BRAIN HEALTH

 Dear George, 

One of the things about being in my late eighties is that I spend a lot of time thinking about terrible things that could happen. My favorite topic is losing my mind. We do stereotypically associate this with old age. So I had a conversation with Gemimi (my AI chatbot) about brain health and its decline. The Q’s below are my questions, and the A’s are Gemini’s responses (condensed and sometimes paraphrased). 

Q: What is meant by the notion of “brain health”? 

A: Brain health is defined as the state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioral, and motor domains, allowing a person to realize their full potential over their life course. 

Q: I have trouble remembering the content of the TV programs I watched yesterday. Is this a sign of dementia? 

A: Forgetting the specific details of TV programs you watched yesterday is generally not, by itself, a sign of dementia. Everyday forgetfulness is extremely common. Dementia-related memory impairment usually involves forgetting major life events, repeatedly asking the exact same questions, or struggling with everyday tasks. People experiencing early cognitive decline often lack insight into their own forgetfulness, whereas worry about your memory lapses is a reassuring sign that your self-monitoring abilities are intact.  

Q: What percent of people in their eighties experience dementia? 

A: Roughly 33% of people aged 85 and older are affected by Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. 

Q: Do men experience greater loss of brain health in old age more than women? 

A: No, epidemiological data show that women are disproportionately affected by neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Age is the single biggest risk factor, and a significantly higher population of women reach the advanced ages (95 and older) where neurodegenerative conditions are most prevalent. 

Q: What is the single most important factor in maintaining brain health in old age? 

A: Geriatricians generally agree that there is no single “magic bullet” factor. If forced to pinpoint one factor, major scientific consensus points to preserving vascular health by keeping the heart and blood vessels strong. 

Q: What sorts of people are at lesser risk for cognitive decline? 

A: Lifelong learners; physically active; socially connected; heart-healthy eaters; good sleepers; well-managed health. The key takeaway is that cognitive resilience is rarely about one single habit; it is the cumulative effect of a brain-healthy lifestyle built over decades. 

Q: Do taking classes for seniors help to maintain brain health? 

A: This is one of the most effective ways to support and maintain brain health. It provides a powerful combination of lifelong learning and social engagement, both of which are cornerstone activities for building cognitive reserve. 

Q: How about writing poetry? 

A: Writing poetry is an exceptional exercise for maintaining and supporting brain health. It acts as a robust mental workout that builds and strengthens cognitive resilience. 

Q: Does drinking alcohol in old age affect brain health? 

A: Drinking alcohol in old age significantly affects brain health. While cultural narratives long suggested that light or moderate drinking might protect the heart or brain, recent, rigorous large-scale studies have largely debunked those benefits. Even moderate consumption is now linked to negative structural change in the brain. Total abstinence is increasingly recommended by health authorities for optimal neurological preservation. 

Q: Does drinking water affect brain health? 

A: Yes, drinking water plays a vital role. Because the human brain is composed of roughly 75% water,, even mild dehydration can immediately impact how it functions. 

 Q: How does sleep affect brain health? 

A: Sleep is foundational to brain heath, acting as an active, vital maintenance period rather than just a passive state of rest. While you are asleep, your brain undergoes critical housekeeping for memory processing and cellular repair. 

Q: Do mind games like Sudoku or the Jumble affect brain health? 

A: Yes, mind games definitely affect brain health, though their benefits depend heavily on how you play them. The most important finding in cognitive research is that games only build brain health if they remain challenging. 

Q: If I am worried about my brain health, what steps can I take? 

A: (1) Consult a medical professional. (2) Engage in aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes a week. (3) Keep a close eye on your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. (4) Embrace novelty (like learning musical instrument or a new language). (5) Avoid passive consumption, e.g., watching TV. (6) Protect your sleep. (7) Nurture social connections. 

Q: Do people ask you about brain health frequently? 

A: Yes, absolutely. People ask me about brain health all the time. 

Thank you, Gemini. 

Love, 

Dave

OUR AMAZING HOUSEHOLD WILDLIFE.

 Dear George, 

My childhood home was out in the country, surrounded by forests and with only two or three other houses within a mile. Consequently we had lots of wildlife encounters, e.g., deer, porcupines, skunks, squirrels, etc. What is surprising to me is that we now live on a busy street at the center of a major midwestern city, and I have nearly as many wildlife experiences on our small urban property as I did as a kid in the country. Here are some curious facts about some of our wildlife denizens. 

OPOSSUMS. The opossums lived under our back porch for years, and we’d see them now and then when we came home at night. They moved somewhere else when we had our porch reconstructed. Opossums date back 70 million years, making them one of the oldest mammal families. Their name is derived from the Powhatan language, meaning “white dog or dog-like beast”. Females give birth to as many as 20 young, but only 13 can attach to a teat and survive. The babies are called joeys. When threatened, opossums will “play possum”, mimicking the appearance of a sick or dead animal and smelling bad. Opossums can eat thousands of ticks every season, and they are helpful to have in one’s yard.  

SQUIRRELS. The squirrels are faithful residents of our front yard because of our bountiful oak tree and its many acorns. They’ve built their nest of oak leaves on the window ledge outside our TV room. We watch them through the window while they seen to be watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. The oldest squirrel fossil dates back about 40 million years. The squirrels’ name comes from the Ancient Greek word skiouros which means “shade” and “tail”. Squirrels are physical marvels. They can jump up to five feet vertically and eight feet between trees. Squirrels can run headfirst down tree trunks by rotating their hind ankles 180 degrees to grip the three bark. Their bushy tails act as parachutes, allowing them to survive falls as high as 100 feet. At top speed they can run twenty miles an hour. Squirrels are also clever little creatures. If they think another squirrel is watching, they pretend to bury a nut by digging a hole and then covering it up. Gray squirrels bury up to 10,000 nuts each fall. Unfortunately they forget where they bury up to 75% of their hidden nuts which has the desirable unintended consequence of planting new trees. 

EUROPEAN WALL LIZARDS. I see our European wall lizards on our patio and driveway every time I leave or enter the house during warm summer months. Their family originated some 10 to 20 million years ago. The wall lizard was introduced to the United States when a 12-year-old boy from the Lazarus family smuggled 10 of them from a family vacation in northern Italy and released them near their East Walnut Hills home in Cincinnati. The wall lizard has expanded throughout Cincinnati and into parts of Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. They are fast moving and good climbers. Wall lizards have a “third eye” on top of their head that helps detect predators from above. If a predator grabs its tail, the wall lizard sheds it in order to escape and grows a new tail later. Wall lizards eat garden insects spiders, bees, snails, small berries, and flower petals. They spend their days foraging and basking in the sun. When normal food sources are scarce, wall lizards have been known to eat their compatriots. 

RABBITS. Every now and then I see a little cottontail rabbit near the tall grasses in our front yard garden. We owned rabbits for many years, and, because I regularly brought them out to an enclosure in our side yard, I was known for a while as the “Clifton rabbit man.” The rabbit family emerged about 53 to 55 million years ago, shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs. In the fourteenth century the word “rabbit” was originally “rabet”, meaning the young of the species. Rabbits’ teeth grow up to five inches a year and are worn down by chewing grass and hay. A rabbit’s eyes are positioned on the sides of its head, allowing it to see behind them without turning. Also they can turn their ears almost 270 degrees which allows them to pinpoint the exact location of a sound. They have excellent hearing and can hear sounds up to two miles away. Rabbits can jump 3 feet in the air and for a horizontal distance of 10 feet. They can also run up to 30 miles per hour, faster than Usain Bolt. Intelligent creatures, domestic rabbits can recognize their names and come when called. When a rabbit is extremely happy, it performs an athletic leap called a binky, twisting their body and kicking their feet in the air. 

RACCOONS. Raccoons are the most interesting of all of our wildlife residents. A family lived in our attic for years. We’d hear them rummaging about in the night, but I didn’t pay much attention until I discovered that they had eaten the insulation in our heating/cooling system. The animal control people successfully removed them, but we still get solo visitors on our patio at night. The first known members of the raccoon family lived in Europe about 25 million years ago. Fossil evidence indicates a close relationship between raccoons and bears. The name “raccoon” comes from the Powhatan term that means”animal that scratches with its hands,” stemming from the animal’s observed habits of “washing” its food. Raccoons can weigh up to 57 pounds, though most adults are between 11 and 26 pounds. Touch is the raccoon’s most important sense, and they can hear the quiet noises produced by earthworms underground. Raccoons are known as very intelligent animals. Early research found that they were able to open complex locks in fewer than 10 tries, apparently understanding the abstract principles of locking mechanisms. In their search for food, they can break into all but the most secure waste bins. Even inexperienced raccoons are capable of unscrewing jars, uncorking bottles, and opening door knobs. Due to their adaptability, raccoons have successfully used urban areas as a habitat. The first U.S. sighting of raccoons in an urban area was made in a suburb of Cincinnati in the 1920s. 

That’s my story. I’m very impressed by our animal neighbors who possess various sensory and physical abilities that surpass those of humans. The more I learn, the more I appreciate their presence in our lives. 

Love, 

Dave

NUMBER SIXTY-SIX

Dear George, 

Today is Katja’s and my sixty-sixth wedding anniversary. Hard to believe. That’s 75% of our lives on earth. We were married in the Quaker chapel on the Antioch College campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on this date in 1960. The ceremony was performed by the campus minister, Howard Johnson. Katja’s parents drove with her siblings, Ami and David, from Philadelphia, and my parents drove with Steven, Peter, and Vicki from Menominee. Katja’s parents disapproved of our pending wedding, in part because I was such a quiet person. Nonetheless, it went off without a hitch. We served the 27 guests with tiny cups from a single bottle of champagne, then headed off for a one-night honeymoon in downtown Dayton. 

A week later we set off for graduate school in Ann Arbor, Katja in Romance Languages and me in Social Psychology. We bought a darling German Shepherd puppy who we named Heather and who died in a tragic accident later in the year. Katja worked as a sales clerk at Faber’s Fabrics on Main Street in Ann Arbor throughout our stay. A two-month trip to Europe was one of the highlights of our Ann Arbor years. We did a camping road trip from Michigan to Seattle and San Francisco and back. We also spent two summers at the National Training Laboratories in Bethel, Maine, doing research on identity change in human relations training groups. 

Katja’ finished her M.A. degree, and we moved to Cincinnati in 1966 where I’d taken a faculty job at the University of Cincinnati. In 1969 Katja gave birth to our son, Justin, the most momentous event in our entire marriage. We were devoted parents, and Justin was the center of our lives. At age 8 or 9 he and I started playing tennis, and soon he was participating in local junior tournaments. Katja and I were insane tennis parents. Throughout these years we travelled to Menominee, Philadelphia, and New York Gity where Katja’s sister lived, as well as vacations places like Savannah, Charleston, Amelia Island, and Cape Cod. 

Anticipating college expenses, Katja returned to graduate school to get a Master’s in Social Work degree, then took a job as a social worker at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind. One of her clients said, “I never knew that being blind could be so much fun.” Justin was admitted to Columbia University in New York City, and his departure was overwhelming to his parents. Our work years seemed to whiz by. Justin graduated, went off to med school in New Orleans with his partner, Kiersta, and the two doctors eventually married and adopted Alex and Leo, our grandchildren. 

I retired in 2009, having served as Acting Head of the Sociology Department at UC, and Katja retired in 2011. We started taking classes togetheer at the university’s OLLI program for seniors a couple of years later, and we’re still at it. It’s much like college, so it’s like we’ve gone back to where we began. These are happy married years. We’re glad to still be around at this advanced age, feel healthy and secure, and grateful that we’ve been married for 66 years. 

Love, 

Dave

PICKING OLLI CLASSES

Dear George, 

I’ve mentioned in the past that Katja and I have been taking OLLI courses at the University of Cincinnati. OLLI stands for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. It’s a program that offers classes for seniors (50 and over) — history, literature, art, music, movies, social issues, etc. It’s much like being back in college again, though no tests or grades. Registration for the autumn quarter was last week, and I almost didn’t do it. After twelve years, I’ve started to feel burnt out. In particular, I’ve been having trouble writing new poems, my main pursuit at OLLI. I haven’t written anything new in a month, though I do sit down and stare at the computer every day. I thought maybe taking a break would be helpful in conquering writer’s block. When registration day arrived, I registered Katja for her classes. When I checked the OLLI schedule eight hours later, my poetry class was still available. Taking this to be a good omen, I went ahead and registered for it and four other classes. Here are my selections and why I chose them. 

My first choice was #2106, Advanced Poetry, a course that I’ve been taking nearly every quarter for the past eight years. My earliest experiences in writing poetry were in grade school. I always liked writing tasks best in school, and poetry was no exception. My fourth grade teacher, Miss Herscheid, had her students write “The End” at the bottom of each poem since it was sometimes hard to tell from a student’s reading when they were ending. My interest in writing poetry resurfaced in my undergraduate years when I took courses with nationally prominent poet, Judson Jerome. Jerome taught us to write in free verse, an exciting new venture. My current OLLI class is taught by an emeritus creative writing professor from Miami University. People tend to continue in that class for years, making us a bit like a cult. 

The second course that caught my eye was #2106, Making Comics — a drawing course with no prior experience required. I was a comic book addict as a kid, spending time every weekday at my uncle Kent’s drugstore, reading the newest arrivals. Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, etc. I spent a lot of time copying cartoons as well as drawing my own creations, a hobby that extended into adulthood. My childhood idea about an adult profession was that I wanted to become a cartoonist. I’m looking forward to getting back to my youthful preoccupation. 

#2604, Making Sense of Modern Art, was my third choice. We spend a lot of time at museums, and, while enjoying art, I don’t have much academic knowledge. We have taken several art history classes at OLLI, and I enjoy lectures with lots of visual presentations. I expect this class to help me become a more sophisticated viewer. 

Katja’s top OLLI choice was #4803, American Classics: Moby Dick, and I enrolled too. We have six editions of Moby Dick on our bookshelves, as well as three volumes of essays and critical commentary. While she is a longtime Melville groupie, I have a certain attachment to Moby Dick also. When I was an undergrad lit major, one of my favorite classes was “Moby Dick” by historian Louis Filler. I look forward to rethinking this great American novel. 

Finally both Katja and I signed up for # 2203, Let’s Do It! Write Your Legacy Letter. Legacy letters review your life, reflect upon pivotal experiences, and describe what you value and how you want to be remembered. We’re definitely at the right age and life stage to undertake this task. Perhaps I will post our final products here. When I look over the list, I get an overall sense of personal meaning. Each of these classes has a clear connection to my roots, and each offers the potential for personal growth for the future. Though we won’t start for another month, I’m glad I didn’t drop out. 

Love, 

Dave

MY SISTER

Dear George, 

I recently ran across this poem that I wrote about ten years ago.  I thought I’d post it here so it doesn’t vanish into limbo. 

Love, 

Dave         

                MY SISTER 

My sister is a slam bam girlie 

Growing up with three brothers older 

Teased non-stop but never gets surly 

Mean brothers just make a girl bolder 

My sister likes dressing like the boys 

Blue denim jeans and a T 

A capgun and holster are her toys 

Driven by her urge to be free 

My sister likes riding her bike 

Each day she heads up toward the dairy 

She takes our Irish setter named Mike 

These two move so fast, it’s quite scary 

My sister swims across our wide river 

She does it alone with no boat   

The danger just makes me shiver 

But she says, “Don’t fret — I can float” 

My sister and brother have daily fights 

They battle till neither can stand 

The rules, no gouging, no jugular bites 

I’m glad I don’t see this firsthand 

My sister loves riding her horse 

She races him twenty miles an hour 

The horse charges forth with great force 

A symbol of growing girl power 

My sister was given a chick 

She loved it but squeezed it too hard 

We thought that the chick was just sick 

But soon it was buried in the yard 

My sister has a shiny gold tooth 

Her brother knocked it out with his cue. 

Self-conscious, you know that’s the truth 

Even so, Gold-Tooth never gets blue 

My sister has too many chores. 

Like washing the dishes and setting the table 

Once she was scrubbing the floors 

Her brothers all claim they aren’t able 

My sister likes keeping our parents in line 

She tells them if they get too silly. 

Our mother has a fondness for wine 

Too much and her daughter gets shrilly 

My sister does so well in school

Reading and writing and spelling

Her teachers all think she's a jewel

It seems to come easy, excelling

My sister has a talent for art 

For drawing and painting and the rest.

But too insecure in her heart 

She says, “This is not my best” 

My sister keeps our family together 

So full of good humor and fun 

She’s sunny in the rainiest weather 

Best of all, she aspires to be a nun

OFF TO THE COUNTY FAIR

 

Dear George, 

The other day Katja and I went to the county fair in nearby Lebanon, Ohio.  I try to go to at least one fair every summer.  It takes me back to my Menominee youth when fairs and carnivals were highlights of the summer season.  Still today they never fail to be a treat.   

The lady at the admission gate pointed us to the animal barns. The first was the sheep barn, a huge structure filled to capacity with  8 foot by 8 foot cages holding newly shorn sheep.  Most had been raised by teenage 4-H club members, some of whom were hanging around in umbrella chairs, tinkering with their cell phones.  About half the sheep were clothed in brightly colored protective jackets — blue, yellow, red, violet, even a Florida beach scene.  The sheep were curious as we passed their cages and raised their heads or even jumped up and put their front legs on the railing.  At first I was afraid of getting nipped, but the sheep were agreeable to be petted on their heads and necks.  They seemed like very calm, gentle animals.  Despite their being for sale, they had no idea that the next step was the slaughterhouse.  Katja and I are fond of roasted lamb, but we couldn’t imagine eating one of these darlings.  

The goat barn was next door.  Goats and shorn sheep look pretty similar, and the goats had the same temperament — calm, cool.  They too appreciate being petted.  The male goats had the sharp tips of their horns cut off, perhaps to avoid goring one another.  However, we didn’t see any  instances of aggression.  When the goats lay down to sleep, they usually snuggled up against one another.  I was reminded that we urban-dwellers have zero contact with these farm animals in our daily lives.  

There were two poultry buildings, both filled with chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese.  Such a variety.  The ducks were the noisiest of the group; the turkeys, the most majestic.  The birds were not as friendly as the animals, and they seemed bored in their little cages, many of them sound asleep.   

The rabbit barn was our favorite destination.  We owned a succession of rabbits in the 70’s and 80’s, and we remain enthralled.  While the sheep and goats all look alike, rabbits come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.  We stopped to check out every one of the several hundred on display.  My favorites were the Flemish Giants who were larger than our schnauzer. 

Having finished the animal buildings, we stopped by the exhibition hall which displayed creations by county residents.   Floral arrangements, fruits and vegetables, bales of straw, baked goods, art work, wood-working, photography, sewing and knitting, and probably other stuff I’ve forgotten.  Lots of ribbons awarded.  All of the products were done by amateurs, and it was pleasing to think of the pride they probably felt in being shown at the county fair.  

The food area had two long rows of brightly decorated booths which offered all the standard varieties of county fair food — cheeseburgers, pizza, Italian sausage, Philly steak sandwiches, bloomin’ onions, softserve sundaes, etc.  All of it tasty, unhealthy, and over-priced.  Katja bought a pretzel for five dollars and paid nine dollars for a large pina colada lemonade and its refill.  I just sampled a bit of her food and drink.  

We sat down in the entertainment tent to eat.  I expected to see a country western band, but instead the entertainment consisted of audience members doing karaoke, singing along to loud recorded music.  Most of the singers were pairs of teenage girls, sometimes accompanied by younger brothers who were trying to imitate Michael Jackson dance steps.  The performances weren’t up to American Idol standards, but they generated applause from an appreciative audience.

The fair was fairly empty when we arrived at 2:30 but the crowd increased as the afternoon went on.  Parents with small kids made up much of the population, followed by teenagers who were on their own in pairs or small groups.  I was struck by the number of obese people, but probably no more than in many other public settings.  About 99% of the fairgoers were white.  Warren County voted heavily for Trump in 2024, but I didn’t see any MAGA hats.  I tried to see if I could identify people who looked like Trump voters, but everybody just looked like normal friendly people.  Probably a good reminder about stereotyping.  

Our last stop was the Midway.  All the games and rides, the thrills, the excitement.  We watched the little kids with their parents on the carousel.  Then an eight-year-old boy rode a mechanical bull which bounced around until it finally tossed him onto the inflatable mat.  Though all the rides were free, we skipped most of them until we came to the ferris wheel, the mildest of the options.  Soon we were up in the sky at the top of the eighty-foot wheel, looking for miles in every direction.  The ferris wheel went round and round for six revolutions.  I worried about getting seasick as our gondola  was swinging back and forth, but I toughed it out.  We got off and made our way to the parking lot.  Another successful county fair adventure. 

Love,

Dave 

 

EIGHTY-NINE AND COUNTING

Dear George,  

Hard to imagine, but today is my eighty-ninth birthday. I was thinking about what to write for mark the occasion, and I decided to interview myself. In the transcript below, X is myself as interviewer, and D is myself as respondent. 

Love, 

Dave 

X: Congratulations! Eighty-nine is a significant birthday. 

D: It is. Though not as big as next year. Today begins my final year as an octogenarian. A year from today (if I’m still around) I will become a nonagenarian. 

X: What is your secret for living this long? 

D: It beats me. I always thought of myself as rather fragile — that I would surely die younger than average. My best guess now is that it’s because I’m so defensive and conflict avoidant. I’ve managed to keep stress to a minimum. 

X: How many people your age are still alive? 

D: I asked Google. 38.8% of people born in 1937 are still living. That’s about 936,000 people. 

X: Wow, you could have a big party. What will you do to celebrate the occasion? 

D: Katja and I usually go out to dinner on our birthdays. Tonight we have a reservation at our favorite restaurant, Jean-Robert Cavel’s La Bar a Boeuf. Ironically they are shudtting their doors a week or two from now. So this will be our final birthday celebration there. 

X: Katja will also be celebrating her eighty-ninth birthday this year. 

D: Yes. My life would be totally different if we weren’t able to grow old together. 

X: How is your life different than it was 10 or 15 years ago. 

D: I’d say it’s more similar than different. OLLI classes at the university; working out at the fitness center; the symphony, opera, Linton chamber music series; eating out; poetry writing; scrapbooking. On the other hand, we’ve experienced major losses of friends and family members over the last decade. 

X: As the family patriarch, what is some wisdom that you could pass along to the younger generation. 

D: The first thing that occurs to me is don’t be afraid to take risks. Unfortunately that’s some wisdom that I’ve never been able to put into practice. 

X: If you were to live your life over, is there something you would change? 

D: That’s hard. I’m pretty content with my life so far. Cincinnati has been an enjoyable place to live. I chose the right profession for me. I married the girl of my dreams. Our son has always been a joy. 

X: What have been the best years of your life? 

D: While I didn’t realize it at the time, my childhood was pretty idyllic. My college years were definitely the most exciting. My current retirement years are very satisfying. We are healthy, financially secure, and have endless freedom to pursue activities we choose. 

X: It sounds like this is a birthday to celebrate. I hope everything continues to go well in the coming year. D: Thanks. That’s my plan too.

LISTS

 

Dear George, 

It’s hard to imagine getting along without the aid of lists. When I look around my room I find that I’ve created dozens — if not hundreds — of lists: favorite restaurants, TV series, art museum hours, email addresses, blood pressure readings, poets I admire, area campgrounds, one-day trips, etc. Most of these aid me in decision-making and in backing up my sometimes foggy memory. 

According to dictionary.com, a list is “a series of names or other items written or printed together in a meaningful grouping or sequence so as to constitute a record.” A grocery list would be a familiar example. Lists are ways of categorizing and ordering our world of experience. In addition, lists often function to organize action, dividing it into smaller fragments. Google suggests that there are three common types of list which we use to facilitate everyday behavior: (1) To-do lists (for managing daily tasks); (2) bucket lists (long-term life goals); and (3) inventory and shopping lists (specifying items on hand or required for purchase). 

Lately I’ve been thinking about how lists serve to define one’s sense of personal identity. One could pretty much wrap up one’s life by making lists of family members, jobs held, schools attended, best friends, hobbies and interests, sports played, group memberships, personal achievements, etc.   Here are some of the more idiosyncratic personal lists that I’ve recently created. Love, Dave 

PLACES I HAVE LIVED: Menominee, MI (1937-55); Yellow Springs, OH (1955-60); Madison, WI (1957); New York City (1958); Fairfield, CN(1959); San Francisco, CA (1959); Ann Arbor, MI (1960-66); Bethel, ME (1963, 1973); Cincinnati OH (1966-present) 

HEROES: Roy Rogers; Superman; Paul Bunyan; Joe Louis; John F. Kennedy; George Mikan; Rod Laver.  

ODD JOBS I HAVE HELD: Drugstore clerk; biology research assistant; Popular Science magazine librarian; occupational therapy aide;; boarding house dishwasher 

DAILY MIND GAMES: Wordle, Sudoku, Jumble, Spider Solitaire 

THINGS I AM BAD AT: Singing; golf; wood-working; home repairs; ice skating and roller skating  

THRILLS: Motorcycle riding, para-sailing, hot air ballooning, Kings Island roller coasters, swing dancing.

PET PEEVES: Phone scammers, litterers, student bus riders who sit on the plants next to our garden wall, dog poops in the yard, people who sit and talk on exercise machines at the fitness center 

YOUTUBE VIDEOS: Mary Lou Williams (jazz piano); Sondre and Tanya (boogie dancing); Andre Rieu (concerts); Andrea Motis (vocals and trumpet); Ruth Etting (1920s vocals) 

STATES I HAVE CAMPED IN: Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon, California, New Mexico, Kansas, Maine 

BOOKS CURRENTLY ON MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Billy Collins, Sailing Alone Around the World; Russell Baker, Growing Up; Dave Barry Slept Here; Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems; David Sedaris, Barrel Fever. 

MY BEST YEARS: 1953 (Driver’s license); 1955 (freshman year of college); 1960 (marriage); 1968 (awarded Ph.D.); 1969 (son born); 1974 (promotion and tenure); 2009 (retirement). 

GUILTY PLEASURES: Dairy Queen chocolate sundaes with nuts; Lorna Doone cookies; Canadian Club whiskey; smoking (years ago); sleeping in till 11 a.m. 

MEDICATIONS: Benazepril (blood pressure); Hydrochlorothiazide (blood pressure); Metformin (blood glucose); Pravastatin (cholesterol); Ezetimibe (cholesterol) 

COLLECTIONS: Jazz records; antique postcards; kitschy figurines; poetry books; vintage tennis rackets  

8 RADIO SHOWS I ENJOYED: Jack Benny, The Fred Allen Show, George and Gracie, Duffy’s Tavern, The Great Gildersleeve, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Aldrich Family, Our Miss Brooks. 

8 FAVORITE TRIP DESTINATIONS: New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Destin, Hilton Head, Menominee 

DOGS: Heather (German Shepard, 1960-61), Jacques (Standard Poodle, 1965-1972), Winston (Bedlington Terrier, ca, 1978-1989), Mike and Duffy (Old English Sheepdogs, ca. 2005-2016) , Iko (Miniature Schnauzer, 2021-2026) 

 That pretty much sums it up.