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Glory Days & maturity we knew what the heck that meant. How to age with grace We'd all love to age gracefully, but it might be easier if Does aging gracefully mean cheerfully accepting gray hair and other physical changes, the way Barbara Bush (age 87) seemingly does? Or, on the other hand, does it require staying eternally gorgeous as the years slide by, like Sophia Loren (77)? Is it keeping a busy schedule of work or public service, like Jimmy Carter (87) or Betty White (90)? Or being super fit, like 68-year-old champion longjumper Carl Etter of Duluth, Minn.? Or maybe it's gradually slowing down, relaxing, spending time in the garden, enjoying the grandchildren ... Depends on your perspective. A few years ago, Ecumen, the giant Shoreview, Minn.- based senior housing and services company, compiled a list of graceful aging suggestions from customers and staff. They included such time-honored pieces of wisdom as "get enough sleep," "exercise," "get a yearly checkup," "drink and eat in moderation," "treat others with respect." Those tips, of course, are sound advice for people of any age. Oth- ers were a little more specific to older people: • Realize that although your body deteriorates, your spir- it grows stronger if you allow it. • Dress in current styles. By adding a trendy piece to a classic outfit, you will look and feel good. falling. how big or small, the journey is a growing experience. Want more? We decided to ask a few other local people with ties to organizations for older people what "aging gracefully" means to them. • Maintain muscle mass, which will protect you from • Create milestones and work toward them. No matter ERDALE, Fla. (MCT) — That kindly gent with the rose garden, the cute little old lady in the deli line, the mahjong master at the community center — any- one could be among a growing portion of our aging population: the senior stoner. FORT LAUD- lifestyles Seniors use marijuana to ease the aches In retiree-rich South Florida, some golden- agers are — gasp! — sporting illegal smiles as they discreetly puff on joints to ease the aches and pains of advancing years. "I have goals, projects and involvement with other peo- ple," said Eustis, retired professor emerita from the Univer- sity of Minnesota's Humphrey School. "I try to contribute, I get out of the apartment, and my juices keep flowing." Graceful aging, like so many other things, can depend on "Coping with the vicissitudes of aging with spirit, digni- ty and humor," is the succinct summary provided by LaRhae Knatterud, director of Aging Transformation for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. One of Ecumen's tips was: "Practice acceptance. Know that there's a very good chance that your mobility will lessen as you age. Think about how you will deal with that so that when that time comes, you can still live fully." Nancy Eustis, 71, learned that lesson rather abruptly at age 40, when a car accident left her quadriplegic. Since then, Eustis has worked on skills such as accep- tance, gratitude, optimism, and taking one day at a time. As a retiree, she has been active in local organizations for older people, including Vital Aging Network and the Invisible Force. financial security, noted Milford Johnson, 79, a volunteer at the state Council on Black Minnesotans and host of the radio show Senior Perspectives at KMOJ, where he is pop- ularly known as Brother Milford. In his senior-housing building, "there are women who have buried three husbands and sold three homes. They're growing old rather gracefully. They're out to the Ordway and the Guthrie and other cultural things," Johnson said. "But people living in the poverty sector aren't living that kind of lifestyle. ... If you've got a minimal pension, social security and medicare, then you're living from month to month, for the most part." AgeWell) an organization that provides home care and other services for seniors, has problems with the term itself. To him, "aging gracefully" sounds too safe and passive, too much about riding quietly off into the sunset. "A lot of people want to project the image that we Joel Theisen, CEO and founder of Lifesprk (formerly receive in this country of aging. Not to be a burden. Not to do too much to rock the boat," he said. Don't settle for graceful aging, Theisen said. He encourages people to "age passionately," pursuing their interests and dreams with the help of loved ones and community resources. Think, "What are my passions, what are my priorities, "It's like taking a magic pill," said a 70- year-old Boca Raton, Fla., woman who smokes pot almost daily to counteract cancer chemotherapy pain. "I can have a crappy, crappy day and I take one toke and in less than three minutes I'm leveled out and feel wonderful." Such scofflaws opt to flout convention rather than suffer. And their numbers are hardly insub- stantial: 30 percent of Americans 50 and older have tried pot, according to a 2009 survey by the government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive. Last year, the National Saturday, August 4, 2012 – Daily News 7A MCT photo A 65 year-old retiree of Pompano Beach, Fla., grows and smokes his own "happy grass" to alleviate pain. calls herself Mary. "I'm a good, Catholic churchgo- ing person," she said. "I've never taken a drug in my life." Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that drug use among seniors has increased more than 3 percent over the past eight years. The number is expected to triple by 2020. One recent convert was a 70-year-old Delray Beach, Fla., woman who But when a friend with an out-of-state prescrip- tion for medical marijua- na offered a joint to allevi- ate the "excruciating" pain of a shoulder injury, Mary took a chance. "I had one hit and I went, 'Oh, dear God, this is awesome,'" she said. "It made me feel that much better. It absolutely should be legalized." For years, a 65-year- old Pompano Beach, Fla., retiree tried every manner of drug from Dilaudid to morphine to battle pain from damaged bones, arthritis and fibromyalgia. "I've been on all the hard drugs and nothing hap- pens," he said. Then he sampled a little reefer. "I'll tell you, the first hit there was Zip-a-Dee- Doo-Dah day," he said. "The only thing that helps is happy grass." Obtaining the illicit weed can be problematic for seniors. The Boca Raton, Fla., cancer victim relies on her husband — while retaining plausible deniability. "He might get it on the golf course," she said. "I don't know where; I don't ask." man grows pot in his back yard, cures it and smokes by the thimble-full in a hookah-like machine. "It's very therapeutic," he said. "I'm thinking of putting signs out in my yard — they could say 'Legalize Pot.'" One of his "happy grass" pals is 80. Celeste Wheeler, 89, also of Pompano Beach, has never tried it, but is curious about joining the reefer club. "I'm very interested," she said. "Maybe something could help my back pain." The Pompano Beach Making small changes to a will, trust By Claudia Buck how do I get what I want?" Theisen urged. "I understand I've got some physical limitations, but I've got to find a way to live the way I envision myself living." Going generic this year (MCT) — Dozens of brand-name prescription drugs are losing their patent protection, allowing generic versions to enter the market and consumers to save 30 to 80 percent on those medications, said David Belian, director of media relations for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. Generic forms of drugs have the same active ingredients as their brand-name counterparts but are significantly cheaper because they don't invest in clinical trials or adver- tising, Belian said. About 80 percent of prescriptions are filled with generic drugs, and they have a good track record, said Howard Schiff, executive director of the Maryland Pharmacists Association. expected to be released as generics in 2012 and 2013, according to Medco Health Solutions, which manages phar- macy benefits for employer health plans. These are the prescription drugs that have been or are 2012: Symbyax (treatment-resistant depression); Geodon (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder); Lexapro (depression, anx- iety); Seroquel (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder); Avandia (Type 2 diabetes); Avandamet (Type 2 diabetes); Avandaryl (Type 2 diabetes); Avapro (high blood pressure); Avalide (high blood pressure); Provigil (excessive sleepiness); Plav- ix (prevents blood clots); Viramune (HIV infection); Lescol/Lescol XL (high cholesterol); Tricor (high choles- terol); Clarinex/Clarinex D (allergy symptoms, hives); Sin- gulair (asthma and allergy symptoms); Actos (Type 2 dia- betes); Xopenex (asthma, COPD); Revatio (pulmonary arte- rial hypertension); Diovan/Diovan HCT (high blood pres- sure); Detrol (overactive bladder); Lidoderm (pain from post-herpetic neuralgia); Atacand/Atacand HCT (high blood pressure); Evoxac (Sjogren's syndrome); Maxalt/Maxalt MLT (migraines); Actoplus Met (Type 2 diabetes). 2013: Opana ER (pain); Zometa (bone complications from cancer); Valcyte (viral infections); Zomig (migraines); Fosamax Plus D (osteoporosis); Rilutek (amyotrophic later- al sclerosis); Temodar (glioblastoma multiforme); Cerezyme (Gaucher disease); Niaspan (high cholesterol); Advicor (high cholesterol); AcipHex (GERD); Vivelle- DOT (menopausal symptoms); Cymbalta (depression, anx- iety, nerve/musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia). make changes to a will or trust can be tricky. Here with some tips is Sacramento estate plan- ning attorney Michelle Goff. QUESTION: My daughter and I own a condo as joint tenants. What is needed to ensure that my daughter has ownership of the condo upon my death? ANSWER: If the condo is all you really have in the way of assets, then joint tenant titling should be suffi- cient. But you need to remember that your daughter also "owns" the condo, which means it is subject to any cred- itors of hers. If you have other assets to pass on at your death, you may want or need a will. Also, make sure that McClatchy Newspapers Figuring out how to have a trust in both our names, with another per- son listed as beneficiary. We had a falling out with this person and would like to change our beneficiary. How hard is this, including the cost? A: Most attorneys charge hourly to make changes to trusts. The cost will vary, depend- ing on what needs to be done. If the trust was well written by the prior attorney, then it may just require a one- or two-page amendment, which should not be too costly. Regardless of when or who you paid to do your trust, I always rec- ommend reviewing a trust every couple years to make sure that your beneficiaries are still those you want and that the person in charge (successor trustee) is someone you still trust. If changes need to be made, contact a licensed attorney who specializes in estate planning to make them for you. Q: My father has a But I have reviewed trusts to make "small" changes, only to discov- er the trust was so poor- ly written that we need- ed to scrap the whole thing and start over. In one case, a married revocable trust created by a private company in 2000. His financial sta- tus has changed and he needs to make two amendments: change the name of the second trustee, and reduce his gift amounts. When I called the company, you have provisions in place in case you become incapacitated. A health care power of attorney and a financial power of attorney are very important and let you designate someone to handle your affairs in the event of medical or mental impairments. Q: My husband and I woman with three kids sent me her trust to review. It read as though she was a single woman who wanted to leave all her assets to her brother. When we met, she said it was supposed to be a husband-and-wife trust, with the estate split equally among their kids. Her brother was only to be the trustee. She had bought this trust from a non- attorney. Education News? clerk@redbluffdailynews.com K W I K K U T S Family Hair Salon $200 REGULAR HAIRCUT off with coupon Not good with other offers 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 Reg. $13.95 Expires 8/31/12 Sierra Sound Car Audio 35th $ 226 So. 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