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4B Daily News – Tuesday, October 2, 2012 Vitalityfitness health PHILADELPHIA (MCT) — On her top-10 list of fears, Michelle Peartree ranks becom- ing a mother as No. 1. In second place: fly- ing on a trapeze. Having already tack- led the scariest, the 33- year-old mother of a toddler decided to move on to the next fright. So, on a crisp, blue-sky Sat- urday, she climbed a 27- foot ladder at the Fly School Circus Arts in Bucks County, Pa., gripped the bar, and jumped. would never have done on my own," said the doctor's assistant from Harleysville, Pa. Peartree felt brave — "It's something I that. exactly what she and the nine women with her had been seeking. The trapeze encounter was the latest thrill staged by Awe- some Adventure Women, an enterprise that offers women a chance to experience what they would ordi- narily avoid, and thus overcome fear. Skydive? They did Rumble with roller- derby pros? That, too. Walk on hot coals? Next month. Awesome Adventure Women was started seven years ago by Michelle Halbsgut, a massage therapist and teacher from Quaker- town, Pa. She had grown up as an outdoors-lov- ing tomboy, but sup- pressed her derring-do while she raised two children. When divorce proceedings began, the old Michelle reemerged. "I realized there are women like myself — empty-nesters, divorced, single, or married with a partner who doesn't have the same interest," she said. "I opened my address book and thought, 'I'm going to start something.'" The 54-year-old Halbsgut arranges about 45 events a year, includ- ing dog-sledding, rock- climbing, skeet-shoot- ing, and zip-lining. Each costs, on average, $55; an annual member- ship is an additional $25, though it's not required in order to par- ticipate. have joined, but the event listings on Face- book and Meetup are regularly checked out by 2,000. The activities, said Halbsgut, provide women with a chance to "overcome their own obstacles." For Annalie Hudson, 58, a Phoenixville, Pa., artist, participation in Awesome Adventure Women is a step toward conquering a series of fears rooted in her divorce. "I'm afraid to be independent, that I won't make enough money. I'm afraid I Welcome to the Fair TEHAMA ESTATES PROVIDES: ◆ Independent Living ◆ Private Apartments ◆ Three Nutritious Meals Daily ◆ 24 Hour Secure Environment ◆ House Keeping Services ◆ Warm & Friendly Staff ◆ Recreational Programs ◆ Private & Formal Dining Rooms ◆ Scheduled Transportation EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens 750 David Avenue, Red Bluff • 527-9193 won't have enough health insurance," she said. "I'm just trying to overcome it. It's a fear of failure." About 80 women Because of the crip- pling potential of such fears, Philadelphia psy- chologist Robin L. Smith recommends that women reserve time for them- selves — away from "carpooling, problem- solving, helping those we love, and those we love and feel duty-bound to" — and take stock. Confronting fear is uncomfortable, but it can unearth buried truths about ourselves, Smith said. & Women confront physical challenges MCT photo Analie Hudson swings on a trapeze under the eyes of instructor Mark Nolan at the Fly School of Circus Arts in Upper Black Eddy in Bucks County, Pa. trembled while climbing the ladder to face a fear of heights. "What I think is hap- pening with (Amazing Adventure Women) is that they are shedding light on the fact that they are afraid," said Smith, an ordained minister and author of the forthcom- ing self-help book "Hun- gry: The Truth About Being Full." "They are bringing their fears, aches, and worry, and they are doing it within a safe village of other courageous, brave, and scared women." On a recent Saturday, Mary Kelly Rayel, owner of the Fly School Circus Arts, led the women in a two-hour session at the Lions Camp Kirby in Upper Black Eddy, Pa., the cir- cus school's headquar- ters. Photographer Judy Zabreck, 54, of Center Valley, Pa., carried the burden of self-doubt that she says kept her in a bad relationship. But Halbsgut, tough- ened by years of adven- ture, wasn't afraid. She and her daughter, Brit- tany, 23, wowed the group of 10 women when the mother and daughter — in individ- ual tries — swung from the trapeze bar to the outstretched hands of teacher Dan Stern, who caught them midair. Melissa Kelley of Harleysville, Pa., had been so sure of herself. The 39-year-old graphic designer joined the group to make friends and take chances in a supportive atmos- phere. "The more you face your fears," she said, "it builds confi- dence that carries over into the other areas of your life." As she stood on the platform, terror took hold. She jumped any- way. Kelley said, "but my stomach felt like it was still back on the plat- form." "I was swinging," Midswing, she yelled: "I can't! I'm scared! I can't!" "Remember," said Rayel, a longtime teacher and circus per- former, "there is no such thing as 'I can't.' There is only 'I'm learning.' " Social worker Kath- leen McCarrick, 57, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., Rayel guided her to a safe plunge into the net. Applause erupted. Kelley swore she New campaign highlights risks of painkillers HACKENSACK, N.J. (MCT) — With the abuse of pre- scription painkillers claiming more than 40 lives a day nationwide, officials in New Jersey kicked off a public ser- vice campaign on Monday aimed at alerting parents and children to the danger lurking in the medicine cabinet. "There is an epidemic ... across the country, an epidemic that is responsible for personal tragedy, widespread suffer- ing and enormous financial loss," U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said at a news conference in Newark, N.J. "It is one of the biggest dangers to our communities whether we are rich or poor, urban, suburban or rural," he said. "It leads to addiction, accidental death, and violence in our streets, as well as lost revenue and ineffective treatment for disease. And the cause of that devastation is in our med- icine cabinets." To help combat the problem, Fishman announced the launch of "The Right Prescription for New Jersey," a statewide drug abuse prevention initiative in collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Partner- ship for a Drug-Free New Jersey and a number of state agencies and associations. "Our goals are simple," Fishman said. "First, to get par- ents to talk to their kids about the dangers of abusing pre- scription and over-the-counter medications. And second, to get parents and other adults to safeguard their medications and to dispose of them properly when they are no longer used or when they're expired." The multimedia campaign features online resources at AmericanMedicineChest.com, as well a series of radio, bill- board, bus and train public service announcements aimed at keeping drugs, especially highly addictive prescription painkillers, out of reach of young people. wouldn't go up again. She called the experi- ence "scary, but inspira- tional." And then she flew twice more. JOIN THE NEW GENERATION OF GOOD LISTENERS Wednesday Every October Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Red Bluff Location Saturday, October 20th 9am to 1pm Saturday, November 10th 9am to 1pm Pine Street Plaza 332 Pine Street, Suite G Red Bluff, CA Stacy L. Garcia Hearing Aid Dispenser Lic. #7440 (800) 843-4271 2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive Red Bluff, Ca 96080 527-0414 Lassenmedical.com www.lassenmedial.com Dupont-Parisi of Mantoloking, N.J., whose son Patrick became addicted to oxycodone, a narcotic pain medicine, after a back injury and died of an overdose last year at 21. More than 20,000 people a year die from unintentional prescription drug overdose, mostly driven by abuse, Fish- man said, making it the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. "For those who have lost children, siblings or friends, the cost is unbearable. But even if the loss is less personal, we all pay," Fishman said, citing estimates that the health care, workforce and criminal justice costs of prescription drug abuse exceed $50 billion a year. "The kicker," he added, is that 71 percent of people who The website includes a video testimonial from Meg abuse prescription drugs get them from friends or relatives, including from their own medicine chest. Admissions to treatment programs in New Jersey for prescription drug abuse have risen by 200 percent over the past five years, said Brian R. Crowell, special agent in charge of the DEA in New Jersey. "Awareness can prevent the problem well before it starts," Crowell added.