Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Be
Well!!!
Special Health Issue
Live A Long,
Happy Life
The Art
of Growing Older
Is Plastic Surgery
Now Passé?
Douglas Turner
Ward: Turning
Theater Upside
Down
PAGE 2 M 2009
AY
In This Issue
May 2009
NEWS The Big Fat Myth
Page 5 Stanley Mieses
PAGE 26
Cutting Care;
Enough is Enough!
By Emma DeVito
Now that the dust has settled in Albany, there’s just one word that describes the
Letter from
impact of the recently adopted new state budget on long-term care: Devastating.
No one argues that the state faced a considerable financial crisis that demanded
a responsible response by the governor and state lawmakers. Unfortunately, that’s
not what we got.
The dire state of the economy notwithstanding, for most of this decade
the Editor
I
can’t believe a year has passed since I wrote my first Editor letter in
annual state budgets were pasted together with various resources, some of which, Thrive NYC.
regrettably, were not of the recurring type. This was the year, everyone knew well What a year it’s been, not only for me personally, but for most of the
in advance, when it would be time to “pay the piper” for the spending structure that New Yorkers I know.
had been built on a foundation of singular revenues. Of course, no one foresaw that Tough is the first word that comes to mind but then when talking New
economic turmoil that has beset the state, nation and world. Yorkers, it’s a word that fits them well. And while the economic atmo-
But then, to take it out on the wrong people? A good share of what was done sphere doesn’t seem any clearer, at least the weather is improving, days
growing longer and flowers are blooming. So there’s hope!
this year balances the state’s budget on the backs of the poor. And what better way that to improve our spirits than to improve our
I’m talking about frail older adults with chronic disabilities and persons living bodies and minds? This issue is dedicated to improving your health and
with HIV/AIDS, individuals who particularly rely on Medicaid to pay for the wellness. We have several stories with a unique twist, especially fitting for
long-term care they need. They are black men and women, women in particular. seniors.
Hispanic men and women. They are men and women who have grown old never First, “The Big Fat Myth,” takes a serious look at what it means to be
having a lot of resources, including those who now live in a city that’s one of the overweight and you’ll be surprised by some new findings. We also look at
the latest trends in plastic surgery and, while the numbers of people going
costliest in the nation. Seniors with no place to turn. They are people with HIV
“Under The Knife” are down, seniors are still shopping for alternative
infection whose already difficult treatment regimen is complicated by substance treatments too look younger. But one of the best ways to keep a youthful
abuse and mental health issues. bounce in your step is no doubt doing things that interest you and keep you
That is the face of those in need. And that is exactly whom the state’s budget cuts active. So we explore the benefits of strolling the streets in “Take A Walk”
impact most drastically and dramatically. and the positives of hobbies in “The Zen Of Collecting.”
The state targeted long-term care this year for significant cuts, couching those And spring just wouldn’t be spring without blossoms… so our food sec-
reductions in the language of “reform.” What has occurred, however, achieves very tion features flowers. People have been eating editable petals for centuries
as our story “Feast on May Flowers” tells us. Why not try one of the deli-
little in the way of true reform, while cutting deeply into the resources of providers cious recipes for Mother’s Day or Memorial Day?
who care for the most needy and frailest of our society. From us at Thrive NYC, have a merry and healthy month of May!
This isn’t over. More government cutbacks may yet be in store as the year goes
on. Meanwhile, a new nursing home pricing method based on “regional” costs that Janel Bladow
will be developed over the coming months is likely to be a blunt instrument being Editor
used by the state to further curtail residential care spending. And, unless legislators
by some miracle have second thoughts, nursing home rates for AIDS facilities such
as Village Care’s Rivington House will lose a Medicaid reimbursement factor that
has traditionally been employed by the state to help facilities address the complicated
needs of patients who are HIV positive. These are all individuals who are among
the most frail, and the poorest, with complex care needs.
It’s time to say, “enough is enough!”
Enough harm has been done to the poor.
Enough has been taken away from frail seniors.
Enough has been eliminated from the care of those with AIDS.
More than enough.
We all want reform of care. Village Care has for more than a decade taken on the
mantle of reform, creating care for seniors and persons living with HIV/AIDS that is
primarily community-based and which offers individuals the most opportunity and
independence while giving them high quality services.
Village Care is not alone. Throughout the long-term care field, it has been the
providers who have tried to move from a system that shifts from a heavy reliance on
costly institutional care and addresses care and cost from the perspective of patient
need first.
Just a few days ago, I was in Albany to attend a reception honoring Carl Young,
who has headed the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging for
the past 20 years, and who will soon be retiring.
Carl talked about the way the term “special interests” is used so much these
days in a disparaging way. Special interests are bullied around as the cause of our
financial woes, Carl said. He went on:
“If special interests means frail seniors who need quality care and services…if
special interests means making sure that persons living with HIV/AIDS have the
care and treatment they need…if special interests means making sure that people
have access to rehabilitation and home care, allowing them to continue to live at
home, in the community…
“If that’s what special interests means, where do I sign up?”
(Ms. DeVito the president and chief executive officer of not-for-profit Village Care
of New York.)
nyc
PAGE 5
The
Big
Fat
Myth
Can you be overweight
and healthy too?
B Y S TANLEY M IESES asked to digest the HMO’s spurious
cost analyses that place the blame for
I
t’s finally happening — fat people spiraling health-care costs at the feet
in America are getting fed up. of the fat. Rather than lowering the
They’re tired of taking it on cost of health care, the HMOs rally
their cushioned chins from every alarmists who flog phantom statistics
comedian and commentator on (“400,000 premature deaths owing to
national television, who otherwise obesity annually”) to pave their way
would not dare treat another minor- out of providing aspects of coverage,
ity with such disdain and unchecked or discourage people from seeking
callousness. Daily, with a boldness regular medical attention with these
that is copied in everyday exchang- demoralizing attacks, or altogether
es among our citizens, the chatter- avoid insuring people whose “condi-
ing class demonstrates how fat is tion” allegedly makes them greatly
the number-one publicly acceptable predisposed to disease — a bogey-
prejudice in America. But their free- man challenged by the latest research
dom to be offensive is supported by in medical science.
official statistics that show that the “Given that Americans are enjoy-
fat are a majority in America, and ing longer lives and better health
therefore fair if slower-moving game. than ever before,” says University of
Official statistics categorize 60 per- Colorado law professor Paul Campos,
cent of all Americans as overweight in his book, “The Diet Myth: Why
and one out of four as obese. Break America’s Obsession with Weight is
out the numbers specifically for aging Hazardous to Your Health,” “the
male Baby Boomers and seniors and claim that nearly four out of five of
the stats are even more distressing; us are running serious health risks
practically three out of four mature because of our weight sounds exactly
adults — peaking at 77.2 per cent of like the sort of exaggeration that
men between 65-74, and 73.1 per- can produce a cultural epidemic of
cent of women between 55-64 — are fear.” He classifies “fat hysteria”
classified as overweight or obese. as “the leading moral panic of our
So the insults are hurled on the time.” This panic has institutional-
back of these dubious numbers, ized our prejudice. We tend to ste-
which we are fed through “studies” reotypically characterize fat people
conducted by government agencies as mouth-breathers, unemployable,
under the influence of the morbidly out of control, morally reprehensible
profitable food and pharmaceutical — an embarrassing lot. The opinion
industries and a voracious new lobby, of fat people most Americans hold is
the $50-billion-a-year weight-loss that they “do it to themselves,” that
industry. Then, conveniently classified
overweight and obese Americans are FAT MYTH, continued on page 6
PAGE 6 M 2009
AY
The
Art of
Getting
Older
Making art, or listening
to music or viewing paintings,
supports general well-being
and eases symptoms of
dementia.
I
n Maryland’s Greenbelt Community Center, preliminary findings from the federally funded
25 elders sit in a circle, watching professional Creativity and Aging Study, suggesting that
storyteller Candace Wolf. She moves around participating in an arts program may have
the circle, smiling, giving someone’s shoulder health benefits for older people.
a gentle squeeze, making eye contact. The art- “We needed this kind of data desperately
ist, on the faculty of the nonprofit Arts for the to prove what we’ve observed over the years,”
Aging (AFTA), enlists the group’s help in creat- said Paula Terry, director of the National
ing a story, based on a silly photo she has passed Endowment for the Arts’ AccessAbility office,
around of a stocky older couple arm-wrestling. which helps make the arts accessible to veter-
Most of her listeners seem engaged, going along ans, the elderly, the institutionalized and those
with the gag. with disabilities.
“Why are they wrestling?” Wolf asks. Leading the study was psychiatrist Gene
“He wants to go out to a bar, but she won’t let Cohen, director of George Washington
him,” one woman suggests.
“She’s smarter than he is, too,” says another.
University’s Center on Aging, Health &
Humanities, who has studied creativity and
Artists older than 65 had
A man in the circle rolls his eyes.
“Why is he so strong?” Wolf asks.
aging for 30 years. In 2002, he and other
researchers recruited 300 people, ages 65 to high levels of personal
“Used to work on the railroad,” offers another 103. Half were involved with arts programs
woman.
Before long, a narrative has been spun, with
including singing, creative writing, poetry,
painting or jewelry making; half were not.
growth, autonomy and
threads offered by participants — most of them
people with dementia or other cognitive prob-
After two years, those in the arts group
reported better overall physical health and independence
lems — and woven by Wolf. She has adapted her fewer doctor visits than the others. They
storytelling workshops to this audience because also reported fewer falls and better scores on
studies suggest that making art, or even listening depression and loneliness scales. Medication
to music or viewing paintings, supports physical, use increased with age in both groups, but
mental and emotional well-being and eases some the arts group went from using an average
symptoms of illness, including dementia. 6.1 drugs to seven drugs, while the control
The idea is gaining traction. group went from using 5.7 drugs to 8.3. Cohen
In 2006, artists, policymakers and aging noted that arts programs also had a positive
experts held the first-ever national conference impact on maintaining elders’ independence
on the arts and aging in Newark. Meanwhile, and appeared to reduce “risk factors that drive
New York announced a $1 million initiative the need for long-term care.”
in 2008 to connect 57 of the City’s arts and How could drumming or collage-making
cultural organizations to 150 senior centers. translate into better health?
The program funded workshops in Chinese
music for seniors in downtown Manhattan, as ART, continued on page 8
PAGE 8 M 2009
AY
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“DON’T BUY
A TICKET— “IT DOESN’T
BUY TWO! GET ANY
IT’S A SHOW BETTER
YOU’LL WANT THAN THIS!”
– WOR Radio
TO SEE
TWICE!”
– Backstage
Creative Aging and New York’s non- chological gains when compared
profit Elders Share the Arts, recalls a with a control group.
Holocaust survivor who sat watching An observational study published
her peers perform theater for a year in 2005 in the American Journal
before she told them how she escaped of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other
death more than 60 years earlier. The Dementias found that 12 people
group turned her story into a play and with dementia demonstrated signifi-
made her the star. cantly more engagement, pleasure,
“She said to the group... she felt self-esteem and normalcy while par-
for the first time she could feel at ticipating in a painting program
home,” Perlstein said. “This process than they did during more-tradi-
of being able to share your stories tional adult day care activities.
and transform them into art is actual- Two groups cited by the NEA as
ly a deeply healing process. She went exemplars in the field of the arts
from a depressed, sick older person and aging are the Liz Lerman Dance
to a lively young person. It was phe-
nomenal to watch this change.”
Exchange in Takoma Park, MD and
AFTA. The dance troupe, a pioneer in Italian Food at its best
Other research suggests health intergenerational arts, has long includ- “SINCERE SERVICE”
benefits for older people involved ed older people in its company. “A GREAT DATE PLACE” — Zagat
with the arts: AFTA has 18 artists, including
A study published by Columbia Wolf, who lead 80 free workshops 7 west 20th street between 5th and 6th Ave
University’s Research Center for a month in 40 Washington area
Arts and Culture found that artists
older than 65 had high levels of per-
senior centers and nursing homes.
“We’ve learned that after the pro- *Mother’s Day Special*
sonal growth, autonomy and inde- grams, seniors were talking and
pendence, all indicators of “success- smiling and socializing with one Mom’s main course is free
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been submitted for publication in executive director, Janine Tursini. ***** CHECK OUT SUNDAYS FOR FREE DINNER NIGHT****
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training showed cognitive and psy- Reprinted from The Washington Post
P a g e 10 M 2009
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nyc
P A G E 11
P
lastic surgery sometimes gets played, pedaled hands. “I want someone I can grow old and have instance, praises the face of Melissa Leo, a 40-year-
and plugged as an irresistible tsunami over- plastic surgery with,” she says. old actress in “Frozen River,” for its “amazing and
powering its primary targets, aging women. “Anti-aging surgery” is becoming a misnomer. unlimited capacity for solemnity, grief, despair and
But the tide has been turning. Dr. Pauline Chen, the surgeon who wrote “Final rage. If you’ve been to a movie lately, you know
Half of plastic surgeons report their practices Exam,” describes an older surgeon, after “count- what an un-nipped, untucked, Botox-free miracle
were down in 2007. That was before the worst of that face is.”
the recession, so it’s not just a matter of cost or This type of feedback and commentary is com-
insurers who only cover operations that fix “defor-
mities” or improve healthy functioning.
“It’s a scary thing, plemented by a majority who oppose surgical fixes
for themselves. According to a Nielsen study of
From 2004 to 2005, liposuction was down 5
percent; eyelid surgery down 20 percent. Even less- when you have friends women around the globe, 80 percent would never
“go under the knife.” Data from the American
invasive procedures such as microdermabrasion Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery itself indicate
and chemical peels were down in that same time
period, by 7 percent and 50 percent respectively,
you don’t actually that 69 percent of U.S. women do not think it an
option for themselves.
according to the American Society for American
Plastic Surgery. recognize.” Why don’t we ever hear that nonusers — many
of them resisters — far outnumber potential
It’s also a matter of growing cultural aversion users?
toward the results. “Scary” is emerging as an People actively opposed have a point of view
increasingly common adjective for the surgeons,
procedures and — more frequently — the results.
-- Nora Efron, author that rarely gets heard and a social milieu that is
entirely supportive of them.
Web sites with names such as “Plastic Surgery According to interviews collected by sociolo-
Disasters” and “The 15 Worst Celebrity Plastic less submissions” to the knife, as having skin gist Abigail Brooks for her absorbing 2007 Boston
Surgery Disasters You Will Ever See” have devel- “like plastic wrap stretched tightly over a bowl.” College dissertation, resisters are often dismayed at
oped cautionary before-and-after galleries. Designer Isaac Mizrahi says, with ageist malice, “If the way surgery survivors look.
“Before” shows attractive men and women you want to look 70, get a facelift.” A woman in Brooks’ study described a friend
of all ages, including celebrities. “After” shows The pushback extends to stars such as Ashley who lost “the most gorgeous, beautiful eyes, they
women with cavities in Barbie-sized breasts; men Tisdale. In People recently, the young actress went were her redeeming feature. . . The bags are gone
with hyper-wide eye-lifts. One Flickr site invites, out of her way to say her five-hour operation to but the shape is different.” “Her eye is crooked,
“Caption This Disaster.” repair a deviated septum wasn’t plastic surgery, definitely,” another of Brooks’ interviewees reports
The anti-plastic tone can often be cruel and jeer- which she wouldn’t recommend to anybody.
ing: “You wanted this look? You think this looks Resistance can also take the form of support for SURGERY, continued on page 12
P A G E 12 M 2009
AY
New York is SMART and it’s turning against the trend. if you told people how painful this
THE NEW SCHOOL is New York Disappointment is built into the would be they’d never do it.”
practice, and is not limited to so-called Plastic surgery is becoming a pub-
addicts. Many decide after one experi- lic-health issue in need of regulation.
COURSES THAT FIT INTO YOUR SUMMER PLANS ence that it was enough. Women are And we’ll hear more about its dan-
The New School’s summer courses run from three to nine writing books — like Alix Kuczynski’s gers from the competition — provid-
weeks—so you can learn a lot in a little time. Take “Beauty Junkies” — that declare “never ers of non-surgical procedures like
classes on a noncredit basis or earn credit toward again.” After age 50, the percentage of Botox — who have money to spend.
your college degree. Study on campus in the heart of users drops by almost half. The so- The other critics, at this point, are
Greenwich Village or online from wherever the summer called boomers are halfway through numerous. They include vindictive
takes you. What could be smarter than that? the dangerous age. bloggers, disapproving fashionistas,
The conspiracy of silence is break- disillusioned ex-users, legions of un-
Choose from hundreds of courses in
ing down. The death a year ago of hip- retouched women, concerned doc-
r#VTJOFTTBOE.BOBHFNFOU hop star Kanye West’s mother, college tors, feminist anti-ageists, sociolo-
r&OHMJTI-BOHVBHF4UVEJFT teacher Donda West, after a five-hour gists and women’s health activists.
r'PPE4UVEJFT operation for multiple cosmetic proce- I’m not holding my breath about
r'PSFJHO-BOHVBHFT dures, sent a wake-up call. rapidly transforming the commerce in
r.FEJB4UVEJFTBOE'JMN Certification in the best hospitals aging in America. The cult of youth is
r4PDJBM4DJFODFTBOE)VNBOJUJFT is no guarantee even of survival. Two ever-present in the magazines, TV and
r7JTVBMBOE1FSGPSNJOH"SUT women died in 2004 at the famed films; hurting women’s self-esteem as
r8SJUJOH Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat; one they grow older. Men are being affect-
was Olivia Goldsmith, author of ed and joining the ranks of users. In
'JOEPVUBCPVUPVSBachelor’s Program for working adults at “The First Wives’ Club.” The death some zip codes parents are giving teen
www.newschool.edu/ba133. rate from liposuction is 1 in 5,000 daughters new silicone breasts as a
View summer course offerings and register online, as of procedures. birthday present.
"QSJM
BUXXXOFXTDIPPMFEVSFHJTUFSUPEBZ Some 40 percent of breast aug- But despite such dismaying and
To order your FREE course catalog, call 800.319.4321 x34
mentations will entail complications attention-getting facts, the larger, less-
within three years. The dreaded told story is that most of us as we get
or visit us online.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph older see ourselves and our friends as
www.newschool.edu/summercatalog infection) is turning up also in some just fine exactly the way we are.
patients who undergo face lifts.
Any licensed medical doctor can Margaret Morganroth Gullette is the
perform cosmetic surgeries. “It is author, most recently, of “Aged by Culture”
The New School is a leading university in New York City offering some of the nation’s most
distinguished degree, certificate, and continuing education programs in art and design, ironic that the doctors who choose (University of Chicago Press, 2004).
liberal arts, management and policy, and the performing arts.
to perform an operation that is solely
"O"GàSNBUJWF"DUJPO&RVBM0QQPSUVOJUZ*OTUJUVUJPO
cosmetic are willing to accept mor- Reprinted from Womensenews.org
nyc
P A G E 13
A New Take
on Reverse
Mortgages
In these tough economic times,
many seniors are living on the
equity in their homes
A
few years ago, reverse mort- home, provide basic maintenance and
gages were considered a pay taxes and insurance.
last resort product for aging
seniors in financial trouble. In today’s WHAT ARE THE QUALIFICATION
world, this special type of loan has REQUIREMENTS?
been rapidly changing and improving
the lives of seniors every day. To qualify for a reverse mortgage,
Hundreds of thousands of hom- the borrower must be at least 62
eowners are already enjoying the ben- years old and own and reside in
efits of reverse mortgages, and that their home. Prior to being issued a
figure continues to grow at an average HECM reverse mortgage, borrow-
rate of more than 150 percent a year. ers also are required to meet with
Reverse mortgages are in fact now con- a HUD-approved counselor and are
sidered a mainstream product offered advised to speak with a trusted fam- that the bank or lender will own value of the home, because it is a
by a variety of upstanding financial the home. This is simply not true. government-insured loan.
institutions such as Met Life, Wells The homeowner retains the title of
Fargo and Senior Lending Network®, the property and can sell whenever VALUABLE RESOURCES
which I founded.
With all the attention this product
Reverse he or she chooses.
Another untruth is that the Because reverse mortgages offer
is getting, it’s worth knowing a little
more of the details and how reverse mortgages home must be completely paid-
off in order for the borrower to
unique benefits, it is important for
seniors and their caregivers to under-
mortgages are helping seniors remain qualify for a reverse mortgage. This stand all aspects of the product and
in their homes. allow senior also is not true. As long as there
is sufficient equity in the home,
how they work.
You may have seen legendary actor
WHAT IS A REVERSE
MORTGAGE?
homeowners to the borrower may be eligible for a
reverse mortgage. In fact, reverse
Robert Wagner as the spokesperson
for Senior Lending Network®, the
About 95 percent of all reverse mort- convert a portion mortgages are often used to pay-off
any existing liens or mortgages.
nation’s leading educator on reverse
mortgages. He talks about living the
gages issued in the United States are For example a retired senior life you deserve in your golden years.
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages,
(HECMs), which are insured and
of their home- homeowner with insufficient cash
flow to meet his needs and on the
“Many baby boomers are using
reverse mortgages as financial plan-
regulated by the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development equity into cash verge on foreclosure might not have
the money needed to pay for his
ning tools and to supplement their
retirements,” said Wagner. “The prod-
(HUD), a division of the Federal mortgage and take care of medical uct is really life changing. The pro-
Housing Administration (FHA). and healthcare expenses. With a ceeds are tax-free and it’s a comfort to
In the current economic environment reverse mortgage, the homeowner seniors to know they have options.”
with home foreclosures and decreas- ily member, caregiver, or financial could avoid foreclosure and evic- Although reverse mortgages are
ing home values, government-created analyst about the product and its tion from his home, as well as have not for everyone, seniors around the
HECM reverse mortgages are an excel- features. the funds for necessities while liv- nation are benefiting from this power-
lent financial tool enabling seniors to The loan amount depends on the ing comfortably in his retirement. ful product. Take the time to talk to
maintain their standard of living, in the borrower’s age, the value of the home, The reality is that reverse mort- your family, friends and anyone you
comfort of their own homes. its location, and the current interest gages are for seniors with a wide trust with your finances along with
Reverse mortgages allow senior rate. A homeowner’s credit score variety of different needs and dif- a local reverse mortgage loan officer.
homeowners to convert a portion and annual income are not taken ferent situations. The loan’s pro- The sooner you find out if this loan
of their home-equity into cash, as into consideration during the loan ceeds may be used for a variety of will work for you the sooner you will
opposed to selling their home for an process, however, credit is checked to purposes, such as healthcare, medi- be able to enjoy a happier and more
insufficient price. Depending on the view any existing liens or judgments. cal needs and to pay off debt, as comfortable retirement.
type of product, the borrower can well as luxury expenses, new cars,
choose to receive the loan as a lump MYTHS AND vacations and just to simply have David Peskin is the founder and
sum, line of credit, monthly payment, MISCONCEPTIONS access to supplemental cash when chief executive officer of Senior Lending
or combination of the three. Proceeds times get tough. Network®, a program of World Alliance
from the reverse mortgage can be One of the biggest misconcep- With a HECM reverse mort- Financial Corp., one of the top three reverse
used for almost any purpose, and tions about reverse mortgages is gage, the loan will never exceed the mortgage companies in the nation.
P A G E 14 M 2009
AY
DO
YOU
NEED
INSURANCE?
A checklist to cover your assets.
out which drugs are covered. an amount somewhere between what to all people involved, and $5,000 for
B Y R USSELL W ILD Inquire about emergency care cov- it would cost to build a new, similar property damage.
erage. Ask your current doctors if home — its ‘replacement cost’ — Tips: Consider exceeding the mini-
D
uring these trying economic they participate in the plan. and the current market value of your mum — by how much will depend on
times, shopping for insurance Tips: “You also need to know property,” Urena says. You also need your state’s minimums, your personal
isn’t anyone’s idea of fun. how to use the plan,” adds McCall- to assess your valuables. They might assets, and how much you have to
But having the right insurance in the Rodriguez. Preventive care, such not be covered unless your insurance protect. Auto insurance companies
right amounts should be a financial as colonoscopies and vaccinations, company knows about them, says reward older people with clean driv-
priority, experts say. What kind of are covered 100 percent by many Cathy Pareto, CFP, president of Cathy ing records. These drivers can get
insurance do you need? Which could plans. Checkups can be covered Pareto & Associates, a financial plan- the best rates because they’re expe-
be a waste of your money? Use this even before deductibles are met. ning firm in Coral Gables, Florida. rienced, often own safer cars, and
checklist to help you make sense of If you’re 65 or about to turn Tips: Photograph or videotape — if retired — tend to drive less, says
it all. 65, you may want to buy Medigap the inside of your home, cataloging Urena.
insurance to supplement Medicare. possessions. Keep documentation in If you’ve had the same auto insur-
HEALTH INSURANCE The “Choosing a Medigap Policy” a safe place. If a fire destroys your ance for a number of years, it may
Do you need it? publication is available online at home or you are robbed, you’ll need be time for a cost comparison to
www.medicare.gov. You can also that proof to collect on insurance. see if you’re getting the best deal.
Ten out of 10 doctors agree: Yes. call Medicare and speak to a coun- Receipts also help. When shopping If you take a Driver Safety Program
With healthcare costs soaring ever selor at 800-633-4227. for policies, get several quotes. And or defensive driving class, you may
higher and many employers not pay- be aware that a typical homeowners receive an additional discount.
ing their traditional share, underin- HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE policy does not cover damage caused
sured households are risking financial Do you need it? by floods, earthquakes, water — line RENTERS INSURANCE
ruin. Half of all personal bankrupt- breaks, termites, or mold, which Do you need it?
cies are due to medical bills. If you own a home, yes. A home require additional insurance.
— even after the recent market woes If you rent and have household
How much is enough? — makes up such a large percentage AUTO INSURANCE goods and furnishings of value, yes.
of most families’ net worth that not Do you need it? Renters often don’t think about
“You don’t just need a health insuring it and its contents is a big insurance — until it’s too late. A
insurance plan; it has to be a mistake. How much is enough? You You bet. Turn your steering wheel survey by Allstate Insurance found
quality plan,” says Leonor McCall- probably already have homeown- the wrong way and you may be liable that 60 percent of renters don’t have
Rodriguez, president of One Voice ers insurance — getting a mortgage for all sorts of damages. it, even though the U.S. Department
Insurance Services in California, without it is generally impossible of Justice reports that renters are
who reports that policies of ques- — but you may be underinsured. How much is enough? statistically more likely to be robbed
tionable value are flooding the mar- “Many homeowners buy a policy than homeowners. Should your rent-
ket, advertised everywhere. “You and then let it renew year after year. Each state sets a minimum, ed home be burglarized or catch fire,
want a major carrier,” she says. Meanwhile, their home value may but that typically isn’t enough. In your landlord’s insurance won’t do
“And you want to ensure that all have appreciated greatly,” says agent California, for example, the minimum you a lick of good. Renters insurance
serious procedures are covered.” Andre Urena, CEO of the Latin is 15/30/5, meaning that your carrier will. It also can provide liability pro-
Ask enough questions. Research American Agents Association. would pay $15,000 for bodily injury tection should someone be injured
deductibles and copayments. Find “Your home should be insured for to a single person, $30,000 for injury while visiting.
nyc
P A G E 15
your money elsewhere,” she says. home — health aide, should you find that,” says financial planner Pareto.
How much is enough? Tips: Whether you buy term or yourself in need. Government fig-
permanent, it pays to shop around. ures tell us that about 70 percent of How much is enough?
The home or apartment’s value Premiums can vary substantially. people over age 65 will require some
isn’t important to the renter; its form of long — term care during Purchased at age 55, a plan that
contents are. So you’ll need a good LONG — TERM CARE their lifetime, and that the average would pay $150 a day, inflation —
tally of your belongings’ value and of INSURANCE need for services spans three years. adjusted, for up to three years of care
your financial exposure should you might run you $1,100 or so a year in
get sued. With the average cost for a single Do you need it? premiums. Purchased at age 65, that
Tips: Renters insurance generally day in a nursing home now hovering same plan might cost $3,000 or so a
covers each valuable up to a certain at about $200 — an expense usually LTC insurance is a wonderful thing year. Given these prices, you don’t want
point. If you own items such as expen- not covered by health insurance or to have, but you must weigh the ben- to buy more than you need. How much
sive jewelry, furs, or a rare coin collec- Medicaid — even a short-term stay efits against their high cost. The best you need, says Pareto, can vary greatly
tion, you may need to purchase a rider. could obliterate an average family’s candidates tend to be in their 50s and depending on where you live. Factor in
finances. Long — term care (LTC) have enough money to pay the premi- other potential sources of income such
LIFE INSURANCE insurance is designed to pay for ums. “Saving for retirement should as Social Security, pension, and invest-
Life insurance, which comes in nursing — home care, or perhaps a come first, and LTC insurance after ment income in determining your need.
many types and sizes, isn’t for every-
one.
B Y C AROL W ILSON are also delicious scattered over a green salad and coals where the fragrance will suffuse the food and
particularly complement the flavor of beef. Creamy waft through the air to keep away flies. Incidentally
E
dible flowers are enjoying a well-deserved colored elderflowers impart a delightful Muscat to enjoy an insect — free picnic, lightly crush a few
culinary revival and are used by many chefs fragrance to summer desserts and cakes. Geranium sprigs of lavender between your fingers and scatter
in fashionable restaurants to add a new and leaves are strongly scented with rose or lemon, over the picnic cloth. This will keep insects away as
unusual dimension to their cooking. But the practice depending on type and impart a gloriously rich fra- they hate the scent. When using lavender for cook-
of using flowers in cookery is nothing new. Medieval grance to creamy desserts and milky puddings. ing use just a few lavender flowers — too many
monks cultivated flowers such as marigolds and English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) has will give a bitter flavor to food. You can use fresh
lavender in their kitchen gardens, alongside herbs a superb fragrance and is specially cultivated for or dried lavender flowers — use the same amount
and vegetables and often included them in their its high quality essential oil. We can thank Queen for both, as fresh lavender is actually stronger than
bland, rather frugal diet to add variety and a splash Elizabeth I (who spent lavishly on her favorite lav- dried. Culinary grade lavender is also available
of color. ender water) for the extensive cultivation of laven- from herbalists.
Edible flowers include marigolds, carnations, der in England. Highly scented and colored foods were a feature
violets, elderflowers, lavender, geraniums and roses, The refreshingly scented deep mauve flow- of medieval feasts and powdered red rose petals
which flower profusely throughout the summer. ers were scattered over tables at grand feasts to were a favorite method of coloring both savory and
Their beautiful colors and unique flavors add a sharpen appetites and perfume the air. Crush a few sweet foods, as well as imparting a delicate, fra-
subtle elusive fragrance to both sweet and savory flowers lightly in your hand to release their volatile grant flavor. Headily scented rose petals were often
foods. oil before scattering over salads and fruit dishes. scattered over cherries in pies before the top crust
Marigolds were much valued in the past as a Lavender sugar is delightful — use it instead of was added. The petals were also usually included
cheaper substitute for expensive saffron and in fact ordinary sugar when making cakes or custards. in dishes containing almonds, as they helped pre-
the flower was known as ‘poor man’s saffron’. The Place ten flowers in a jar of sugar and seal tightly. vent the nuts from ‘oiling’. Red rose petals were
striking golden orange color (calendulin) is soluble Leave for a few days before using, shaking the jar preferred — the flowers have a more intense and
in fat and was used extensively to color soups. occasionally. longer lasting perfume, especially when dried.
In Shakespeare’s time the dried flowers were put Savory dishes too are enhanced by lavender’s Rose petals and dried powdered rosebuds are a sig-
into broths as they were believed to possess recu- aromatic, almost spicy scent which has a particu- nificant ingredient in Middle Eastern cookery today
perative powers and there was a common belief lar affinity with lamb — in fact the French graze where they are used to make a sweet sticky jam and
that marigolds ‘raised the spirits and cheered the their lambs in lavender fields whenever possible to flavor honey and sweetmeats and also add an
heart’. Because of this the bright orange petals were so that the meat develops a unique flavor. Scatter intriguing flavor to meat, poultry and rice dishes.
scattered over salads and were also used to flavor rosemary and a few lavender flowers over a leg of Rose petals should have the white part at the base
vinegar. Use Pot Marigolds (Calendula Officinalis) lamb before roasting to impart an intriguing flavor. removed as this has a bitter flavor. Use only heavily
— not the African or French varieties which are not Lavender is good for the digestion too, as it aids scented red or pink petals. The best are from Rosa
edible. the flow of bile. gallica or Rosa damascena
Carnations have a slightly spicy, clove-like flavor Country lore decreed that lavender should be Flowers don’t freeze well on their own, but can
and in the past were known as ‘clove flowers’ or pruned only when the moon was waxing— other- be frozen inside ice cubes where they make a pretty
gillyflowers. Carnation petals are one of the secret wise the bush would wither and die. Country peo- addition to cooling summer drinks. Sweet sugary
ingredients of Chartreuse, a liqueur created by ple have long known that lavender repels insects crystallized petals are perfect for decorating cakes
monks in France four centuries ago, which is still and slugs and planted it close to vegetables such as and trifles. Dip some petals (or stems of lavender
made to a secret recipe. Add to salads, or to deco- cabbages and tomatoes. If you’re having a barbe- flowers) into lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle
rate cakes and desserts. Sweetly scented violet petals cue throw some whole stems of lavender onto the on both sides with caster sugar. Place on non-stick
nyc
P A G E 17
baking paper on a baking tray and dry Fresh cherry and rose ice cream
out in a very low oven for about ten
minutes until crisp.
When using edible flowers it is
essential that they are free from chem-
icals and pesticides (those bought
from a florist won’t be suitable) and
should be well washed. Gently shake
the stems of flowers to dislodge any
insects, before washing gently and
drying carefully and thoroughly. Dry
the flowers on kitchen paper imme-
diately after washing to preserve the
fragrance.
Turning
Theater
Upside
Down
With the birth of Negro Ensemble
Company, New York City stages
would never be the same
PHOTO BY GREGORY COSTANZO
Douglas Turner today
B Y J ERRY T ALLMER Company to which James Houghton’s go gabbing away, as a practice tool (two “Next thing I know,” says Ward, “I’m
Signature Theatre Company is devoting black old ladies played by 17-year-olds). at a cocktail party and Ray Lamontagne,
L
orraine Hansberry, who at 29 an entire current season of readings of And one fine day in 1965 this newspa- who’s now the president of City Center,
broke through insurmount- various plays from the NEC canon, with perman came to see if there was a story says to me: ‘The grapevine has it that
able barriers as the first black Douglas Turner Ward as curator and in what Hooks was doing. McNeil Lowry of the Ford Foundation
woman ever to write a play that Ruben Santiago-Hudson as associated And wrote it up. wants to talk to you. Call him.’”
reached – burst upon – Broadway, did artist. “You gave me heart attack,” says So Doug Ward did.
more than even she knew with her the Doug Ward of today. “I’m on the “When we met, Mac [Lowry]
1959 “A Raisin in the Sun.”
It was in the road company of that
“We got blasted Metroliner to Washington and I see this
headline: ‘A HILARIOUS PLAY,’ and
told me he had been interested in
supporting a black, Negro, ethnic,
seminal drama about black American
existence in a white world that two up- for not being it’s my play. I had no intention of it ever
being done. But it gave Bobby the cour-
whatever you want to call it, theater.
What had impressed him was that
and-coming black actors first met who age to put the two plays together — and we had done something ourselves,
would not long later push the door of
theater wide open to all black American
up in Harlem the double-bill of “Day of Absence” and
“Happy Ending” opened in November
independently. Earlier he had given
seed money to a group that had
actors, directors, playwrights, designers
everywhere. but down in the 1965 at the St. Mark’s Playhouse, one
flight up over a Second Avenue movie
never come through with a concrete
proposal — which made us all the
The names of the two pioneers house, and would run there for 14 or 15 more attractive to him.
were and are Douglas Turner Ward
and Robert Hooks. Their creation was
Village – well, smash months.”
The opening-night casts included
“This was all new to me. I had
never been in that world, the world
the Negro Ensemble Company, which
for close to 30 years from its start in
okay, the East Adolph Caesar, Lonne Elder, Frances
Farmer, Moses Gunn. Barbara Ann
of grants and foundations,” says the
man whose only previous relationship
1967 would provide a home, a seedbed,
a training ground, a showcase, and Village. For the Teer, Robert Hooks, Doug Ward — and
Arthur French, who just this season,
with corporate America had been in
articles he’d once upon a time written
a launching pad for some 200 plays, 43 years later, was so wonderful to for the Daily Worker.
almost as many playwrights, and liter-
ally thousands of black actors of all
third person behold on Broadway in Horton Foote’s
“Dividing the Estate.”
The triumvirate of Hooks, Ward,
and Gerald Krone sat down one night
ages.
“I was 35,” says the grizzle-mus- being a white The St. Mark’s double-bill — espe-
cially “Day of Absence” — “created a
in the Orchidia restaurant, Second
Avenue and 9th Street — “later, one
tached old lion that Doug Ward is today. buzz, you know,” says Ward. “This was of the first victims of gentrification” —
“Bobby was five or six years younger,
and Gerry” – Gerald Krone, the third
person.” in the days when we still had seven daily
newspapers, and Howard Atlee as our
to formulate a concrete proposal.
And, to make a long story short, they
(and white) founding father of NEC – (Charles Fuller’s most terrifying play, [low-key but indefatigable] press agent. received from the Ford Foundation
"was about my age.” the 1980 “Zooman and the Sign,” was Seymour Peck, the Arts & Leisure something over $400,000 up front,
Almost every black actor or actress reprised at Signature, 555 West 42nd editor of The New York Times, who was and around a million and a half over
who is now a bright star of the stage, the Street, last month.) alert to new trends and open to differing three years, to bring forth the Negro
large screen, or the small screen came to Robert Hooks, young as he was, was points of view, invited Ward to write Ensemble Company.
it out of NEC. Just to give an idea, one in the middle 1960s conducting a work- an article saying anything he wished. It “How did Gerry Krone get
NEC show alone, Charles Fuller’s 1981 shop in Chelsea for even younger actors, appeared on August 14, 1966, under involved? Very simply,” says Ward.
Pulitzer-winning “A Soldier’s Play,” gave teenage kids, most of them black, who the headline: “AMERICAN THEATER: “When Bobby said he was going to
birth, so to speak, to film and televi- wanted to become actors. He asked FOR WHITES ONLY?” a long, thought- produce both those plays together, I
sion’s Denzel Washington, Samuel L. his friend Doug Ward if he could use ful, angry piece — surprisingly angry thought he was crazy. He didn’t have
Jackson, and James Pickens, Jr. another of Ward’s comedies, “Happy even today in rereading it four decades a dime. We needed a manager.
It is that historic Negro Ensemble Ending,” in which two back old ladies later. “Gerald Krone and Dorothy Olim
nyc
P A G E 19
– as Krone & Olim – managed 90
percent of all off-Broadway shows
in those years. Gerry got hooked on
my outline of what could be as a part
of black theater. He got hooked. It
became his own mission.
“Whereas I was the visionary, the
artist, the creative force – all of that
shit. But oh God, we got blasted on all
sides. Before all this, I was considered
the goodest guy. As soon as it was
announced that we’d got the money, I
became the chief villain.
“We got blasted for not being up
in Harlem but down in the Village –
well, okay, the East Village. For the
third person being a white person.
And for using the word Negro – you
may remember this was during the sea
change from Negro to black.
“Bobby and Gerry said: ‘Why don’t
we change to black?’ I said: ‘No, we’re
not going to change, that would signal
that we were vulnerable to outside
pressure about the content of our
work. Our work will define us. The
moment we do good theater, all that
stuff will go away.’ ”
Douglas Turner Ward is a tough
old lion indeed. Born May 5, 1930,
in Burnside, Louisiana, he grew up in
New Orleans, where his plantation-
worker parents became tailors “and
my mother a brilliant seamstress.”
It was at Wilberforce University, in
Xemia, Ohio, that he “got hooked on
theater for all the wrong reasons.”
Namely, girls. PHOTO BY GREGORY CONSTANZO
Lucky for all of us, black or white – Evan Parke as Reuben Tate, Rosalyn Coleman as Rachel Tate and (at back) Lynda Gravatt as Ash Boswell in Signature Theatre Company’s production of Zooman and
for all the right reasons. the Sign, written by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson. The production opens March 24 at The Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street.
M
om is an amazing woman. She’s always making new
friends and learning new things. But I worried that it
was getting harder for her to take care of herself. What if
she needed help and couldn’t reach me? At Prospect Park Residence
she enjoys her own private apartment with plenty of room for visits
from her grandchildren. And she can choose from a full schedule of
stimulating daily activities. Most importantly, we have the peace of
mind of knowing that assistance is available to her 24 hours a day,
which helps us all rest a lot easier.
C
lassic cars. Jazz recordings. says Williams. “ But they’ve spilled ing puzzles, just like movies today I also restore puzzles. If they’re miss-
Postcards. Baseball cards. over. The whole house is bulging at — for a nickel a night, or twenty-five ing a few pieces, I will cut replace-
Barbed wire. Cereal boxes. the seams.” cents a week.” One of the great plea- ments and paint them so that they
Barbie dolls. Playbills from Broadway Little wonder, for her boxes upon don’t shout at you when you look at
shows. Refrigerator magnets. Star Wars boxes of interlocking pieces, arguably the completed puzzle.”
toys and memorabilia. Star Trek toys the biggest, most comprehensive col- For a long time, Williams hid her
and memorabilia. Snow domes and lection of jigsaw puzzles in the coun- hobby from her colleagues at Bates,
McDonald’s Happy Meal toys and... try, now number in excess of 8,000. fearing they might think it frivolous.
Clearly, there’s no limit to what
people collect. But though their
A puzzle lover as a girl, the recently
retired Bates College economics pro-
“Collecting is ... Her worrying days are long over,
having curated a museum exhibit
desires differ and their pursuits take
them down very different paths, in the
fessor offers a simple explanation for
why, after inheriting the family closet
about erecting a featuring the cream of her collection
and having written three books on
end, passionate collectors share many
joys and satisfactions and similarly
of about 100 puzzles, she started
collecting all manner of wooden and bond between puzzles, the most recent, “The Jigsaw
Puzzle: Piecing Together a History,”
enrich their lives. Sometimes mon- cardboard puzzles. It was to feed her which includes a foreword by Will
etarily, yes, but that’s not the area of
interest here. As no less an observer
need. “I usually don’t like doing the
same puzzle twice,” she says, add-
yourself and an Shortz.
On
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P A G E 22 M 2009
AY
difficult homosexuals
New work sheds light on Mattachine Society founders
B Y J ERRY T ALLMER RUDI: Almost crushing me. the play was done under the title was 16 years old, his family had
HARRY: Should I stop? ‘Legacy’ — a terrible title,” Marans been wiped out in the Holocaust,
T
wo men who barely know one RUDI: Don’t be ridiculous. I said: says with a grimace — “every time and here he was, in Hollywood” —
another strike up a conversa- “Almost.” the Harry Hay character came on, he on track to becoming world famous
tion — in a joint called The These two anonymous men will stole the show.” as the fashion designer who created,
Chuckwagon that looks like a John go on to give history a small but tell- Had Marans, himself gay, ever among much else, the women’s top-
Wayne hangout in the Wild West of the ing shove as co-founders — almost before researching the subject heard less bathing suit (one of which is
late 1880s. But this isn’t John Wayne’s 20 years before Stonewall— of the of the Mattachine Society? now immortalized behind glass at
Wild West of the late 1880s. It’s Los first stand-up, unashamed organiza- “Nothing. Zero. Nothing.” the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Angeles, and the year is 1950. tion of homosexuals in this country. Jon Marans, whose “Old Wicked “When Rudi started to become
You remember 1950. Well, I do. It was called the Mattachine Society, Songs” was a big hit in the mid-1990s successful, he realized that he was
Joe McCarthy. J. Parnell Thomas. and its story (or an imaginative — first at the Jewish Repertory, then going to have to go back into the
HUAC. The blacklist. Korea. dramatic riff on its story) is told in at Promenade, then around the world closet. And he stayed in the closet,
Eisenhower. Don’t make waves. The “The Temperamentals” — a play by — needed a hook for the Mattachine kept his secret, for the next 35
Silent Generation. The slip of a lip Jon Marans that’s in previews at the play, and found that hook in Harry years.”
can sink your own ship. Barrow Group Studio Theater on Hay (1912-2002). That, too, is drama.
One of those two men in the West 36th Street, toward its May 4 “He was a very difficult human Somebody who is not in Studs
Chuckwagon is large, aggressive, world premiere. being, who alienated a lot of people. Terkel’s’ “Coming of Age,” but ought
bluff and blustery. He is 39 years old In those days as in these days, He had been a Communist in the to be, is Nelson Marans, organic
and his name is Harry — Harry Hay. there were a lot of code words, and 1940s, and nobody wanted to work chemist, husband of Rhoda Marans,
He was born in London, England, “temperamentals” was a code word with him. They thought his whole father of Jon Marans.
though you’d never know it. for those who were soon to be fur- idea of a homosexual organization — “My father is the most angry pub-
The other man, 10 years younger, ther coded as gays. that unless ‘temperamentals’ defined lic letter writer in the Washington,
is slender, handsome, graceful, quite It was an assignment from San who they were, the world would D.C., area. He has letters in The New
charming, and speaks with a slight Jose Rep to write a stage adapta- define them — was lunacy. York Times a lot. My parents,” says
Viennese accent. His name is Rudi tion of Studs Terkel’s “Coming of “And then he met and fell in love their son, “are alive and delightful.”
Gernreich. Age” that led playwright Marans to with this young guy, Rudi Gernreich He says the same about
As they are discussing, of all things, explore the birth of the Mattachine [1922-1985] — a young Jewish guy “Temperamentals” director Jonathan
the carving of cameos, Rudi suddenly Society. out of Vienna,” says Jon Marans, Silverstein — “such a smart, col-
says: “Your foot, Harry.” “That book is about a bunch of a startlingly youthful 52-year- laborative guy. He went to a Quaker
HARRY: What? radicals and anarchists all more than old Jewish guy out of Pittsburgh, school, which was all about com-
RUDI: Is on top of mine. 70 years old but still kicking and Pennsylvania, and Silver Springs, munity and family. That’s what this
HARRY: And therefore protecting screaming and loving a good fight. Maryland. play is all about,” says the man who
you. One of them was Harry Hay. When “Rudi had left Vienna when he wrote it. “Forming a family.”
nyc
P A G E 25
All
hail,
Bette
Gordon
Film fest gives
pioneering Tribeca
artist her due
B Y T RAV S.D.
T
hose thumbing through the catalog for this
year’s Tribeca Film Festival may note the
recurring name of indie theatre pioneer and
long-time Tribeca resident Bette Gordon. This is a
big year for Gordon, who figures in no less than
three films in the festival. “Handsome Harry,” Suitcases,” portions of which are excerpted in room goes dark and everyone becomes quiet. In the
which she directed, will have its world premiere, “Blank City.” age of video, people are getting to have that experi-
as will “Blank City,” a documentary about the “I could never line up the same actress to play ence less and less.”
indie film and punk rock scenes in New York in the main character, a woman,” says Gordon, “So Her new film, “Handsome Harry,” heads in a
the late 1970s-early 1980s. The Festival will also we got several actresses to play it, making the surprising new direction: an exploration of male
be showing Gordon’s landmark 1984 debut feature character seem to represent some sort of collective sexuality. The film, penned by Gordon’s Columbia
“Variety” — often hailed as a feminist classic. experience.” University colleague Nicholas Proferes, is both a
If you don’t know Gordon’s work, “Blank City,” Critical acclaim for this innovative film made gripping realistic drama and a sort of whodunit. It
directed by Celine Danhier, might be the film to possible what is (to date) her best known movie, concerns a 50-ish Navy vet (James Sheridan) who
see first. It provides a context for the movement the 1984 feature “Variety.” More “Taxi Driver” is contacted by a dying war buddy (Gordon’s old
Gordon was a part of, which also included people than Stan Brakhage, “Variety” tells a noir flavored friend Steve Buscemi, who also figures in “Blank
like Jim Jarmusch, John Lurie, Amos Poe and Nick tale of a young schoolteacher (Sandy McLeod)who City”). The vet honors his friend’s dying wish to
Zedd — a generation of filmmakers that has come takes a job selling tickets at a Times Square porn uncover the truth about a bias incident they and
to be dubbed “No Wave.” theatre, gradually becoming drawn into the life a their friends had participated in 30 years earlier,
“In those days there was a lot of overlapping gangster (Richard Davidson) who is a customer. in which the bunch of them gay-bashed the hero’s
between film, bands, the art world, and perfor- The film is a sort of Who’s Who of downtown best friend. The all-star cast also includes John
mance [art]…all coming together,” says Gordon. street cred: music by John Lurie, cinematography Savage, Aiden Quinn, and Campbell Scott.
“Every generation has its own revitalization. We by frequent Jarmusch collaborator Tom de Cillo, “Jamie Sheridan was the key,” says Gordon.
came too late for John Cage or John Lennon, so script by former sex worker and Pushcart Prize- “He’d starred in my earlier feature “Luminous
we made our own scene a roundabout way, you winning feminist novelist Kathy Acker, and roles Motion,” and I gave him the script to look at.
could say that Gordon is partially responsible for played by Spalding Gray, Luis Guzman, Mark Without my even asking him to do it, he jumped
the fact that a film festival would even take place Boone Junior and photographer Nan Goldin (who aboard and he turned out to be perfect. He has this
in Tribeca — she was one of the neighborhood’s also took production stills). male energy that’s absolutely right for the character
pioneering artists. The material comes to her naturally, claims and he helped raise money and bring people like
“I first came here back when I still lived in the Gordon. “When I moved here I wanted to go to all Campbell Scott aboard.”
Midwest,” says Gordon, “and I happened to visit the places where you’re not supposed to go, all the The film is not only about closeted sexuality, but
this amazing bar called the Lower Manhattan places that were supposed to be dangerous. Times about how male sex roles have changed since the
Ocean Club. Julian Schnabel was the cook. ‘I want Square, Avenue D, the Fulton Street Fish market. Vietnam era. “I think one of the things that came
to live in this neighborhood!,” Gordon said. She My friend Nan Goldin used to tend bar at this bar out of that war was a perceived failure of masculin-
moved to a loft on Greenwich Street when she on 49th Street called Tin Pan Alley, where we used ity. I’m attracted to a kind of male sexuality that is
was midway through making her first experimental to hang out, where artists used to hang out, but represented by actors like Steve McQueen or Lee
film: “Empty Suitcases.” it also served real Time Square types; strippers, Marvin. Where is that now? I look at these movies
“Nobody lived in Tribeca then,” she says. “The gangsters and so forth. Some of them actually have by people like Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen about
streets were empty. There was grass growing in lines in the film.” these grown-up boys and I wonder ‘Where are the
the empty lot across the street from my house. At Gordon joins feminist critics like Laura Mulvey men?’”
night, you could hear crickets. The whole neigh- and others in extending that attraction to danger Despite working with a cast full of big names,
borhood looked like a Hollywood set of a New to the art of cinema itself. “I love Hollywood as as in times past, Gordon maintains a bit of the
York City warehouse district.” much as experimental film,” she says, “In noir, or same spontaneity that characterized the old days.
It was then that she got involved with the in Hitchcock, female sexuality possesses this kind “I love working with whoever’s around!,” she says.
Collective for Living Cinema, the neighborhood’s of danger, a stepping across the threshold. The “When we did “Empty Suitcases,” we had the X
first cinema, which was located in a loft on White whole act of seeing this film which first took shape Ray Specs do the music because they were around.
Street. She did her part as ticket taker, projection- in your head projected on the big screen and then In “Handsome Harry,” we needed a trumpet player.
ist, and educator, and got an NEH grant for a series sharing it with other people feels seductive, taboo. We knocked on the door of a neighbor we some-
of panels called “Towards a Living Cinema”. She The pleasure of watching a film is slightly sexual. I times heard practicing. I love working with my
also finished her 16mm experimental short “Empty love that moment just before the film starts, when friends. I guess I’m just blessed.”
P A G E 26 M 2009
AY
TAKE A WALK
You can gain mental and spiritual benefits, simply by adding
a mind-body element to your regular walking routine
B Y N ANCY M ONSON
Y
ou walk to lose weight, improve your
health and boost your energy. But did you
know that you can also gain mental and
spiritual benefits, simply by adding a mind-body
element to your regular walking routine?
The technique is easy: Instead of zoning out
and thinking about nothing (or worse, stewing),
turn inward. Give your mind a steady focus by
gently pushing away all mental distractions
and repeating a “mantra” — a word or series
of words or a short prayer. “A walk is ben-
eficial no matter what you think about,” says
Alice Domar, Ph.D., head of the Domar Center
for Complementary Healthcare in Waltham,
Massachusetts, and author of "Self-Nurture:
Learning to Care for Yourself as Effectively as
You Care for Everyone Else" (Penguin, 2000).
“But how often do you go for a walk and
you’re ruminating and stormy the whole time?
Instead, try taking a mindful walk, where you
look, listen and feel, where you focus on you’re
breathing and the cadence of your feet.” In the
process, you kill two birds with one stone, she
says, relaxing and renewing both your mind
and body.
Labyrinth Walking
A wonderful way to walk mindfully is to do so in a labyrinth — a single,
circular path that you slowly and contemplatively follow to the center and
then back out again. “I have done a lot of labyrinth walking,” says Kortge,
“and what I love about it is that it’s a set path, not a maze, so there’s noth-
ing to figure out: You just follow the path to the center and take the same
way out. It’s a little escape and a metaphor for your life’s journey.”
According to Melissa Gayle West, author of "Exploring the Labyrinth:
A Guide for Healing and Spiritual Growth" (Broadway Books, 2000),
the labyrinth has been “used for centuries for prayer, ritual, initiation,
and personal and spiritual growth.” While walking a labyrinth, you can
always see the center and know your destination is assured; therefore,
“the mind can be stilled and attention paid to the body, the wisdom of
the heart, and the graces of being rather than doing,” she writes.
One of the most famous labyrinths is found at San Francisco’s Grace
Cathedral (actually, there are two at this location, one indoors and one
outdoors); another famous labyrinth is located in France at Chartres
Cathedral. Others can be found throughout the world, and can be
located by visiting the following websites: www.labyrinthsociety.org
and www.verditas.org.
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
that we rarely feel,” she says, since while walking — one that you can
we spend most of our lives feeling repeat in rhythm to your steps and
pulled in many directions. Mindful breathing. (See “Walking Mantras”
walking can help to heal this frag- for ideas.) Use simple words you
mentation, so we can hear the wis- can easily remember to replace the
dom of a higher power or simply our “negative swirl that automatically
own intuitive knowing. goes on in your head,” says Kortge.
2. Do a gentle warm-up (for
RESTAURANT
WALK THIS WAY example, walk slowly and gently
At first, admits Kortge, it may pump your arms) and then do some
seem awkward to take a mindful or
spirited walk. “But if you practice it,
light stretches to loosen up muscles
and joints and boost blood flow.
A tradition in the making.
it will become familiar and will help 3. Gradually pick up your walk-
you settle down quickly,” she says. ing pace. Observe good posture, but
Here’s how to start on your journey keep your eyes focused on the path.
to a better kind of walking, whether 4. Silently, start to repeat your
you do it in 10-minute spurts or 30- chosen mantra over and over again
Walking Mantras
Your mantra should be empowering and keep you firmly grounded in
the present. Here, some affirmations, poems, and words you might like
to try on your next spirited walk, courtesy of Domar and Kortge:
“Right here, right now”
“Left” as you put your left foot down, “right” as you put your right French contemporary cuisine in the
foot down
Say “in” on the in breath and “out” on the out breath
1891 Landmark Building
“I am here and I am walking”
“I am here, I give thanks”
“I am walking, I am happy”
“I am strong, I am powerful” 451 Washington Street, N.Y.C.
“I am happy and confident”
“I am fit and healthy” Just south of Canal Street
“I do my best”
“I accept myself”
“I’m going to get there”
(212) 966-4900
“I can make it” capsoutofreres.com
P A G E 28 M 2009
AY
Dear Marci, called a Medicare Summary Notice. or excluded services. If you disagree it covers other types of doctor ser-
Does Medicare cover screenings Is this a bill? with a non-covered charge you can vices. Medicare will pay 80 percent
for heart disease? appeal. The MSN will have instruc- for your initial outpatient mental
— Sam tions for how to appeal. health visit so that your doctor can
— Luther Try to save your MSNs for about determine your diagnosis. However,
Dear Sam, seven years. You might need them Medicare will pay only 50 percent
Dear Luther, No. The Medicare Summary in the future to prove that payment of its approved amount for future
Yes. Medicare covers blood tests Notice (MSN) is not a bill. When was made if a provider sends you a visits. The same payment rate applies
every five years to screen for cho- Original Medicare processes a claim bill or that services were received if to other mental health providers that
lesterol, for lipid and triglycer- for health care services you received, you claimed a medical deduction on you see as an outpatient, such as psy-
ide levels, and for other signs of the claim is detailed in a MSN. The your taxes. If you have lost your MSN chologists and social workers.
cardiovascular disease (or indica- MSN is a summary of claims for or you need a duplicate copy, call There are a few other outpatient
tions that you are at high risk for health care services Medicare pro- 800-MEDICARE. mental health services that are
it). Medicare will pay 100 percent cessed for you during the previous covered at 80 percent by Medicare.
of its approved amount for these three months. MSNs are mailed four — Marci These include brief office visits
tests, even before you have met the times a year and contain information used to monitor or change your
Part B deductible. about submitted charges, the amount Dear Marci, prescription and psychological
The American Heart Association that Medicare paid, and the amount I have Original Medicare. Over testing to establish a diagnosis.
estimates that over 80 million you are responsible for. the last year I have been feeling more
Americans have one or more forms The most important fields on your and more depressed, so I started see- — Marci
of heart disease, including high blood MSN explain: ing a psychiatrist a few weeks ago. I
pressure, coronary heart disease and • The total amount your doctor just received my Medicare Summary Medicare Rights Center (www.
stroke. Heart disease and stroke are or other provider may bill you. The Notice and I’m confused. For the medicarerights.org) is the nation’s
the first and third leading causes of “You May Be Billed” field indicates first visit, Medicare paid the normal largest independent source of infor-
death in the US. Heart screening can the total amount that the provider is 80 percent of the cost, but after that, mation and assistance for people
save your life and improve your qual- allowed to bill you (balance billing). it looks like Medicare paid only 50 with Medicare. To speak with a
ity of life by treating the condition It deducts the amount you already percent. Doesn’t Medicare pay 80 counselor, call (800) 333-4114.
before it results in more severe health paid. percent for all doctor visits To learn more about the servic-
problems. • Non-covered charges, if any. The es that Medicare will cover and
“Non-Covered Charges” field shows — Lindsay how to change plans, log on to
— Marci the portion of charges for services Medicare Interactive Counselor at
that are denied or excluded (never Dear Lindsay, the Medicare Rights Center’s web-
Dear Marci, covered) by Medicare. A $0.00 in this Medicare covers outpatient men- site at www.medicareinteractive.
I received something in the mail field means that there were no denied tal health services differently than org.
nyc
P A G E 29
How To
Make A
Part D
Appeal
A step-by-step guide
to appealing Part D
Medicare coverage
I
f you get your drug coverage from a Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage.” The notice should • If your doctor submits this appeal on your
private drug plan (Part D), there may be times clearly explain why the plan is denying coverage for behalf, you will need to appoint your doctor as
when the drug that you need is not easily acces- your prescription. You have 60 days from the date your representative by signing an “Appointment
sible through your plan. This may be because the on the “Notice of Denial” to submit your appeal. of Representative” form (available at http://www.
drug may not be on your plan’s formulary (the By appealing, you are asking for a redetermination cms.hhs.gov/CMSForms/downloads/cms1696.
list of prescription drugs that your plan will pay from the plan. pdf). Have your physician submit the form along
for either in part or in full); or it may be on your with the letter of medical necessity. A signed
plan’s formulary but with restrictions, such as prior • Send the same materials from Step 1 to your “Appointment of Representative” form allows
authorization (you must get your plan’s approval plan’s Appeals Department. Your doctor’s letter your doctor to represent you throughout the
before it will pay for the drug) or step therapy should address the reason given for the denial— appeals process. A signed form also allows your
(your doctor must show that you tried a less expen- this may require updating the original letter. For doctor to represent you in any other Medicare
sive medication before your plan will cover a more example, s/he should confirm that other medica- prescription drug appeals over the course of the
expensive one). In some cases you may have diffi- tions on your plan’s formulary have not worked calendar year.
culty getting the dosage or amount of a medication for you or why you require the prescribed dosage
your doctor has prescribed if the drug is subject to of the drug. OTHER STEPS: ALJ, MAC AND JUDICIAL
quantity/dosage limits. • If you have to pay for your drug out of pocket REVIEWS
In these and a few other cases, you will have since your plan denied your exception request, be
to make an appeal to your drug plan to cover the sure to submit receipts and request reimbursement If you disagree with Maximus’s decision, you
drugs that you need. To file an appeal with your from your plan in your appeal. can request an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
drug plan, follow these steps: The plan must respond no later than seven hearing within 60 days of Maximus’s decision if
calendar days from the date it received the request the annual cost of the drug meets the minimum
STEP 1: REQUEST AN EXCEPTION TO THE (72 hours if an expedited appeal). If you receive a amount that Medicare sets each year ($120 in
PLAN’S FORMULARY. denial at this level, move on to Step 3. 2009). Multiple appeals can be consolidated to
meet this amount, and you can project the cost of
To ask for an exception, get a written support- STEP 3: GET AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW the drug to include all refills you will need for the
ing statement from your doctor certifying that the FROM THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW ENTITY calendar year. Maximus has 90 days to respond to
drug prescribed is medically necessary and that no (IRE). your appeal.
other covered drug will work for you. Call your If you disagree with the ALJ’s decision, you
plan or look at your plan’s web site or Evidence If your plan denies coverage again, get an inde- can appeal within 60 days of the date on the ALJ
of Coverage booklet to find out where to fax or pendent review from the IRE, Maximus Federal decision to the Medicare Appeals Council (MAC).
mail your request and your doctor’s supporting Services, the private contractor that handles The MAC can also review the ALJ decision on its
letter and whether you need to submit any other Medicare prescription drug appeals. own initiative. MAC decisions are due within 90
forms. Send a copy of your doctor’s letter and any Appealing to Maximus is no more difficult or days.
medical records that support your request, such complicated than appealing to your plan. Appeal If you disagree with the MAC’s decision or
as medical histories or lab reports, to your plan. within 60 days of the date on the second “Notice if the MAC denied your request for appeal, and
The plan must decide within 72 hours of receiv- of Denial” from your Medicare private drug plan. the annual cost of the drug meets the minimum
ing your request (24 hours if it is an expedited Send all your documents—including any receipts amount ($1,220 in 2009), you can request review
appeal). for out-of-pocket expenses for the denied prescrip- by a federal court.
tion—to the Independent Review Entity. Include For help with your appeal, call the Medicare
STEP 2: IF YOUR PLAN DENIES YOUR your 10-digit Medicare number, date of birth and Rights Center’s appeals hotline at 888-466-9050.
REQUEST FOR AN EXCEPTION, APPEAL! contact information on the appeal.
• If your plan raised new reasons for denying To learn more about the appeals process, go to
Before you can begin the appeals process, you coverage for your prescription in its second denial Medicare Interactive Counselor at www.medicare-
must have already asked for an exception and notice, your doctor may want to update the letter interactive.org. Medicare Interactive Counselor is
been officially denied in writing. A “no” at the of medical necessity to address those new reasons. a resource provided by the Medicare Rights Center,
pharmacy is not an official denial. If your excep- Maximus must return a decision within seven days the largest independent source of health care infor-
tion request is denied, your plan should send you a for standard appeals and 72 hours for expedited mation and assistance in the United States for
written denial titled “Notice of Denial of Medicare appeals. people with Medicare.
P a g e 30 M 2009
ay
W
omen today are living longer than ever
before with many of us celebrating 80
birthdays or more. Although it’s impos-
sible to predict how many parties are in your
future, a quick look at your family tree offers
some clues (Did your ancestors die young or live
to a ripe old age?). Still, simply because great-
aunt Myrtle didn’t make it to age 65 doesn’t
mean that you won’t. Only about one-third of
the aging process (how long you’ll live and how
well you’ll age) is influenced by hereditary and
biological factors. The rest depends on your
lifestyle choices and health behaviors-Are you a
smoker? A couch potato? While you can’t prune
your family tree, you do have the power to add
years to your life-and life to your years-with
these simple changes.
+1 years
Play with Fido.
Blood pressure and stress hormone levels drop
— and the happy hormone oxytocin increases
— when you pet and play with animals. And a
happier, less stressed heart is a healthier one. Dog
owners reap the most benefits because they tend to
walk more often, more consistently and cover more
ground. And one study found that heart attack
victims who own dogs are eight times more likely
to survive the attacks than non-pet owners because
their hearts handle stress better.
+2 years
Make love often.
Getting lucky two to three times a week can
add close to 2 years to your life. In addition to
emotionally connecting you and your loved one,
sex relieves stress, lifts spirits, induces sleep
and counts as exercise. Plus, a Scottish study
found that adults who made love at least three
times a week looked 10 years younger than their
lower libidoed counterparts. But proceed with
care: Unprotected sex with multiple partners
makes you more susceptible to sexually trans-
mitted diseases, a health risk that ages you 5
to 8 years.
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P A G E 32 M 2009
AY