying golf and social activities there. Marion grows vegetables on her Asbury community garden plot, also volunteering at Bargain Box in Rockville and Asbury’s Bargain Mart. Frank enjoys music and playing the Hammond organ, while maintaining his interests in aviation, model railroading and photography.

Marion and Frank moved to AMV from their home in Potomac attracted by the new Courtyard Homes and the scenic, green campus.

—Maria Roberts, Courtyard Homes Reporter

Photo: Hal Gaut

Photo: Maria Roberts


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