By Danna Downing
Senior Burg Day at the Vicksburg Pavilion
We need to give a special shout-out to the Village of Vicksburg and South County Community Services for hosting the first annual Senior Burg Day this summer. Also, kudos go to the Vicksburg Foundation for providing critical funding that resulted in a fun and informative slate of summer events for all ages. At Senior Burg Day, music, dancing, great food, and opportunities to meet area service providers pleased a lively crowd from all over the southern tier of Kalamazoo County. Can’t wait for next year!
If I had my life to live over, I would pick more daisies
In the early 90s Sandra Haldeman Martz edited an anthology called If I Had My Life to Live Over which included poems, stories and photographs chosen from over 3,000 manuscripts submitted by women who shared experiences that spanned from childhood to old age. “Our life decisions are seldom simple or straightforward: right or wrong, yes or no. They are often complex and conflictive and intertwined with the decisions made by others, she comments….It is often those small private moments of decision, known only to ourselves, that live vividly in our memories.”
At some point in our lives, and especially in later years, almost all of us wonder what would have happened if we had made different decisions. Such times can be painful, enlightening and motivating. The things you wish you had done can still be accomplished if they are important to your happiness. We are still at the beginning of our older years, so we need to try beginning something new each day. My favorite submission to this book is entitled “Advice To Beginners” by Ellen Kort, in which she suggests that we “nibble on everything” and “eat poems for breakfast, wear them on your forehead, and “put your hands over your face and listen to what it tells you.”
It’s That Time Again
Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director, encourages older adults to consider and talk with their healthcare providers about getting three vaccinations this fall:
RSV (respiratory syncytial virus)
RSV is a common virus that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms which can be dangerous for young children and older adults. This spring, the federal government approved the first RSV vaccines for people aged 60 and older. RSV tends to circulate somewhat earlier than the flu, so you don’t want to wait until November for this vaccine.
Influenza
Flu officially kills about 35,000 Americans in a typical year. Flu weakens our body in ways that make heart attacks and strokes more common, especially for the elderly. However, less than half of Americans take advantage of this opportunity.
COVID
The best defenses against COVID have not changed and include vaccine shots and post-infection treatments. Many Americans have now gone for more that a year without a booster and immunity has been reduced. A good strategy for many people may be to get boosters and flu shots at the same time in late September or October. If you do get COVID, be sure to talk with a doctor about taking Paxlovid or a different treatment.
Good News from Stanford’s Longevity Center
The general benefits of exercise are well accepted, especially when it comes to the cardiovascular system and obesity-related diseases. But the value of exercise goes well beyond those systems to include better functioning of everything from stronger immunity to improved neurological health. The causal link between physical activity and these far-flung internal systems has not been readily observable until recently, when researchers discovered exerkines, signaling molecules released in response to exercise that can lead to the secretion of different proteins that support healthy development of cells, tissues, and organs throughout the body. The research is complicated, but there is now new and promising data that shows direct connections between exercise and improved systemic physical and mental health.
