ELDR news & features

Not Just for the Kids!

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:03:23 -0800

MY FRIEND LESLIE WEISZ approached me last spring with a blunt request. "I want to be more computer savvy. What do I have to do?" Leslie, who is 60, had been somewhat of a techie in the 1970s when he was working in data processing, but after leaving that field to become an executive in corporate finance, he never put in the time to develop his tech skills as the personal computer revolution took off.

I pointed him to a bunch of technology magazines. And I encouraged him to start using the Internet to accomplish basic tasks in life (book a
golf tee-time, find a restaurant, and so on). I also sent him to a
website, Facebook.com.

Facebook is what's called a social network. These days just about everyone who is even remotely tech savvy uses it to stay in touch with others. It consistently ranks, by usage, in the world's top 10 websites.

A social network is defined as a website that contains two key
elements. First it contains profiles, which are personal Web pages
about individuals that give a sense of who they are. A profile contains the person's name, gender, location, and (optionally) age and marital status It almost always displays a photo of the person. Beyond that it includes their likes, dislikes, hobbies, and other salient information.

The second element is an ability to add "friends." These are people you choose to give access to more information about yourself, your life, and your online activities. With Facebook, you can initially see only a person's friends, their picture, and name. When they accept you as a friend, you gain access to their more detailed profile and their activities on the site.

As you gather friends through a social network, you gather the ability to track what they are up to in their lives on a daily basis. Think of it as Google for your social life. If your Facebook friends post photos of their grandchildren, you'll be alerted. If they play a game of online Scrabble, you may see that notification. If they create a Facebook group of retirees or publicly communicate with someone, you'll see those actions, too.

For Leslie, the appeal of Facebook is twofold. First, it's an easy way to stay in touch with his family and friends. Both his adult daughter and son are on Facebook, and he discovered a community of people he knows through his work and social life.

As you find and add people to your Facebook account, the site searches for other people you might know by looking at their friends. It then recommends these people to you, and if you know them as well, you can click to ask them to become Facebook friends, too. This approval process allows only people you know to gain access to information about your life that you post on the site. These postings can include photos, Web links, activities you engage in on the Facebook site, and even favorite quotes and other personal musings.

Leslie's other objective is to use Facebook to help build his new business. He recently left the corporate world and is working to become an entrepreneur in financial services. The network aspect of Facebook allows him to keep others abreast of developments in his professional endeavors. He plans to share links to his new business when he gets a website up. And he plans to share his wisdom about finances.

Leslie can keep people informed about what he is up to by updating his status. That's a single line of editable text that people can read that explains what you're doing in the moment. For example, mine currently says, "Andy is writing an article about Facebook for ELDR magazine before he leaves for the Bahamas."

With Facebook, you can also create interest groups. For instance, Leslie and I are both members of a Facebook group for the Little Geeks, a charity I created to give underprivileged children Internet-connected computers. Leslie is one of my board members. We use the Facebook group to update people who join about our activities at the charity.

Leslie says he might create a Facebook group for the clients of his financial coaching business.

And finally, Facebook is not all business. You can use it for fun. Facebook lists thousands of applications, which are add-on programs that you can include in your profile. Leslie found the Golf Game application and is now tracking his golf scores and handicap. He also added the iRead application so he can track books he has read and share them with his Facebook pals.

So, after a three-hour training session and one day of practice, I asked Leslie what he likes best about Facebook. "The best part of it is that I get to see my friends and hear what they are up to," he tells me. Does he have any concerns? "Right now it's a bit confusing to me, but that's because I'm at the front end of the learning curve," he says.

He's also a bit leery about putting too much information about himself on the site, and he wants to understand more about the privacy implications. This is understandable. It takes some patience to learn
and customize the privacy controls on Facebook.

The good news is that Leslie is well on his way to becoming Facebook savvy. Better yet, I have one more Facebook friend to add to my network.

ELDR of the Year

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:54:27 -0800

ELDR Media is proud to announce the first annual ELDR of the Year
Award. Our editors have nominated 20 outstanding individuals who have
made significant and lasting contributions to the world at large—elders
who are still actively engaged in the great overriding mission of
leaving the world a better place of the generations to come. Cast your
vote today. The winner and runner-up will be announced early next year
(2009). Click here to vote.

An Old Biologist Who Never Quits

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:49:57 -0700

The battle between conservationists and oil people never ends," George Schaller laments. "A half- century after we established the Alaska Artic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR), the Bush people are trying to destroy it. They want to trash the area for a quick profit. I call it ecological vandalism, and if the American public doesn't fight hard enough, all will be lost."

At 75, Schaller, universally acclaimed as the world's preeminent field biologist, has pretty much earned the right to say whatever he wants. In 1956, as a student at the University of Alaska, he went on an expedition with famed naturalist couple Olaus and Mardy Murie that lead to the establishment of the Alaska reserve in 1960. By then Schaller was in Central Africa living with and studying the gorillas of the Virunga Mountains—groundbreaking work that preceded that of Dian Fossey and Louis Leakey.

At this point in his career, having established more than 20 major wildlife reserves around the world, including the 200,000-square-mile Chang Tang Nature Reserve in China, Schaller has hardly slowed down. If anything, he operates with a renewed sense of urgency as he pursues his most ambitious goal yet: the Pamir International Peace Park, which will span the junction of four countries—Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and Tajikistan—in the process saving the magnificent spiral-horned Marco Polo sheep from extinction.

I interviewed him shortly after he received the 2008 Indianapolis Prize, the world's most prestigious award for animal conservation. Not surprisingly, Schaller plans on using the $100,000 he received to pay for some of the scholarships he provides to upcoming biologists.

"I am encouraged that more and more people are ecologically aware," he says. "But most don't seem to have a national sense of purpose anymore. We need to understand that everything we is do is an ecological act—turn on the light, get a cup of water, etc. We need to change attitudes, expectations, and perceived privileges. Everyone has to be involved; conservation is a moral issue."

"Just how do you get these governments to set aside such vast tracks of land?" I ask.

"First," he answers, "I identify a large animal that they have reason to care about, which I call a charismatic megafauna. The preservation of these animals can have a direct economic benefit. And then I explain to the appropriate government official what it will take to protect the animal and its habitat."

Schaller continues. "The beauty of this is that you're not just protecting the Marco Polo sheep or the lions or giant pandas, but the whole environment—all the plants and animals in the area."

"I basically get knowledge through my field trips," he adds, "and then make suggestions to the government. All four countries involved in the Peace Park have agreed to the concept and the borders of the park, and now all they have to do is sit down and work out a lot of details—how to manage, cooperative research, etc. It is a step-by-step affair that gains momentum as it goes along."

Photo by Beth Wald

Schaller (right) and his Afghani guide examine the horns of a Marco Polo sheep.

Amazingly hearty and strong, Schaller is heading back to the mountains of Tibet as soon as they allow researchers in after the recent uprising there. To bide his time, he is instead going to the "Indian part of Tibet" where they have a subspecies of the Marco Polo sheep.

I ask Schaller what will happen when he's no longer physically able to go on these trips.

"I hope it's not over," he says. "But I find young biologists in these countries and take them with me. I hope they absorb the science and have the motivation to continue what I've started, and then they will have students who will, in turn, do the same. Long after I'm gone, the work will go on."

Editor's note: Schaller asked us to let readers know that he is working with the Panthera Foundation, which was set up to save in situ populations of the world's 36 wild cat species and their habitats around the globe. To learn more about the foundation's work, go to panthera.org.

Poster: Let's Squat

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:57:50 -0700

Squatting extends your back, increases mobility in your hips, lengthens your calves, stretches your Achilles tendons, and strengthens your knees and ankles.

The preparatory routines in the poster below can help you regain your innate ability to squat. You can pick and choose poses to see which ones work best for you. If you have time constraints, you may find that you prefer to alternate the postures, doing some on even-numbered days and others on odd-numbered days.

Download the poster now » (PDF)

Monthly vitamin D supplement safe and effective

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:08:04 -0700

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A single high dose of vitamin D given every four weeks is as safe as smaller daily or weekly doses, and is as effective in achieving adequate circulating levels of the vitamin, according to a study conducted in Israel.

To prevent fractures in older patients, the level of the active metabolite of vitamin D -- that is, 25-hydroxyvitamin D -- should be higher than 30 nanograms per milliliter, Dr. Sophia Ish-Shalom and colleagues explain in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

While monthly dosing could make it easier for people to stick to regular vitamin D supplementation, the researchers were concerned that a large dose might lead to a spike in calcium levels in the blood -- which could cause problems.

To check, the team conducted a clinical trial with 48 women, 81 years of age on average, who had undergone surgery to repair a hip fracture, to compare three dosing regimens of vitamin D supplementation: 1,500 International Units once daily, 10,500 IU once weekly, or 45,000 IU every 28 days.

After two months, blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were similar at 33.2, 29.2, and 37.1 nanograms per milliliter, respectively.

A single instance of excessive blood levels of calcium occurred, in a patient assigned to the daily supplement.

Ish-Shalom, at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, and associates conclude that "the choice of dose frequency can be based on whichever approach will optimize an individual's adherence" to regular vitamin D supplementation.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, September 2008.

Small Donations, Big Returns

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:09:59 -0700

ALI SHUNGU
A community organization in rural Ecuador for five indigenous Andean tribes, providing scholarships for girls, and building a cooperative of embroiderers for local women. For $200 you can send a girl to private high school; $100 sends her to public school (school is not free in Ecuador).

To make a donation, visit alishungufoundation.com.

BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY
The only no-kill animal shelter in the world, Best Friends covers 33,000 acres in Utah, where up to 2,000 animals are rescued and cared for, in preparation for adoption. Horses, dogs, cats, Michael Vick's badly abused pit bulls, Katrina victims, flood and tornado rescues—all find their way here. Recently featured on National Geographic Channel's Dogtown.

To make a donation, visit bestfriends.org/aboutus.

The CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE
CAI provides education, primarily for girls, in remote regions of central Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan $20 sends two girls to school for a year, $40 pays a teacher's salary for a month, and $100 heats a classroom for one winter.

To make a donation, visit ikat.org.

FIRST BOOK
A U.S. organization that provides new books to children in need, to encourage literacy and the fun of reading. For $10 you can buy four new books a year for a family; $100 buys 40 books, and materials for a child and mentor.

To make a donation, visit firstbook.org.

FISTULA FOUNDATION
Provides essential health care and surgeries for women in Ethiopia whose unattended pregnancies and childbirths, often in their early teens, have resulted in incontinence, making them pariahs in their communities.

To make a donation, visit fistulafoundation.org. See PBS special at pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful.

LUBUTO LIBRARY PROJECT
Builds libraries as community centers for street children and their surrounding communities.

To make a donation, visit lubuto.org.

NOTHING BUT NETS
Prevents malaria by providing bed-size mosquito nets in Africa. Simple, effective, and lifesaving.

To make a donation, visit nothingbutnets.net.

SHOE4AFRICA
Does as it says—gathers running shoes for African runners, while promoting AIDS awareness. Money is used for school fees. Shoe4Africa is now asking donors to send shoes themselves, so that money can go directly to education, not shipping.

To make a donation, visit shoe4africa.org/mission.

ALTERNATIVE GIFT PROGRAMS
Consider creating an "alternative gift" program within your family whereby you make donations to organizations like these, instead of giving traditional holiday or birthday gifts.

For more information, visit alternativegifts.org.

How Green is Your Kitchen?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:39:23 -0700

Taking up some of the suggestions in the chart below will seriously reduce your energy bill. At the same time, you will make a difference in the war against global warming. And you'll be healthier too!

Print and/or download our Green Kitchen Chart »

My Life with Kathy Griffin

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:45:19 -0700

At age 88, Maggie Griffin is stunningly attractive and obviously fit. And she is one of the most recognized people in her West Hollywood neighborhood. A regular on her daughter's reality TV show, Maggie is an avid walker who can hardly go to the corner, much less the local library or grocery store, without someone approaching her and asking, "Aren't you Kathy Griffin's mom?"

"Kathy has a large gay audience," Maggie tells me, "and the fellows come up to me to say how much they love Kathy and the show, and how they go see her all the time."

For those of you over 50 (it seems everyone under 50 knows who she is), Kathy Griffin is a wildly popular, eccentric, and oftentimes outrageous comedian, actress, and star of her own Emmy-awarding-winning reality TV show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. She is also the 2008 recipient of the GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

Incredulous as it may seem, I recently interviewed Maggie and her famous daughter as part of a segment of the reality show, which typically draws more than a million viewers to the Bravo cable network. It seemed kind of nutty—but there I was, sitting with the two of them on a sofa under the hot TV lights, in Kathy's sprawling Los Angeles hillside home, explaining to Maggie that she was going to be one of our Inspiring ELDRs.

"I wish you'd quit looking at her rack," Kathy exclaims, the first of many such wisecracks.

"I'm not really," I protest.

Realizing Kathy's father, John Patrick Griffin, Maggie's husband of 65 years, had passed away just over a year ago, I asked Maggie as gently as I could, "I know it's probably too soon, but do you have a boyfriend?"

"It is too soon," Maggie replies. "I had the best though; I was lucky."

"My mom does have a boyfriend," Kathy insists. "His name is Jack Daniels."

"I imagine he's a very steady guy," I add.

"Very strong and dependable," Kathy answers.

By now I'm a bit flustered trying to outwit a master comedian. I ask, "What has it been like growing up with Kathy?"

"She's still trying to grow up, Dave. That's the problem," Kathy answers.

"I know a lot of people will be surprised, but Kathy was a wonderful, easy-to-raise teenager," Maggie volunteers. "I'd say she's more of a problem as a grownup, which is odd."

"My mom gave birth to me when she was 70 years old," Kathy claims. "It was a miracle birth."

"She didn't go out drinking, smoking dope, and hanging out with older guys?" I want to know.

"No, no, she was in the drama club and was in all these plays and musicals. She was always funny. As a little girl she did a performance in our basement called ‘The Kathy Griffin Show.'"

"My biggest challenge was dealing with a mother who was so old at the time," Kathy says.

Photo by Peter H. Chang

By now I try to ignore Kathy and do my best to focus on her mom. I want to know, "How old was Kathy when she first ran away from home?"

"Oh my gosh, she was just a little thing, about four or five. We were at a big family gathering. All of a sudden, when we were ready to go, we couldn't find Kathy. Pandemonium broke out. We called the police, and everyone was looking for her. I was crying in the back of a police car when we got a call that she was in a little café on Oak Park Boulevard. She had a bottle of soda with her that she carried from the picnic."

"Carrying a bottle, just like mom," Kathy interjects. "Are you sure I'm your daughter, Mom? You might have picked up the wrong girl."

"Well, this kid had the same outfit on, so ..."

"That's when I had to start wearing a leash," Kathy says.

"You mentioned that Kathy is more troublesome as an adult. Does she shock you sometimes?"

"No so much anymore. I accept her shtick. Everybody asks me this, and that is usually what I say."

"Who's everybody?" Kathy wants to know.

"Well, people my age, you know, they are shocked sometimes."

"What about her Emmy acceptance speech," I ask, "the one where she said Jesus had nothing to do with her award?"

"I showed it to her ahead of time, and she said it was funny," Kathy claims.

"No, I didn't. I told her, ‘You are going to offend a lot of people,'" Maggie retorts.

"You said it was shocking but funny."

"So, Maggie, do you still go to church?" I ask.

"Yes, yes, I do."

"Your daughter doesn't go to church."

"I know, but she's spiritual."

"I believe in the separation of church and state," Kathy interrupts. "But, apparently you'd like to join the Taliban." Whether this barb is aimed at me or her mom, I'm not sure.

"But I was thrilled she won the award anyway," Maggie says.

"You've already told me you like to do a lot of walking and that is one of the secrets of your longevity," I continue.

"I also love being around my family," Maggie adds. "They all have a great sense of humor, and all my kids are funny. My husband was funny and, of course, Kathy. I think that helps an awful lot."

"What about diet?" I wonder.

"She eats like a 19-year-old frat guy," Kathy jumps in. "If I could hold her upside down, all the jelly beans would fall out. She eats Nacho cheese dip and only the stuff that comes in cans, burritos from the 7-11, Sara Lee frozen dinners. Oh my god, I wish we could raid her kitchen right now-there'd be bags and bags of tortilla chips, Oreos, Twinkies, and cinnamon buns."

"That's not true," Maggies says. "I eat very well, lots of fresh veggies, lots of fruit."

"Frozen candy."

"No, I don't."

"What about supplements?" I ask.

"I recommend omega-3, CoQ10, calcium, and a multivitamin. And then I also have an extra vitamin B with B2 and folic acid-and that's about it."

"You live by yourself; you don't live with Kathy, right?"

"I just want to go on record that I offered that she could live here, and she declined," Kathy says.

"She probably doesn't want to be around all the wild parties," I speculate.

"Yeah, that's right," Maggie agrees.

"I've got to get to bed, and I can't have her here drinking all night," Kathy says.

"What's your fondest wish?" I want to know.

"My wish is just to keep healthy and close to my family and not be a pain in the neck to anyone ... and not worry."

"She's still fun," Kathy says.

"I totally agree, Maggie, you are definitely an ‘Inspiring ELDR.'"

"Thank you very much, Dave."

"Dave," Kathy has to get in the last word, "I told you to quit looking at her rack. She's too young for you!"

Breaking the Cycle

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:04:30 -0700

Can you eat barbecue and sushi at the same meal? If you want to be friends with Reverend Cecil Williams and his wife, Janice Mirikitani, you'd better learn. At least that was my experience the first few times I went to their house for after-church brunch, when the ribs would be piled up right next to the sashimi.

To me, this culinary juxtaposition is symbolic of the powerful co-existence of the flamboyant African-American preacher and the multi-talented Japanese-American poet. Most of what has been written about Jan and Cecil (if you're in the know, her name comes first) has focused on their individual achievements and of course, Glide Church, the institution they've built together. Their mission is simply to end the circle of poverty. No two people have so relentlessly and lovingly pursued such a lofty goal—Glide Church today serves over one million free meals a year and provides an array of programs including housing, health care, counseling, and job training for the "poor folk" of San Francisco, California. Recognized worldwide, Glide and Cecil were featured in Will Smith's 2006 hit movie, The Pursuit of Happyness.

I recently sat down with the charismatic duo in Cecil's eclectic but inspiring office where he keeps African artwork alongside portraits of himself and Jan with celebrities and politicians—people like Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, and Nelson Mandela. The interview focused on their relationship with each other. I wanted to know what makes them tick (and keep on ticking) as a couple. What follows is their remarkable story.

Jan met Cecil in the mid-1960s when she first volunteered at Glide Church—a once sedate, white, middle-class, Methodist church in downtown San Francisco that Cecil had already famously transformed into a hippy radical haven for revolutionaries, drug dealers, homosexuals, prostitutes, and whomever else wanted to attend a church that wouldn't "turn its head away" and would instead empower all those who came into its path. It was a church without hymnals and without a cross—items Cecil removed and won't allow back.

Shy and very reserved as a young woman, Jan was filling in as the church's office secretary when a large, imposing black man stood in front of her. She was startled and could hardly make eye contact.

"Don't you know who I am?" he demanded.

Unable to speak, she simply shook her head.

It was Cecil, of course, and Jan remembers thinking to herself, "Hell, I don't know who I am."

Not long after this introduction, Cecil actually married Jan to her first husband in 1966. A year later she had a daughter. (In 1968, Jan's work at Glide became full time and has been so ever since.)

It wasn't until 1980, after both Jan and Cecil had divorced their first mates, that they became a couple.

"We had some trepidation about this," Cecil recalls. "We lived together for two years before we were married."

"Yeah," Jan chimes in. "He announced to the whole congregation that we were going to live together."

"How did they react to this?" I ask both of them.

"They cheered and applauded," recalls Jan. "It was better for them to hear it from us than to find out later through gossip."

"But some of the ‘church mothers' didn't approve," Cecil remembers.

"They came up to me and said, ‘Are you sure you don't want to get married before you move in with him?'" Jan says.

By the time they married on New Year's Day, 1982, Cecil had made a national impact, and Glide was feeding and providing services to thousands of poor and homeless people. Cecil's fame had accelerated after the February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst kidnapping, when he served as the go-between for the Symbionese Liberation Army [SLA] kidnappers, the FBI, and Hearst's father, Randolph Hearst. During the incident Cecil managed a $2 million food giveaway program which the SLA demanded from Hearst.

The rollicking Sunday services at Glide, featuring a gospel choir backed up by a jazz band, and Cecil's "liberation sermons" calling for unconditional love and acceptance of all people of all faiths, backgrounds, nationalities, and sexual orientation struck a chord with the times. Celebrities such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Bill Cosby, Angela Davis, and then-mayor Dianne Feinstein could be seen sitting in the pews next to prostitutes and drug addicts.

Photo Courtesy of Janice Mirikitani

Oh, happy day—Jan and Cecil took public transportation to their wedding on January 1, 1982.

"We had a big wedding. It took three guys [to] marry us," Jan remembers.

"There was a rabbi, a minister from the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and our own associate pastor, plus Jan had a whole dance group and I brought in a band," Cecil adds.

"Cecil wore a loud fuchsia shirt and white suit and upstaged the bride." Jan laughs.

"Are you as attracted to each other now as much as then?" I ask.

"It's a new thing altogether," Cecil answers. "We have experienced some things, felt some things, gone through changes, and become committed to each other in ways we couldn't have know about then. The most important thing was when I decided Jan was equal, we were mutual."

"It took me about two decades," he adds, with a wink.

"I'm so shocked it took you so long," Jan says. "Love only grows if you change and if you are mutual; otherwise, it is a master/slave relationship."

"I had a crush on Cecil when I heard him sing," she continues. "I fell in love with his hands, and when he made a choice to be a liberation minister and not people's access to God I knew I wanted to spend my life with him. And then when he said it doesn't have to be a Christian god, that's when I knew I was in love with him."

"Jan is not an easy person to be around," Cecil adds. "She's always getting into something. It just keeps growing and growing. I've had to work hard to find my way with Jan, but it's been a good ride—lots of fun."

"Are you talking about a ride or a journey?" Jan laughs. "Being with Cecil is sometimes like walking into a room and his light is so bright you get invisible. If I felt invisible all the time I would be pissed off at him. I've had to grow my own place. My poetry has saved my life, given me a voice."

Jan's epiphanic moment came not long after their wedding when Cecil persuaded her to "tell her story" to the congregation during one of the Sunday celebrations. For the first time, she told the Glide people how she was born in a dingy barrack at an internment camp in Arkansas. How her family had been forcibly evicted from their Stockton, California farm, and how before being shipped off they lived in a horse stall. One of Jan's frustrations was that, except for her testimony before the 1980 Congressional Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, her mother refused to talk about the camps. But, Jan continues, this was minor compared to her most severe childhood trauma—her uncles and family friends sexually abused her from the time she was 5 years old until she was 16.

"I was drowning in my shame, but once I finished, 50 people lined up to tell their stories. We learned that 99 percent of the women in dire poverty had been the victim of incest or abuse," Jan says.

"It turned out to be the beginning of our recovery program as well as the beginning of my recovery, too," she recalls. "I thought I'd be a pariah, but this amazing place welcomes the story and makes you live in the moment."

The Glide recovery program, with its revamped 12-steps, became a model for the entire country during the crack cocaine epidemic. Instead of "admit you are powerless," the Glide program tells you to "take your power."

"We discovered addiction was persistent in our community," Cecil says. "All of us began to feel a sense of recovery."

"As a woman you think the man has to be in charge, but Glide has grown over the past 44 years because we learned to be a team. We were the first Glide team, and now there are others," Jan observes. "Cecil has this tremendous vision and passion, an ability to get people together. And he has an undying commitment to the poor—enormous love."

"My strengths: I knit, sow, create. You know it is the woman's tendency to follow up, write the checks. I pretty much did that, but I learned to have my own vision about programs and we became equally visionary about how poverty should be tackled. It takes a holistic approach to break the cycle of poverty," Jan says.

Cecil adds, "We finally worked it out where I don't have to [be] the one all the time. It has been a relief to me."

"Jan said years ago she was going to take her hand from her mouth, and it has been amazing. She's made her place because she wanted to, and I'm proud of her. Jan's like that song, ‘Natural Woman.' Jan empowers women around her," Cecil says.

I ask Jan and Cecil what they would do if the other one died. "If Jan died, I would get a dog house and move into it. I wouldn't be able to move," Cecil says. "She has been my life."

"And he's been my best friend," Jan answers. "It would be difficult for me to have a life without him, but I'd do it because he would want me to continue, continue the cause."

"That's right," Cecil says.

"I don't know how I'd feel about another woman," Jan laughs.

"What about your legacy?" I ask the two of them.

Jan answers. "We would like something in place to keep our history, we want to pass it on. The San Francisco Library has asked for the Glide Archive, and we're putting that together. Plus we're writing a book."

Jan continues. "But most importantly, we would not want the poor to be forgotten. Jan, Cecil, and Glide will always be reaching out to the poor. Cecil is engaged in building affordable housing so poor people can continue to live in San Francisco and not be driven out by gentrification. They are just finishing a 14-story building one block from the church. Another eight-story building will be started next month."

"And what about your health?" I ask them.

"Cecil has diabetes, but he's been making progress with diet and exercise. He's healthier now since we cut out the sugar and the salt. We both go to the gym, and I ride a bike and jog," Jan says.

"We cut out food!" Cecil protests.

And Jan adds, "Is life worth living without soy sauce and gravy?

To Learn More about Glide and its programs, click here.

Don't Hog That Joint

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:01:35 -0700

Researchers in Canada tested the use of nabilone, a pain drug based on marijuana's active ingredient, on fibromyalgia patients. Fibromyalgia, which is characterized by chronic, widespread pain, tenderness to light touch, and fatigue, strikes about 2 percent of the adult population. Nine times as many women as men have this disorder, which is not life threatening but very frustrating to live with.

The Canadian researchers split 40 fibromyalgia patients into two groups and gave one group a daily dose of nabilone, while the others took a placebo. After one month, the nabilone group reported feeling less pain and had a sense that their quality of life had improved. The placebo group reported no changes.

Nabilone treatment didn't affect the patients' number of tender points. And it didn't cure pain-when patients stopped taking nabilone, their pain from fibromyaligia returned to its former intensity.

The drug was well tolerated, but some side effects were reported: drowsiness, dry mouth, vertigo, and movement problems. These were "generally mild," write the researchers.

The study appears in the February edition of The Journal of Pain. As with all these initial studies, more studies are needed to track the longterm effects, notes the head researcher, University of Manitoba's Dr. Ryan Quinlan Skrabek.

An argument for the use of medical marijuana is that it has fewer side effects than traditional drugs and may in some cases be more effective and also cheaper. Instead of the "nausea, vomiting, sweating, and constipation" you might expect from a pain drug like tramadol, with medical marijuana you get "spaced out, giggly, and extremely hungry."

'I Like to Be a Protagonist'

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:40:24 -0700

Roy Caple has always lived life front and center. As a young man wanting to explore the world, he landed positions with major international corporations that allowed him to travel and live in places such as New York, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Belgium and nearly every country dotting the map of Central and South America.

When he wanted a new challenge, he started his own company.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the 81-year-old Caple was not satisfied to sit home at an age when many would be content to do just that. Two years ago, he took the unorthodox step of moving to Athens from his home in Sheffield Lake, Ohio, to pursue a master's degree in Spanish at Ohio University. Many rigorous courses later, he collected his diploma during Ohio University's Spring '08 graduate commencement ceremony.

"I don't intend to retire," he said. "I like to be a protagonist."

Caple's life as a Bobcat began more than half a century ago, when the Navy veteran attended Ohio University under the GI Bill. He graduated in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and minors in French and Commerce.

Caple went on to work in upper management positions with international corporations such as Playtex and Philip Morris. Later he embarked on a career in the executive search industry, first with Tasa International in Mexico and then with Korn/Ferry International in South America. He went on to found his own executive search firm with offices in Bogota, Colombia, and Caracas, Venezuela.

After selling the company several years ago, Caple found he wasn't satisfied with his semi-retired lifestyle.

"I had this desire to really go back and enhance my knowledge," he said. "I always had this longing ... coupled with a desire to get into the highly cultural aspects of Spanish and Latin America."

Fueled by this dream, Caple returned to his alma mater to experience life as a student once again. In preparation for the new venture, he worked for two months before classes began to learn more about computers, which he had rarely used in his professional life.

Advanced technology was hardly the only difference he found upon returning to Athens. Gone were the barracks on East Green that had been left over from the war, swapped instead for residence halls housing a student population more than five times the size of that of his undergraduate days. Also gone was the more formal atmosphere, replaced with a laid-back campus where students wear jeans and T-shirts to class and address some professors by their first names.

But one of the biggest surprises was the intensity and complexity of his degree program.

"I thought it would be easier than it was," he said. "Sometimes I said, 'What am I doing here?' (But) once I got into it, I wanted to finish it." Ohio University Spanish Professor Thomas Franz had no doubts that Caple would complete the program, calling him a "super student" and lauding the depth of experience he brought to the classroom.

"He was good for students because he brought worldly perspective that they wouldn't have been exposed to," he said. "He was the voice of experience to a relatively young group of students who had never had that before."

Franz predicts that, with the ever-increasing life expectancy of the general population, Caple's path will become more commonplace.

"If he's a harbinger of the future, it's going to be a good one," he said.

As for Caple, he is keeping his options open. He's considering a number of career moves, including possibly teaching part-time at a community college or writing short stories.

Read about other elders who have headed back to school »

Elders Finding Green Solutions

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:30:01 -0700

There's more to being environmentally minded than changing light bulbs or wearing hemp. Just ask Alana Jelinek and Jim Leland. Both 61, these trend-setting elders are among the students enrolled in one of the nation's first "green" business programs, the MBA in Sustainable Enterprise offered by Dominican University in Marin County, California.

Students from 22 to 65 are hitting the books in this groundbreaking master's track. Launched last fall at the liberal arts college in Marin's San Rafael community, the curriculum focuses squarely on the skills needed to run a business, but with the principles of sustainability—social responsibility, environmental concerns, and social justice—as firmly ingrained in the program as the need for spreadsheet smarts.

Alana commutes nearly 50 miles round trip from her farm outside Santa Rosa to attend classes, and says she's doing so for a practical reason: career advancement. A graphic designer, Alana says the program fits perfectly with her concern for the environment and her concern for her own future. "I may be older, but I don't want to be paid an older woman's earnings," she says, referring to the trend of paying retirement-age people less than younger workers. "I'm not planning to retire. I don't want to, and I can't afford to."

Alana attends part time, balancing homework with her design and marketing business, FARM. "Getting an MBA at 60-plus is something our parents never would have done. It's new to our generation. But then, our generation has always done things a bit differently. We've never taken no for an answer."

She's also applying classroom knowledge to help "green" her design business. Using an "eco-commerce" model she worked on for a final paper, Alana now chooses printers based on green practices, including the use of recycled paper and earth-friendlier solvents. She encourages her clients to ask printers about those choices, too.

Jim is back in school to advance his next career. Currently a county planner in nearby Solano and a council member in his hometown of Novato, California, Jim was already interested in sustainability when he heard about the program. He plans to work with a consultancy company after graduation to help firms get up to "green" speed.

"Sustainability is going to be pervasive in our economy," Jim says, noting similarities between today's nascent sustainability field and the emergence of computer technology decades ago. "It's reminiscent of the late '60s and early '70s, when we were getting hints that the PC market would become a huge market."

Going back to school also coincided with what had lately been bugging Jim: his failure to go for an MBA earlier. "Enough regrets, I thought. It's time to go ahead and do it!"

Go to eldr.com/green for schools offering full-curriculum MBAs in sustainability.

Six Foods You Should Eat to Live a Longer, Healthier Life

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:15:43 -0700

Almonds
Good for: Lowering cholesterol
Why: Several studies reviewed in 2007 suggest that the monounsaturated fats in almonds help lower LDL cholesterol. A small 2002 study from the University of Toronto found that when subjects (average age: 69) ate a handful of almonds every day for a month, their LDL cholesterol dropped by about 4.4 percent.
Amount: Between 25 and 45 almonds (or 2-4 tablespoons of almond butter) most days.
Sneak them in: Try toasted chopped almonds on cereal, yogurt, or salad.
Bonus Benefit: Excellent source of manganese, a mineral that aids calcium absorption.

Avocados
Good for: Healthy bones
Why: A 2003 Tufts University study of more than 1,400 women (average age: 59) found that women with the lowest daily intake of vitamin K (prevalent in avocados) had a much lower bone mineral density in their hips and spine than women with the highest intake. Tufts 2004 research showed similar results in men.
Amount: Aim for more than 70 micrograms of vitamin K per day. Half an avocado gives you about 30 micrograms. Try it in a leafy salad for a full day's amount.
Bonus benefit: Good source of heart-healthy fat, vitamin E, and folic acid.

Kiwifruit
Good for: Healthy lungs
Why: According to a 2001 Johns Hopkins University review of seven studies that included participants over 60 years old, eating vitamin C-rich foods such as kiwi daily was linked with improved lung function.
Amount: 1 ½ kiwi is equal to 100 mg of vitamin C per day.
Bonus benefit: Good source of fiber, high in antioxidants and potassium.

Spinach
Good for: Healthy eyes
Why: In a 2008 prospective study from Harvard Medical School that followed more than 35,000 over-50 women for 10 years, researchers found a 20 percent lower risk of cataracts for those who ate raw spinach more than once a week, compared to women who didn't eat any spinach. Similar results have been shown in older men. Researchers think spinach's high levels of the plant chemicals lutein and zeaxanthin help protect the eyes from age and sun damage, which can lead to cataracts.
Amount: One cup of raw spinach at least twice a week.
Bonus benefit: Rich in iron, vitamin C, and magnesium.

Grapefruit
Good for: Weight loss
Why: The grapefruit diet has been buzzing around the Web for years, but a 2006 study from the Scripps Clinic in San Diego confirms that eating grapefruit can help you lose weight. The study of 100 obese people found that subjects who ate half a fresh grapefruit before each meal, while eating normally otherwise, lost 3.5 pounds after 12 weeks.
Amount: 1 ½ grapefruit per day or 24 oz grapefruit juice.
Bonus benefit: Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.
Caveat: Grapefruit juice can interact with some prescription drugs; check with your doctor if you eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice regularly.

Beets
Good for: Healthy heart
Why: A 2002 study from Tulane University of nearly 10,000 people age 25-74, found that the higher the intake of folate (a form of vitamin B prevalent in beets), the lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. An earlier study by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts showed similar results.
Amount: 1 cup of sliced beets provides more than 1/3 of the 400 micrograms of folate you need each day.
Bonus benefit: Low-calorie source of fiber and potassium.

Email Me After You’re Gone

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:58:15 -0700

The year is 2059 and you've been deceased for a very long time. Your favorite granddaughter, now a mature woman with grandchildren of her own, is surprised to see an email from you in her inbox. She opens it and finds some amazing words of advice and insights from the grandfather she has missed for so long.

How could this be? Welcome to letterfrombeyond.com, the website where you can posthumously email friends, family, or perhaps even someone you never liked very much. This is just one of several sites springing up where you can create emails or even securely store information such as wills, lock combinations, or passwords to be delivered to designated recipients upon your death or on specific dates in the future.

Assetlock.net, which uses the same encryption method as the National Security Agency, serves as an electronic safe deposit box where you can store all kinds of private documents. Designated survivors are notified about how to access this information and told not to do this until you die. If they attempt to get an advance peek, an email automatically goes out to all involved to make sure you are truly dead.

In case you're worried you won't get a proper obituary, you can write your own in advance at obitnow.com. Once the sad news of your demise comes, a friend or relative can notify the website to release your obituary to newspapers, websites, and other media outlets worldwide along with your favorite photograph.

If you fear some of your friends or relatives live too far away to make it to your funeral, online-funeral.com will provide live online viewing of your body while it lies at the funeral home, a video of your funeral service, a photo album, and a message board. Just think-your cousin Henrietta who moved to Botswana will be able to fully participate along with more nearby relatives.

We suspect this is only the beginning as hundreds more websites are created to cash in on the after-you're-gone dot-com market.

ELDR Power: Why Don’t We Do It in the Road

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:40:29 -0700

In 2001, when James "Bucky" Spooner was 60 years old, he applied for the job of road foreman in his hometown of Topsham, Vermont. Despite 30 years of experience driving trucks and operating heavy equipment, and 15 years of road work, he was passed over in favor of a 32-year-old man with less experience. Two out of three members of the Selectboard decided Spooner was too old and would probably retire in a couple of years.

He sued the town for age discrimination and finally won his case on January 25, 2008. An Orange County Superior Court jury awarded him $241,119 after hearing three days of testimony. It took the jury less than four hours of deliberations to reach a verdict.

The money represents what Spooner would have earned over the last six years if he had gotten the job, but doesn't cover emotional distress. In the opinion of Spooner's lawyer, Edwin Hobson of Burlington, Vermont, his client would have preferred the job to the money. Hobson says that Spooner loved the work and would go out on his own to fix culverts in the town.

Spooner is still working in construction.

The town is considering whether or not to appeal the verdict. Sandra Everitt, head of the civil rights division of the Vermont Attorney General's Office says Spooner's case is rare in that most age discrimination cases in the state don't make it to trial. In Spooner's case there was clear evidence that age was a factor in the hiring decision.

-Source: Burlington Free Press

Sisterhood is Still Powerful

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:13:36 -0700

Charlotte Frank and Christine Millen are not just ladies who lunch. In 2000, Frank and Millen were having many lunches and conversations to figure out how to face retirement. At 65, Frank was an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Millen, 58, was a partner at Deloitte and Touche, the international consulting firm. They talked to other women contemplating the next stage in their lives, and the response was overwhelming.

This is the first generation of women who were trailblazers in their professions, the first to reach high-ranking positions in business, government, health care, academia, not-for-profits, and the arts. Their concerns led Frank and Millen to found The Transition Network [TTN]. The organization is bridging the gap between work and retirement by providing support and information on post-career choices to professional women age 50 and older. Today, TTN reaches almost 4,000 through its newsletter and has chapters in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, New York City, Westchester, New York and Long Island. Ages range from the mid-fifties to the eighties. Some women are retired; others work part time or full time.

The core of TTN is its "peer groups," eight to twelve women who meet regularly in an intimate setting to discuss a variety of topics: starting a business, travel, divorce, finances, going back to school, and anything the group is interested in. In a way, they're like the consciousness-raising groups of the 1970s, but these groups are linked within the Transition Network.

The women are movers and shakers, and they're actively involved in community service projects.

For some, the organization provides a sense of achievement and sustains their identity as skilled, vital people, even though they may no longer be in the workplace.

"We focused on the first transition—work to what's next," says cofounder Frank. "But after a while, we recognized that we had to add another dimension to our community. As women age they encounter health problems, and so the community was expanded to caring for each other during these ‘bad patches.'"

In January 2008 TTN launched its experimental Caring Community project with a two-year grant from the New York State Health Foundation. One of its components is a Service Corps where members volunteer to help each other in a health crisis.

"It will extend out from peer group to neighborhood to zip code," says Frank, describing the project. A truly novel "time bank" will provide the framework, where the number of hours of service given are "banked" for hours of help needed in return. The help can cover anything from taking a member to a doctor or home from the hospital, a shared meal, a phone call—anything that makes recovery easier.

"Women are reluctant to ask for help," says Frank. "Our interactive website will make it easier for them to get what they need."

Here's a community of savvy midlife and older women taking charge of their lives, and showing how much of an asset to society women over 50 can be. The Transition Network gives a new meaning to sisterhood. For more information about TTN, visit thetransitionnetwork.org.

And read their new book, shown above, Smart Women Don't Retire—They Break Free: From Working Full-Time to Living Full-Time (Springboard Press/Grand Central Publishing, June 2008, $24.99 hardcover). It's a practical and inspiring guide by and for boomer women—the generation of female pioneers who shattered the glass ceiling—who are reinventing what's next.

Medical Visionary DeBakey is Eulogized in Houston

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:09:33 -0700

A two-hour memorial service was held Wednesday to celebrate the life of internationally renowned heart surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., who died of natural causes Friday, July 11, at the age of 99.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo presided over the music-filled service, held at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, Texas. Within the limestone walls of the cathedral, Dr. DeBakey's family, fellow physicians, students, former patients and admirers gathered to pay their final respects to a man who forever changed the field of cardiovascular medicine. By the start of the service, it was standing room only in the cathedral that seats more than 1,800.

Reflections on Dr. DeBakey's life were offered by 11 speakers, including Crystal Cathedral's Dr. Robert H. Schuller, United States Representative Al Green, Houston socialite Joanne King Herring, and Dr. George Noon, Dr. DeBakey's surgical partner and close friend. Also in attendance were Dr. DeBakey's wife Katrin and their daughter Olga, sons Denis and Michael, and sisters Lois and Selma DeBakey.

Regarded as a renaissance man, Dr. DeBakey's ingenious inventions and visionary procedures have saved countless lives. He was the first to successfully use an artificial heart, he developed MASH Units and Dacron artificial grafts, he was the first to perform Aorto-Coronary Bypass Surgery, and the list goes on. Dr. DeBakey personally performed over 60,000 cardiovascular surgeries and trained more than 1,000 surgeons. Remarkably, this medical pioneer continued to contribute and practice medicine as a senior attending surgeon until his death.

"Everyone from kings to the common man came to Methodist to be treated by Dr. DeBakey," said Dr. Marc Boom, Executive Vice President of The Methodist Hospital, where Dr. DeBakey called home for nearly 60 years. "They all knew the care they received from him was absolutely the best in the world."

A first-hand witness of this un-prejudicial compassion was friend and former Baylor administrator, Dr. Antonio M. Gotto. He recalled, "Not a single time—not once—did Dr. DeBakey ask, 'Can this patient pay? Does this patient have insurance? Is he covered by Medicare? Is he a VIP?'" On the contrary, he treated his patients equally, never turning away someone in need of his healing.

"Following Dr. DeBakey's example," Dr. Boom said, "we will save and improve lives for many generations to come. I cannot think of a more fitting legacy for this great man."

Undoubtedly, Dr. Debakey will be noted in history books for his pioneering mind and his dedication as a medical statesman. However, friends and colleagues encouraged mourners to also remember his admirable character and one-of-a-kind personality.

Before the service, the effervescent Joanne Herring said that Dr. DeBakey "wanted people to know the lighter side of his life." She continued, "Everybody knows about the great man, but they don't know about the man who liked to have fun." In her spirited eulogy, she told the story of how Dr. DeBakey met his second wife, Katrin. "Frank Sinatra decided to play cupid," she said, matching DeBakey with a German film actress set to play the next James Bond girl. Herring continued, "Her name was Katrin Fehlhaber—she was a knockout. Frank had a dinner party and sat him right next to her. Mike never looked at another woman for as long as he lived."

In the anecdote-filled eulogies, the Louisiana native was described as a babysitter who let kids do chin-ups on his biceps, a sleep-deprived wonder who learned to play the clarinet in three months, a beacon of discovery who was as handy with a pool cue as he was with a scalpel, a witty man who could tell good one-liners, a one-time prom dress seamster and a long-time gumbo connoisseur.

Dr. DeBakey's surgical partner, Dr. George Noon left few dry eyes in the church with the story of his final visit with Dr. DeBakey on the day he died. "We talked for over an hour. We had a very lovely conversation," Noon recounted, adding that they ate together—Dr. Noon had gumbo, while Dr. DeBakey ate ice cream.

Following a clarinet solo and benediction, the traditional service transformed into a jazz funeral, led by the Young Tuxedo Brass Band. As they marched deliberately down the aisle toward the flag-draped casket, they played a slow, mournful dirge that filled the cavernous space of the cathedral. The musicians reached the casket, finished the song and allowed the recessional to begin with a few moments of poignant silence. Then, they struck up a rousing rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In," ushering into the cathedral a celebratory mood. The mourners in the pews began to clap their hands and sway in time to the beat.

The jazz band lead the recession outside to the front steps. There, Mrs. DeBakey and her daughter held hands as they watched the pallbearers guide the casket into the hearse. Army servicemen in their dress blues were on hand to honor and salute the World War II veteran. The hearse pulled away from the curb to sounds of jazz horns.

In a most appropriate goodbye, Dr. Boom quoted one of Dr. DeBakey's admirers: "The nobility of a healer lies in his greatness of heart for his patients. Rest in peace, great healer of hearts."

Dr. DeBakey was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, July 18, 2008.

More on Dr. DeBakey:

Timeline of Dr. DeBakey's life and accomplishments »

Photo gallery of Dr. DeBakey's memorial service »

Timeline of Dr. DeBakey's Life

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:10:51 -0700

1908 → Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana

1928 → Entered medical school at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana

1932 → Developed roller pump used in heart-lung machine

1937 → Joined faculty at Tulane University

1942 → Assigned to U.S. Surgeon General's office

1945 → Awarded Legion of Merit for developing MASH units

1948 → Moved to Houston and started at The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine

1949 → Led movement to establish National Library of Medicine

1952 → Performed the first successful removal of a
blockage of the carotid artery, which
establishes the field of surgical treatment of stroke.

1950-53 → Developed Dacron artificial grants for cardiac bypass surgery

1953 → Performed first removal of blockage in carotid artery

1956 → Performed first patch-graft angioplasty

1959 → Received Distinguished Service Award from American Medical Association

1960 → Began development of artificial heart

1963 → Was first to use interactive telemedicine

1964 → Performed first aorto-coronary artery bypass

1964 → Appointed chairman of President's Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke

1966 → Was first to successfully use an artificial heart

1968 → Performed first of 12 heart transplants

1968 → Directs the first multiple organ transplants of a heart, one lung and both
kidneys from one donor to four recipients

1969 → Appointed president of Baylor College of Medicine

1969 → Presented with the Medal of Freedom with Distinction

1977 → Authored "The Living Heart"

1978 → The Michael E. DeBakey Center for Biomedical Education and Research created

1984 → Authored "The Living Diet"

1985 → The DeBakey Heart Center created

1987 → Awarded the National Medicine of Science

1991 → Given Lifetime Achievement Award of the Foundation for Biomedical Research

1993 → Received Honorary Doctorate from Moscow State University

1996 → Inducted into Health Care Hall of Fame

1996 → Serves as consultant for surgery of Russian president Boris Yeltsin

1998 → Celebrates 50 years at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital

1998 → Appears live on NBC-TV's "Today" performing surgery with Dr. George Noon

1998 → DeBakey VAD developed with NASA implanted in first patients in Germany and Austria

1999 → Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from United Nations

2000 → Cited as Living Legend by U.S. Library of Congress

2000 → Named honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, first foreign physician to receive this honor

2000 → Surgeons at The Methodist Hospital implant first MicroMed DeBakey VAD in an American patient.

2002 → The MicroMed DeBakey VAD earns the NASA "Commercial Invention of the Year" award.

2003 → Given the American Heart Association Lifetime Achievement Award

2004 → Veterans Affairs Medical Center named in his honor

2008 → Received the Congressional Gold Medal

Source: The Methodist Hospital

More on Dr. DeBakey:

Read our exclusive story on Dr. DeBakey's memorial service »

Photo gallery of Dr. DeBakey's memorial service »

Staying Positive About Heart Risks May be Healthy

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:00:33 -0700

Reuters Health - Men who believe they are at low risk of a heart attack may in fact live longer than those with a more pessimistic outlook, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that of more than 2,800 adults followed for 15 years, men who thought they were at lower-than-average risk of a heart attack were 70 percent less likely than other men to die of heart disease or stroke—even with their objective risks taken into account. This relationship was not seen among women though.

The findings, published in the Annals of Family Medicine, suggest that a dose of optimism may be helpful in controlling heart disease risk. An awareness of one's heart disease risk factors can certainly be a good thing. But problems may arise when people become fearful about their odds of suffering a heart attack, according to lead researcher Dr. Robert E. Gramling, of the University of Rochester in New York.

On one hand, he explained in an interview, you might expect people who believe themselves to be at high risk would be especially careful about their lifestyle habits, and take care to get high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other risk factors under control.

"But emotion becomes part of our decision-making," Gramling said. People who are fearful about their heart risks, he explained, may turn to "coping behaviors," like smoking, overeating or drinking.

In addition, chronic stress itself may have physiologic effects on the cardiovascular system.

Gramling and his colleagues based their findings on interviews with 1,678 women and 1,138 men ages 35 to 75 who had no history of heart disease at the start of the study. During the interviews, participants rated their risk of having a heart attack in the next 5 years as high, average or low, compared with other people of the same age and sex.

The researchers also calculated each participants' Framingham Risk Score (FRS)—a standard tool doctors use to estimate a patient's risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years, based on age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol and smoking habits.

Over the next 15 years, 98 study participants died of coronary heart disease or stroke. In general, Gramling's team found, men who, at the outset, described themselves as low risk were less likely than other men to die of cardiovascular disease—even with Framingham scores factored in.

No such relationship was seen among women.

However, Gramling pointed out that the interviews were done in 1990, a time when many people still saw heart disease as a "man's disease." So women in the study—even those who thought they were more likely than other women to have a heart attack—might not have seen heart disease as a major threat.

Gramling said the findings have implications for the ways in which doctors communicate risks.

"We might want to be careful about the labels we use," he said. "We tend to create a pessimistic bias with the language we use."

For example, the FRS categorizes people as "high risk" when their risk factors suggest that they have a 20-percent chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years.

Instead of telling patients their risk is "high," doctors may do better to specify that the risk is 1-in-5—which "might be less fear- provoking," Gramling noted, since it also implies a 4-in-5 chance that the patient won't have a heart attack.

"Ideally," he said, "it would be great if people could maintain an optimistic outlook while doing the things they need to lower their risk. That would be the best of both worlds."

SOURCE: Annals of Family Medicine, July/August 2008.

Elders Have Good Results with Joint Replacement

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:07:47 -0700

Reuters Health - Although it may take several weeks for elderly patients to recover from joint replacement surgery, excellent long-term outcomes are often seen, new research indicates.

The goal of the study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, was to clarify the risks and benefits of hip or knee replacement surgery in elderly patients.

Dr. Mary Beth Hamel, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues examined the outcomes of 174 patients, 65 years of age or older, with severe osteoarthritis of the hip or knee who were followed for 12 months. During follow-up, 29 percent of the patients underwent joint replacement surgery.

None of the surgical patients died, but 17 percent had postoperative complications and 38 percent had pain that lasted longer than 4 weeks. Moreover, it took patients an average of 12 days to recover independence in walking and 49 days to regain the ability to perform household chores.

No differences in these recovery times were noted between patients younger than 74 or those aged 75 or older.

Overall, the surgical patients experienced a 24-point improvement on a standard osteoarthritis function test compared with just a 0.5-point improvement in nonsurgical patients.

Forty-five percent of the non-surgical patients said that joint replacement surgery was never discussed as a treatment option, the report indicates.

"Our findings of excellent outcomes from joint replacement surgery in elderly patients with severe hip or knee osteoarthritis corroborate and extend the findings of previous studies," the investigators conclude.

"These data should help inform discussion about joint replacement surgery and allow patients to consider the risks and benefits of surgery as well as the expected postoperative recovery experience."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, July 14, 2008.

Physical Activity May Slow Alzheimer's Disease

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:02:14 -0700

Reuters Health - Maintaining a higher level of physical fitness may preserve the brain volume in patients who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, new study findings suggest.

"In normal aging, physical fitness appears to mitigate functional and structural age-related brain changes," Dr. Jeffrey M. Burns and colleagues write in the current issue of the journal Neurology.

To see if this also occurs in patients with Alzheimer's disease, Burns at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, and his associates evaluated the level of cardiorespiratory fitness in a group of 57 patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease and in 64 "control" subjects without dementia. The subjects' brain volumes were determined by magnetic resonance imaging.

The fitness levels were "modestly" higher in the control group, their report indicates.

In the Alzheimer's group, fitness levels were significantly associated with whole brain volume. The association remained after accounting for the potential influence of age, sex, severity of dementia, physical activity, and physical frailty.

Although whole brain volume was associated with cognitive performance and level of dementia, the investigators observed no significant association between dementia severity and physical fitness.

There were no significant associations between physical fitness and brain volume or cognitive performance in the control group.

"Our data are consistent with, but do not establish, cardiorespiratory fitness as a moderating factor in neurodegeneration," the investigators conclude. It's also possible, they say, that that a common underlying disease-related process may impact both the brain atrophy and cardiorespiratory fitness in subjects with early Alzheimer's disease.

Even though they could not determine the cause, Burns told Reuters Health that he "definitely" would encourage physicians to recommend appropriate physical exercise to patients with Alzheimer's disease.

"I recommend that all my Alzheimer's patients stay both physically and mentally active, even though proof is lacking that these activities clearly influence disease progression," he said. "There are exercise benefits for general health as well as for depressive symptoms that can be achieved with physical exercise in people with dementia."

"There are two important points that motivate research like ours," he explained. "First, we need proof that exercise and physical fitness cause a modification of the disease process and then determine what mechanism is mediating that effect."

"Second, if exercise is a disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease, we are doing a very poor job of fully utilizing it as a therapy. Thus, more evidence is necessary to demonstrate this, which in turn will stimulate the development of programs and delivery systems that will encourage people with dementia to exercise and, more importantly, sustain that behavior."

With those goals in mind, Burns' group plans to continue to follow these same patients over 2 years to see if physical fitness levels correlate with changes in cognition and brain structure over time.

They are also planning a large study of various types of exercise in Alzheimer's disease patients to assess the cause-and-effect relationship of exercise and enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness on disease progression, Burns said.

SOURCE: Neurology, July 15, 2008.

How You Can Build a Stronger Heart

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:55:58 -0700

Cardiovascular disease [CVD] mortality has been on the decline, yet it is still the underlying cause for more than 36 percent of all deaths in the United States. More women than men continue to die each year from CVD—461,200 versus 410,400 in 2007, according to the American Heart Association. Compounding matters, CVD correlates strongly with diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other deadly diseases. Yet CVD is completely preventable, and for most people who already have the disease, it is reversible.

Early detection of cardiovascular disease could save your life, and we urge you to follow your doctor's advice and get all recommended blood tests and other tests. If you have high blood pressure, we urge you to check your blood ressure frequently, using a home blood pressure-testing device readily available at your neighborhood drugstore.
Information in this poster is based in part on the following sources:

Healthy Heart Plan by Dr. Frederic J. Vagnini (Safe Goods Publishing, 2002)

Take a Load Off Your Heart by Joseph C. Piscatella and Barry A. Franklin, Ph.D. (Workman Publishing Company, 2003)

Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease by Dr. Dean Ornish (Random House, 1995)

The Spectrum by Dr. Dean Ornish (Ballantine Books, 2007)

A Change of Heart: Unraveling the Mysteries of Cardiovascular Disease by Dr. Daniel Levy and Susan Brink (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005)

The American Heart Association website: americanheart.org

WebMD Medical News website: webmd.com

Download the poster here »

Build Strong Bones With Yoga

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:53:56 -0700

The challenge as we grow older is to exercise in a way that does not contribute to bone fractures or have a negative effect on our joints. The usual forms of weight-bearing high-impact exercise, such as jogging and various other sports, are known to stimulate the cells that build bone. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, such forms of movement often contribute to joint destruction that can result in hip and and knee replacements.

Recent studies report that yoga improves the actual congruence of joints, undoing (reversing) the wear and tear that is responsible for osteoarthritis. Non impact, non weight-bearing exercise, such as swimming, won't wear out your joints, but it won't strengthen your bones, either. The good news is that a balanced yoga practice can give you all the positive benefits of weight-bearing exercise without negative wear and tear on the joints!

Yoga is the ideal exercise prescription for prevention of osteoporosis, for those already at risk, and for bone regeneration. The 206 bones in the human body are living, breathing, changing tissue that requires a steady supply of blood and nutrients and a flow of energy or prana. Yoga postures, besides providing a superior form of weight-bearing exercise that stimulates bones to retain calcium, also help stimulate and distribute the flow of synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints between the bones. Jogging, dancing, weight lifting, racquet sports and other forms of exercise, while strengthening bones, may cause further imbalance in the muscular system. Conversely, yoga postures balance the muscular system while bones are strengthened. When the muscular system is balanced, the skeletal system is brought back into alignment, reducing the risk of wear-and-tear conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Ten Reasons Why Yoga Builds Better Bone Strength at Any Age
1. In yoga, weight is borne through the entire body. In weight-bearing standing poses, inverted poses and partially-inverted poses like Downward Facing-Dog Pose, active backbends, and various arm balances, weight is systematically applied to the bones in the hands, wrists, arms, upper body, neck and head, and feet and legs.

2. Because yoga postures are learned gradually, the weight applied to the bones increases safely and incrementally, as the student becomes stronger and can hold postures for longer periods.

3. While building strength, yoga poses simultaneously promote mobility in the hips and shoulders, remove stiffness in the joints, and bring flexibility to the whole body.

4. Standing poses and other poses that require one to strongly engage the bones and muscles of the legs affect the pelvis and spine. This increases circulation and benefits the health of the whole body.

5. Yoga prevents and can even reverse the most visible and obvious symptom of osteoporosis and aging: the rounding of the spine. Yoga poses encourage concavity of the spine, rather than a convex humped shape. Decreased height is not always the result of bone loss. Years of poor posture and lack of stretching can also make us shorter than we once were. Some height loss results from the shrinking of spaces between vertebral disks, even when bone density is good. Yoga helps keep the space between the vertebrae open, plump and supple.

6. Weight bearing through the arms and upper spine in poses such as Downward-Facing Dog and Handstands and other weight-bearing inversions keep the upper spine strong. Yoga's upper-body weight-bearing poses are particularly beneficial in preventing the hairline fractures in the vertebrae that result in the upper-back curvature common in older people.

7. While other weight-bearing exercises tighten the body and wear out the joints, yoga increases flexibility and "lubricates" the joints by giving them an internal massage.

8. Seated postures help keep our hip joints healthy as they require a wide range of movements that increase mobility.

9. Yoga postures also have a balancing effect on the endocrine glands, which contributes to the formation of strong, healthy bones. Restorative yoga poses such as Supported Legs Up the Wall Pose replenish the adrenal glands, thus reducing stress levels and inhibiting excess calcium secretion. Supported backbends—which can be as mild as restorative poses, such as lying over a bolster, or more intense, such as using a chair or backbender as support— promote deep relaxation and restore the health of the endocrine system.

10. Yoga improves balance and coordination, helping to prevent falls. Agility and flexibility derived from a range of movement help us to maintain our balance and avoid falls.

–Suza Francina,RYT, is a Certified Iyengar yoga instructor and has taught yoga since 1972. She teaches yoga internationally and is the author of The New Yoga for People Over 50 and The New Yoga for Healthy Aging. To learn more, visit her website: www.suzafrancina.com.

Book Review: Our Mother's War

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:34:14 -0700

Our Mother's War, A Biography of a Child of the Dutch Resistance
By Mel Fiske
Publisher: iUniverse, November 2007
124 pages

Review:
The late Lakshmi Radich's war experience began 68 years ago with the devastating German blitzkrieg. Until that day, Lakshmi, a cheerful 9-year-old Dutch girl, lived a peaceful and relatively unremarkable existence.

That all ended abruptly. In the early morning, German planes flying so low you could see the faces of the pilots in the cockpit unloaded their parachuting human cargo to capture the sleeping city. Initially refusing to surrender, Rotterdam took the brunt of heavy German bombing. At her worried mother's insistence, she and Lakshmi traveled by foot, braving heavy intermittent gunfire, to check on the well-being of the girl's grandmother, who lived a two-hour walk away.

If that journey had been the most harrowing part of her life during the war, Lakshmi would have been fortunate. With her father already a part of the Dutch mobilization, Lakshmi and her mother themselves joined the Dutch Resistance.

They harbored their Jewish neighbors, friends, and countless strangers. She declined to be labeled a hero. "I'm not a hero. I'm just a human being who did what had to be done when it needed to be done."

What she did was remarkable. Not only did she and her non-Jewish friends wear a Star of David to confuse the Germans until they caught on, she and her mother, after being found out, left their home and continued their efforts apart from one another to avoid being captured at the same time.

Radich left her childhood behind that day in May. She grew up quickly. She was forced to witness fellow citizens hanged from lampposts, their bodies left untouched as a reminder of the penalty for disobedience. She saw many deported to death camps. She was raped beginning at age 10 by men in every uniform, leaving her in an "emotional no-man's land" where "the scars of war run very deep."

She was able to keep informed of the war by listening to banned radio broadcasts from the West.

She never found her mother after the war, but she was reunited with her father. Her war ended on a train ride to Rotterdam with refugees returning from a death camp. She and a survivor with a shaved head shared a flea- and lice- infected sheepskin. They sat huddled together, legs dangling from a box car. It marked the physical but not psychological end to the war for her.

Her war experiences in no way trained her for life in Sonoma County, CA. She also found out what it was like to be a survivor but not always accepted as one because she was not Jewish.

In time, Lakshmi Radich, with the love, help and support of her two daughters, Christina and Laurina, along with counseling and spiritual growth through trips to India and the supportive Jewish community that recorded her story for the Holocaust Library, was able to come terms, if not peace, with her past so much so that she regained her faith in a God who could "allow such a horror to exist."

Rating:

– Review by eldr.com member Noah Griffin of Tiburon, CA.

Book Review: Elder Cool Time

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:16:57 -0700

Elder Cool Time
By John H. Green, PhD
Trafford Publishing, July 2006
138 pages

Review:
Elder Cool Time by John H. Green, PhD speaks of elder cool as a time to teach, a time to weep, a time to laugh and a time to embrace. Dr. Green tells us that facing and embracing the aging process involves fears, tears, and cheers.

He describes "Elder" as representing a life-experienced teacher, and "Cool" to mean accepting the aging process with grace and dignity. Actions and words he tells us contribute to being "Elder Cool."

Reflections, quotes, short stories and poetry speak of the problems we all face as we age. Humor laces the pages of Elder Cool Time, making it a delightful read.

He describes Pope John Paul II as a "Classic Elder Cool." And, FSU Seminole fans will be pleased to see Bad Bobby Bowden as a "noted Elder Cool."

Elder Cool Rules of what's hot and what's not will help you decide whther you are elder cool. I think Dr. Green has introduced a concept that will be used by many to promote "It's Cool to be Elder Cool."

Rating:

– Review by eldr.com member Linda M. Smith, PhD, LMFT of Tallahassee, FL.

Book Review: Water for Elephants

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:03:06 -0700

Water For Elephants
By Sara Gruen
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, May 2006
335 pages

Review:
Water for Elephants is about a traveling train circus in the 1930's. It is written from the point of view of a 90-year-old man who was the circus veterinarian in his 20's. The writing is captivating. You can almost smell the popcorn and hear the tinny music of the midway. The characters are rich and substantial—from the performers to the owners to the laborers. Their lives are real and wonderful and horrible. There is love, greed, caring, and struggling. The plot is engaging and believable.

I read one page of this book in a magazine article about the writer, Sara Gruen; I was so hooked, I had to go out and buy the book. Water for Elephants is a book I looked forward to picking up every night and was sorry when it ended. The best part is the ending, which ELDR Magazine readers will love for its celebration of life at any age.

Rating:

– Review by eldr.com member Martha Kane of Canton, CT

Book Review: A Prisoner of Birth

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:44:46 -0700

A Prisoner of Birth
By Jeffrey Archer
St Martin's Press, New York, March 2008
512 pages

Review:
Prisoner of Birth contains more ups and downs than a roller coaster, leaving the reader to breathlessly await the next page. Danny Cartwright, the West End mechanic sentenced to 22 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, is befriended by his two cellmates at London's Belmarsh prison who are determined to see him vindicated. It is through the ultimate sacrifice of one of these men that Danny is able to pursue revenge against the guilty parties in ways he'd never imagined. Eventually, Danny finds himself back in court and the verdict is shocking. Prisoner of Birth is Archer's finest to date, destined to become a classic in the suspense genre.

Rating:

– Review by eldr.com member Lissa Davis of Springfield, Oregon.

Movie Review: Hannah and Her Sisters

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:17:50 -0700

Name of Film: Hannah and Her Sisters

Writer and Director: Woody Allen

Lead Actors: Mia Farrow (Hannah), Woody Allen (Mickey), Michael Caine (Eliot), Dianne Wiest (Holly), Barbara Hershey (Lee), Max von Sydow (Frederick)

Other Significant Contributors: Lloyd Nolan and Maureen O'Sullivan as the parents. Gorgeously photographed by Carlo Di Palma.

The Story: Set in Manhattan and revolving around six characters who work in its two sexiest industries, art and money, this movie is about a stable, wise older sister who everyone can always count on (Hannah), her husband Eliot, a financial advisor to rock bands who falls in love with her younger sister Lee, Lee's tortured artist boyfriend Frederick, the ex-husband and father of her twins (Mickey), and the talented middle sister Holly who seems to have a little problem with cocaine.

Eliot's lust for Lee, who is stunningly beautiful, takes him by surprise and even more surprising is her receptiveness to it. But—no wonder—boyfriend Frederick is antisocial, never goes anywhere, and treats her more like a student than a lover. While their trysts are never discovered, Eliot tells Lee some intimate details about his life with Hannah, which end up in a book written by Holly, setting off a bit of tension between all three sisters.

Hovering around is Mickey, neurotic and constantly in fear of getting a disease. He's a typically hilarious Woody Allen character, but he doesn't dominate the story—we get just enough of him. In the end, Lee gets a new boyfriend and Eliot goes back to Hannah. Holly goes straight and Mickey remains neurotic.

Review: Arguably the best movie Woody Allen has made, Hannah and Her Sisters takes off from the opening scene (a family Thanksgiving Dinner) and soars on to the conclusion two years later (another family Thanksgiving Dinner). The three appealing sisters are very different but obviously emotionally dependent upon each other. Their lovers, husbands, friends, and parents are all brilliantly defined and wonderfully acted.

This movie has heart. It is intensely funny, utterly contemporary even 22 years later, intelligent as only a Woody Allen movie can be, and it has an element that is thoroughly missing in hit flicks like Sex and the City—a sense of irony.

Reason you should see this movie: Hannah and Her Sisters is a nearly flawless film that sets a high standard for romantic comedies seldom touched before or since. Even the music featuring Harry James's trumpet playing "You Made Me Love You" is exhilarating. It is warm but not too sentimental, and you'll find yourself laughing out loud.

Rating:

View the trailer of Hannah and Her Sisters »

– Reviewed by Dave Bunnell, Editor-in-Chief of ELDR magazine.

Movie Review: Sex and the City

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:00:34 -0700

WARNING: This review contains spoilers. Please discontinue reading if you do not want to know details of this film's ending.

Name of Film: Sex and the City

Writer and Director: Michael Patrick King

Lead Actors: Sarah Jessica Parker (as Carrie Bradshaw), Kim Cattrall (Samantha), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda), and Kristin Davis (Charlotte)

Other Significant Contributors: David Eigenberg (Miranda's unloved husband), Chris Noth (Carrie's super-rich fiancÈe, "Mr. Big"), and Jennifer Hudson (Carrie's personal assistant, Louise, who steals every scene she is in).

The Story: The convoluted lives of four vapid women who have maintained their tight friendships over many years. The main character, Carrie Bradshaw, is a best-selling author about to be married to a super rich, too good to be true, nice but not exactly deep thinking investment banker. She's moved into his much too large Manhattan apartment and he's built her a closet the size of a basketball court for all her designer clothes and fabulous shoes. He gets cold feet on the day of the wedding and all hell breaks out.

Meanwhile, Samantha, who is much too old to be thinking about nothing but sex all the time, has grown weary of her studly soap opera actor boyfriend and is having rather too vivid dreams about the stud next door.

Unlike her friends, Miranda is only interested in her legal career, and hasn't had sex with her husband for months and, because he's horny, he has an affair and she kicks him out of the house.

For the sake of balance, the remaining friend, Charlotte, is completely happy being a wife and mother. Somehow through a twisted comic plot of improbable events, everything is resolved in the end (big surprise). Mr. Big makes up with Carrie, Miranda lets her husband back into the house followed by a predicatively torrid sex scene, Samantha moves back to New York from Hollywood so she can restart her serial sex life, and Charlotte remains dumb and happy.

Review: My first thought upon leaving the theater, besides why did I stay for the whole thing, was, "My God, what are we teaching our daughters?" Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw is a totally self-absorbed 40-year-old, whose love for Mr. Big is based on materialism and the fact he is a good kisser. The idea that she can write best-selling books is either a pathetic statement about people who read best-sellers or simply laughable. She is however, stunningly dressed in every scene, a walking billboard for the fashion industry. I wouldn't mind this so much, or the excessive number of sex scenes, if the dialogue was witty and funny—which it isn't. The women in this movie are unattractive, mindless, and soulless—just to be fair, the men are much worse.

Mr. Big is a pig (can't think of any other word for it), David is a whimpy embarrassment to men everywhere, and the two studs have nothing going for them except much too large appendages—which I for one didn't need to see. One very bright spot was Louise, played by Jennifer Hudson. Louise was a real human being, delightfully fun, full of love, and good humor. I guess they made a mistake casting a real actor for this part.

Reason you should see this movie: Can't think of one, unless you want to check up on some of the latest women's fashions or unless you appreciate mindless—not funny—comedies. Or if you're simply a Jennifer Hudson fan—then I suggest you wait until the movie is half over before going in.

Rating:

View the official web site for Sex and the City »

– Reviewed by Dave Bunnell, Editor-in-Chief of ELDR magazine. Read Dave's review of Hannah and Her Sisters, a film he says is "the perfect antidote to Sex and the City."

Book Review: Clinton in Exile

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:43:15 -0700

Clinton In Exile: A President Out of the White House
By Carol Felsenthal
HarperCollins, May 2008
400 pages

Review:
Despite the all-consuming media coverage of Hillary and Bill Clinton during the 2008 presidential primaries, curiosity still surrounds the former President, often categorized as a "rock star" rather than a political figure. "If you had 125 world leaders...and Bill Clinton was in the room...most people would be really excited to go meet Bill Clinton," says editor Patrick Creadon, a close follower. He "would even walk away with the honors. There is a glow around Bill Clinton...and that's why I say history will be very good to him."

After countless hours of research and 167 interviews, author Carol Felsenthal presents the chronology of our 42nd president after he left the White House in January 2001. By combining unbiased facts with opinions both for and against Clinton, Felsenthal allows readers to form their own judgments. For example, regarding Bill Clinton's post-presidency work abroad: he "is now in some ways a man without a country," says one journalist who knows the president well. "Others would more accurately call him a citizen of the world," says Felsenthal. Many believe he will follow "in the footsteps of Jimmy Carter...in being probably a more important leader and figure in his post-presidency than even while he's president," says Susan Davis, chairperson of Grameen Foundation USA.

Not surprisingly, Bill Clinton's history of infidelity and the controversial decisions he made while in office are still met with much disapproval, even from people closest to him. "I don't think it's any great mystery that what happened in the second term obviously created the shadow [over] a lot of the good things that I think President Clinton did," says Leon Panetta, Clinton's former chief of staff. Yet Clinton's methods of manipulating, in good ways and bad, have undeniably advanced his career: "You could take his strongest critic. Put him alone in a room for five minutes and he likes Bill Clinton," says Larry King. "I've never met a political figure like that."

Without a doubt, Felsenthal captures the complexity of the former president. "He's just a unique human being, as unique in politics as Muhammad Ali or Barry Bonds are in sports," says Bob Clifford, a Bill Clinton supporter who supported Obama through the 2008 primaries. One friend of Bill Clinton describes him as the smartest, most interesting man he has ever met: "He's off the charts; he's almost a different species...but he's also the most narcissistic human being I've ever met."

Rating:

- Review by Valerie Kramer Davis.