VICTORVILLE, CALIFORNIA (Victorville Daily Press), May 26, 2005:
According to a pamphlet published by AgeWise, an outreach program for the elderly sponsored by the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health:
• People who isolate themselves from others have two to three times the risk of premature death;
• A terminal cancer strikes isolated persons more often than it does those who have supportive relationships; and
• Those who confide in a close friend are much less likely to become depressed.
Even the innately outgoing may find that advanced years and the deaths of so many loved ones have left them feeling as stranded and alone as Mont St. Michel at low tide.
Hence the need for the AgeWise Wellness Group, which meets every Tuesday morning at the United Methodist Church of Victorville.
At the invitation of Renee Mason, a senior peer counselor with AgeWise, and the Rev. Ernie Fritschle, pastor of the Methodist Church from 1981-87, I sat in on the May 17 meeting.
In addition to Mason and Fritschle, there were 10 other women and one other man in attendance. But their names may not be mentioned in this article, for as Fritschle reminded the group, "What we say here, stays here."
The day's theme was memory and how to keep the mind sharp and agile.
As facilitator, Fritschle opened the meeting by remarking, "If you say, 'I forget where I put my glasses,' that's OK. Just remember that you have glasses!"
Stressing that the mind is a muscle — and that, as with other muscles, if you don't use it, you'll lose it — Fritschle said, "Sharing in a group like this helps the mind turn over."
Next he reviewed suggestions from the Mayo Clinic for improving communication between nerve cells of the brain. For example:
• Take classes
• Read regularly and keep a journal ("What did I do today?")
• Learn about computers, connect to the Internet, e-mail friends and family
• Join a book club or other discussion group
• Explore the cultural life of your community
• Teach others your skills or knowledge
The long list of local activities that get you out of the house and keep the little gray cells humming includes SWIM (Seniors With Inquiring Minds), the Victor Valley Community Concert Series and the Passport to Adventure travelogue series at Victor Valley College.
Several members of the Wellness Group were already involved: for example, the woman who is trying to teach a younger woman to knit.
Another, a literacy tutor, mentioned that sometimes her students are so busy with their extended families that they don't keep appointments.
This prompted Mason to say: "Often, people who cannot read are unassertive and put themselves last, so they don't stand up to family pressure."
Mason also mentioned the prodigies of compensation accomplished by the functionally illiterate.
One woman, a devoted reader, said she was reading Bill Clinton's 1,008-page autobiography, "My Life."
But her edition is in large print, so it is 1,400 pages long. "I have 400 pages to go!" she said.
As the conversation turned to the pros and cons of borrowing books from the library, buying used books, etc., Fritschle, a former missionary, said:
"In India, we never gave tracts away. We knew that people would read them only if they had paid something for them."
Fritschle added that he had heard there are few cases of Alzheimer's disease in India, perhaps because the turmeric in curry helps to reduce plaques in those parts of the brain which regulate thinking, learning, sleep and memory.
Most people say they can hardly wait to retire. But retirement can usher in a host of new problems: for example, a loss of structure.
Fritschle acknowledged that after he retired, he had to learn that it was OK to receive checks from Social Security and from his pension.
He also mentioned a class for retired men learning to cook for the first time in their lives. Always eating out — a temptation when you cannot cook and have time on your hands — brings with it risks of too much sodium, too many fats and a leap in triglycerides.
When Fritschle said, "As we age, we get discouraged because there are some things we can no longer do," Mason added:
"It's important to remember that we can make changes: for example, use a different arm when putting on a jacket."
After recommending "The Memory Prescription: Dr. Gary Small's 14-Day Plan to Keep Your Brain and Body Young" by Dr. Gary Small of the UCLA Center on Aging, Mason handed out blank, yellow slips of paper.
Then she asked everyone to write down two things about the appearance or personality of the person sitting to their immediate left, fold up the paper and set it aside.
Echoing Fritschle's warning about a diet high in fats, Mason urged the group to avoiding fatty foods ("They impact mental abilities") and promised to teach them breathing exercises at a future meeting.
Now it was time for a second test of memory.
Passing out white slips of paper, all of which had the same five words written on them (flag, dune, card, heart, fence), Mason had the group read the words out loud, in unison, in order, five times — and then put the folded papers aside.
After a break ("Good for the memory, too," Mason said), the group members visited, chatting about the value of costume jewelry, eBay, etc.
Mason described an outing with 50 members of the Red Hat Society to see the musical "Menopause."
"It was hysterical!" she said. "And they gave everyone 'Menopause' fans to wave."
Apropos of physical changes, Fritschle said, "When we get older, our plumbing isn't what it once was, and so many people stay at home.
"But socialization is good for memory."
Then, one by one, the members tried to recall what they had written about the person to their left.
Everyone remembered correctly: mostly compliments about the person's dress or personality.
"As we get stressed, we forget things," Mason said. "Tests show that memory is better in the morning, when there has not been much stress yet. Both mental and physical exercise go better in the morning."
Then, sharing the news that Lois Fox, director of Samaritan's Helping Hand, will retire June 29, Mason praised the many things Fox has done for the community — in her capacity as director of a nonprofit, but also as a private woman.
Now came the tough part of the meeting: recalling the five words (flag, dune, card, heart and fence) and using them in a sentence.
I remembered flag, card, heart and fence — maybe because of those twin f's and the approximate rhyme of card and heart.
But dune had flown into the ether.
In closing, Fritschle said: "Here we share what we do and don't do."
"There's also a lot of laughing," Mason said. "You know how good that is for your brain."
By Stuart Kellogg, Staff Writer
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