“Cash is the sincerest form of flattery” said Lazarus Long, the world’s oldest (fictional) man. I suppose all of my readers are pretty well set financially but I’ve been meaning to talk about something that came up at the TCUSD Health Fair at Temple City Park a few months ago. I shared my booth with the representative from NAMI. Since there was someone there to pass out my material I wandered a bit. One table that caught my attention, because of the nicer-than-most give-aways, was California Mentors. Sara, the young woman made many attempts to describe her program to passers-by but didn’t get much focused attention after folks got a cow shaped kitchen timer off her table. I thought her message was important, so I had her give a presentation to my group one night. What Mentors does is something that I think many seniors may find interesting. They place developmentally disabled adults in private homes. And they pay a tax exempt stipend to the home. It takes some training to be a mentor because the host home has to meet standards for safety and quality. The regional center which is responsible for the client’s benefits oversees the program. But the clients, who may be developmentally delayed by mental retardation, seizures or another condition often are gone to a vocational or day program through the day. They need a bedroom and meals and sometimes help with medicine or problem solving. They are not severely impaired and are screened for ability to live in the community with this level of support. Many older adults struggle with an empty nest. Many others struggle with an empty checking account. If you think your home may be able to accept another member, and if the stipend opens your mind to the possibility, you can e-mail Sara at sara.pollaro@thementornetwork.com or call her at 626-859-9109.

Well, it was not very busy at the polls last week. I worked at a site that had three precincts voting and the turn out was pretty slim. As usual, the highest proportions were seniors. They read the material, they talk about the issues, and they turn out to vote. Even though there were some pretty big races; District Attorney, County Supervisor, the representation is small. Even though, I’m told, each LA County Supervisor directs more money than the President of the nation!
When I was at the Conference in Napa the keynote address was about multiculturalism. Dr. Torres-Gil talked a lot about the idea that as the baby-boomers age into seniority, and the percentage of ethnic minorities increases because of birthrate differences, the people who vote are not the people that are affected by that vote. It places a heavy responsibility on the voter. If older English speaking Caucasians are the decision makers, will they make choices that benefit younger people of color? Will lawmakers realize the population they need to target with their message? It certainly appeared so with the propositions on this ballot.
It’s still a little early to focus on the election in November. But it’s not too early to start listening to the candidates. It’s not too early to do a little planning for potential decisions, like gay marriage. Since I write to older adults, I may be preaching to the choir. One thing that made me proud was a blind voter who came in and used the audio booth. She said it was the first time in 35 years she had been able to cast her vote in privacy. It wasn’t easy to get there. It wasn’t easy to do. I hope in November it’s worth taking a few minutes and making your opinion count.

I went to a class on forgiveness last week. It was a training in providing mental health services to older adults at the statewide conference in Napa. A psychologist named Patrick was the presenter. He had come to learn about forgiveness in working with older adults on suicide prevention. In the course of that work, he had collected some powerful stories. The stories of terrible events people had suffered and the effort they made to come to a decision and forgive someone who had hurt them brought everyone in the room to tears. What became clear was that the victim made a selfish decision to forgive. Their hate and anger were harming themselves and the people who were close to them in the present. It was an act of survival to give the offender the gift of forgiveness.
Some older adults have carried resentment for many decades, often unable to recall what the original offense was. Sometimes the details are fresh and memory of the feelings is sharp and clear. It takes being ready to forgive. Someone who grew up with alcoholic or abusive parents may have nurtured their anger for 50, 60 years or longer! If you think you might be ready to consider forgiveness, write a letter (you don’t have to send it!), tell someone your story, but give it a new ending. Consider the choice, try out the words, see if you can unburden yourself. By the way, you don’t have to be a senior to do it.

At press time for this week’s paper I will be at the California Mental Health Directors Association 7th Annual Older Adult System of Care Conference up in Napa. The keynote speaker is going to tell us how public policy needs to change in the face of multiculturalism and the new aging. Wow, am I going to be smart when I come home! The new aging has to do with both the much longer life span we are experiencing, as well as the enormous baby boomer population starting to reach retirement age. How is the rest of the world supposed to cope with all these seniors?
Multiculturalism has to do with the diversity we have in California. How do you design services to include the largest population of Armenians, and of Hmong, and of Samoans, in the world? What kind of needs will they bring? If you get meals on wheels, or go to a senior center for congregate meals, is the food something you like? If you have a chaplain come to pray with you, will they be from your own faith? Will they have even heard of your faith? Having worked as a nurse for thirty years, I know how important using touch can be in helping and healing. But I also know that many traditions have a taboo against being touched by a person of the opposite sex. My well meaning pat on the hand could cause suffering if I’m not considerate of culture. In Napa there will be other sessions on care-giving, suicide prevention and forgiveness. I hope to share the findings with you over the next few weeks. I hear they also make a tasty beverage that is high in anti-oxidants, from the grapes up there. Maybe I’ll take a break and check that out too.

A number of news releases this week may be obscuring the understanding of prevention and risk factors for dementia. First came news that Ibuprofen use over time will reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Then came a different study that reports that other NSAID drugs do not have a protective effect for the same illness.
As is often the case, “the exact mechanism of action is not understood” is tagged onto each story. For the record, aspirin was used for about 100 years before its mechanism was understood, and it continues to be the most life saving drug in history. A Doctor I know often tells the story of saving four lives with one aspirin tablet when he was training in a third world country.
What seems to happen is the plaque on the brain cells that cause the neurofiber tangles in an Alzheimer’s victim’s brain is a response to inflammation. The inflammation may be from small bumps and bruises, which is why boxers tend to have a higher incidence of the disease. The inflammation may be from infectious illnesses or metabolic disorders. Ibuprofen seems to protect the brain from all this. Other drugs in the same class, like naproxen, don’t do so well. Ibuprofen seems to produce a difference if it’s used for five years or longer. Taking ibuprofen for that long has serious risks for stomach and kidney problems. There is always a risk / benefit balance to consider. The other factor published was the relation of limb length to risk for AD. Apparently long calves in women and long arms on men reduce the likelihood for developing dementia. There is also a correlation for long limbs and intelligence, another protective characteristic. Since I have four college degrees and a 37 inch sleeve, I am glad to hear about this. What troubles me of course, is the exact mechanism of action is not understood!

I was part of a focus group the other night, a cross section of people paid to sit through presentation and give an opinion. I like getting paid to give my opinion. You dear reader, get it for free each week. I didn’t expect to find a “Seniority Moment” there but as it turns out…
The topic was the upcoming June 3 election propositions 98 and 99. They are seemingly redundant proposals to reform the current state laws on eminent domain. You may recall the furor in Temple City about using eminent domain to acquire land for the K-Mart shopping center. Recently the US Supreme Court has ruled it legal for the government to take private land by eminent domain, then turn it over to private parties for development. Many states see the need to revise their laws to close this option. California is addressing it with these two propositions. What makes it an issue for seniors is the awareness by the groups flying the proposals that seniors are about the only folks that will bother to vote on this, and the subsequent use of older adult actors in the commercials. Old people being put out of their homes, churches closing for strip malls, oh the horror!
The idea that was the focus of our conversation turns out to have nothing to do with eminent domain. Prop 98 has a clause about phasing out rent control. It protects non-owner occupied housing, like apartment buildings and prevents the government form keeping the rent down. 99 on the other hand only protects owner occupied in the past year home including condos, from being taken for private business. AARP has issued support statements for Prop 99. A last word on politics, there is still time to write or call and defend the state budget for adult protective services. The proposed 10% cut would leave many older adults unprotected by this important department.