The Senior Scene

A drizzly Saturday morning didn’t stop the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, held at Thea’s Dock in Tacoma, from being a huge success.
Event coordinator Trisha Averill of the Alzheimer’s Association said the yearly walk is their largest fund-raising event.
There are over 650 such walks throughout the United States and 10 in western Washington. Because September is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and Sept. 21 was World Alzheimer’s Day, the Sept. 14 date for the Tacoma walk fit in perfectly. A separate walk was held Sept. 28 in Bremerton.
Experts say that Alzheimer’s disease is now the third-leading cause of death in Washington and the sixth-leading cause of death nationally.
The purpose of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, said Averill, is to raise awareness about the disease.
“We hope to get more publicity because not enough people know about the programs and services. It is a very stigmatized disease,” she said.
The September walk in Tacoma drew over 100 teams and 700 people and raised $80,500. Over 40 volunteers helped sign people up on the day of the event, pass out bib numbers and direct everyone to the right spot. Shuttle buses drove participants from the parking lot off Puyallup Avenue to the walk site, helping everyone arrive on time.
Team Ken consisted of family members of Ken Karon, who died in 2001 of Alzheimer’s.
Ken’s wife, Judy, said her husband had been CEO of an auto parts warehouse and was one of four children. Three of the children have died of Alzheimer’s disease, and the University of Washington is now following the family.
Ken was 74 when he died.
“People who have Alzheimer’s know something is wrong. Ken told his niece a few years before he was diagnosed that he knew something wasn’t right,” said Judy.
Marilyn Kealoha, her daughter Tara Gage and grandchildren walked in memory of her mom, Karen Baisley
“Dad took care of mom at home and it was rough on him, but now he has time to take care of himself. He lost his best friend,” she said.
Keri Pollock, communications director of Alzheimer’s Association’s Western and Central Washington Division Chapter, said their deepest and broadest reach is through their support groups.
“We come in all different shapes and sizes,” she said, adding that the support groups are beneficial to all family members. “When a person receives a diagnosis, they don’t want to be a burden, and one of the ways we help soothe that anxiety is by empowering and educating families and providing them with that level of support.”
Pollock said that Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease and there is no cure.
“We are talking brain failure,” she said. “The reality is that whatever part of the brain is affected will eventually fade or erode, and we need to help individuals and family prepare for that. Job number one is to help them accept that fact and feel the support of others.”
Tacoma offers seven such support groups. Some are specific to the caregivers and some are for the person who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Pollock said there are 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease to help relieve people’s anxiety about the disease.
“Everybody forgets where they put their keys, but when you really want to be concerned is if you find your keys in the freezer or you put your shoes in the dryer,” she said.
Help is just as close as the phone, with a call center open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 800-272-3900. Pollock said the center is staffed with trained, masters-level people “really understand Alzheimer’s and all related dementias and can help with local resources and support and care.”
The Alzheimer’s Association for western and central Washington can be reached at 206-363-3900.

It appears that senior citizens take their voting rights seriously.

According to Pierce County records, in 2008 at least 79 percent of those 65 and older cast ballots, compared to an overall voter turnout of 52 percent.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson said that females over 55 are particularly good voters, and county election supervisor Mike Rooney agrees.

“I would point to those voters who have seen the impacts of what voting does. They recognize the importance of voting,” he said.

Anderson added, “They just have more skin in the game, meaning in terms of paying taxes and understanding how they are raised and collected. They are more educated citizens and have more civic experience.”

Pierce County has been using all-mail ballots since 2010 and hasn’t had a poling place election since the middle of 2010.

Anderson, who oversees the county’s elections, said that senior citizens tend to move a lot, and it is extremely important that voters keep the auditor’s office updated as to their current address.

“This is a time when they are downsizing and moving closer to their kids,” she said.

Eighty-nine year old Dixie Gatchel is a consistent voter and said her father was a great believer in the right to vote.

“He worked hard and grew up during the Depression,” she said.

Gatchel added that she voted in her first presidential election when she was 21.

“I voted for Harry Truman. I grew up with no Social Security and no health insurance and no workman’s compensation. My first job was 35 cents an hour with no paid vacation, and the little people had nothing at all. When FDR (President Franklin D. Roosevelt) came long, we had lived through the Depression,” she said.

Ernie Bay added that he was always interested in the issues and believes if you don’t vote, you get the consequences.

“I vote because I don’t want to be bossed around by the other bunch,” he said.

Anderson and Rooney stress the importance of being sure everyone signs their ballot with their everyday signature.

“We call it the Piggly Wiggly signature,” said Anderson. “The one you use when you are checking out at the grocery line.”

In the upcoming general election, ballots will be mailed on Oct. 18 by the auditor’s office to voters countywide. Non-registered voters need to be sure to register on line at www.vote.wa.gov or by mail by Oct. 7, officials said. The deadline for new voters to register in person only is Oct. 28.

If a voter doesn’t receive their ballot, they are encouraged to call the auditor’s office at 253-798-VOTE (8683).

There are 27 dropoff sites for ballots across the county that will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week until 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, which is the actual election day and the last day ballots can be turned in. No stamp is required for a dropoff site.

If voters mail in their ballots, they should be absolutely certain to have them postmarked no later than 8 p.m. on election day, said Anderson.

“If you have made up your mind, vote early,” she said.

 

 

Members of the W. E. Ruth Realty softball team have gray hair and many are well into their 60s and 70s, but you would never know that to sit through one of their games.

A batting practice before a recent game at Celebration Park in Federal Way had batter after batter stepping up to the plate and hitting the ball right over the 300-foot fence line. And they made it look easy.

Sixty-five-year old Joe Franco was a Bellevue firefighter for 41 years. Now he is a softball player.

Franco has been playing ball for the last 10 years. The W. E. Ruth Realty team is the best 50-and-over team in the league, he said, and it has the championships to prove it.

It is difficult, however, to get these players to talk about themselves. They spend a lot of time complimenting each other with shouts like “Way to go, buddy” and “Good hit.”

Seventy-seven year old Jim Douglas started playing 10 years ago, as well. Team members affectionately call him the “Crusher,” and it appeared that he has earned that name.

Douglas, who plays third base, said, “Some of us played together in our 20s and 30s, and we still play together.”

Franco said that Rick Littlejohn is the best 60-and-over player in the state. “He runs, throws and hits like a 30-year-old guy,” Franco said.

During the warmup period, Littlejohn cracked two balls over the fence.

“He played semi-pro,” said Franco.

“Oh, we have a lot of good players,” Littlejohn said. “I play over 100 games a year, and it keeps me busy.”

This is John Harris’ 17th year with W. E. Ruth.

“It goes beyond being good,” he said about the team. “Our image off the field is as important as on the field. We try to live a good life and be good sportsmen and good citizens.”

Art Eversole said W. E. Ruth Realty has won the league title for six consecutive years.

Bill Ruth, owner and operator of the real estate firm, “is our sponsor, and he builds the finest teams. We all straighten up when he shows up,” Eversole said.

Sixty-eight year old Eversole said he has played senior ball since 2002.

“I play the outfield. I played some fastpitch as a young man, and this was an opportunity to play in the retirement years. I enjoy the camaraderie and travel and the recognition of winning tournaments,” he said, adding that W. E. Ruth was one of the finest teams in the nation. 

All the players acknowledge that playing softball keeps them engaged and in good physical shape.

Imogene Lawson came to the field to watch her son, Randy “Nate” Lawson, pitch. She lives in Tacoma and said her son has played softball “forever. I’ve seen a lot of games,” she said, adding that Nate was in the Washington State Hall of Fame.

“Older fellas can still play ball,” she said.

These boys of summer show up at every game and come to play. Their win record is impressive, but Littlejohn said they recently lost for the first time in two or three years.

It didn’t seem to bother Littlejohn as he swung the bat and waited for his turn at the plate.

“It’s just time to start a new streak” he said.

 

 

Leo Ball fell off a ladder 15 years ago and hit his head and couldn’t remember how to play the bass guitar, so he learned how to play the electric guitar, instead.

Now Ball performs on a regular basis with the Sunnyside Orchestra, traveling to senior centers around the area. The group also has a yearly gig at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup.

The all-senior citizen orchestra never charges for their performances and plays for the fun and enjoyment of it, said Carol Wilsey, who plays the violin with the group.

“I enjoy doing it,” she said.

The orchestra consists of two vocalists, five violinists, one piano, a trombone player, drums, guitar and a washboard player. Together they make good old-fashioned music that had the residents of the Sunset Garden Apartments tapping their feet and clapping their hands at their May performance.

Violinist Barbara Peterson said, “None of us played as a younger person because we put our instruments away for job and family, and then pulled them out when we retired.”

Ed Benson plays the drums and described himself as “the rascal from California.”

His enjoyment shines through as he performs, smiling the entire time.

“I play with three other groups, too, and enjoy making people happy,” said Benson, who worked for 39 years at Bank of America.

The room set aside for the performance at Sunset Gardens filled quickly, and when the orchestra belted out “The Grand Old Flag,” the audience clapped their hands, tapped their feet and sang along.

The military medley had everyone involved with performances of “Anchors Aweigh” and “The Army Goes Rolling Along.”

The orchestra kept playing without taking a breather, violins in perfect unison.

Vocalists Bev Freiday and Phil Bergh entertained the crowd and sang nearly every song.

Freiday introduced each song. “They play the first chorus and then we sing,” she said.

Freiday has been with the group, which formed in 1976, since 2004.  “Everyone is friendly and it is versatile. I like to rise to the challenges, and music is always joyful,” she said. “I see the people when we play and sing and they know the songs. It is their music, and they mouth the words as we perform.”