Stuart Watkins Monday morning about 1:30 a.m., hearing a ruckus in our backyard area, I slipped on my shoes, grabbed a flashlight, and took out my pistol. Thinking this might have been coyotes attacking my neighbor’s dog, I wanted to find out what was going on. Lighting up my neighbor’s backyard with my flashlight and seeing…
Category: Features
Features, March 2020
Curious About Common Sayings
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg The official start of the 2020 MLB season will be on March 29. In the midwest, the opening day of the baseball season was a sure sign that spring would be on its way; however, the weather never fully met up with opening season expectations. Indeed, very often, baseball diamonds at the…
Features, March 2020
Dollars and Sense: Reverse Mortgages: Part One
The Paseo Financial Group The reverse mortgage of HECM loan products can be a challenge to explain or understand, even for people who have plenty of financial experience. Over the course of five articles, we hope to put things in simpler terms. The reverse mortgage is a home equity loan that’s designed to help seniors…
Features, March 2020
This I Have Learned: Learning About a Disease
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg We are now at the end of the first quarter of 2020 – already? Looking back at 2019, the year seems so far away! For me, there were many take-aways from last year; the most important of them was getting a glimpse into what it would be like to have Alzheimer’s…
Features, March 2020
Word of the Month: Existential is Dictionary.com “Word of the Year”
David Zapatka From existential threats to existential choices, the word existential was used in the news and in conversations around the country frequently this past year. “I’m trash!” was the insistent cry of Forky, the googly-eyed spork whose struggle to be a toy was at the heart of the summer blockbuster Toy Story 4. Forky’s…
Features, March 2020
Arizona Trail Association Honors Elisabeth Wheeler
Seana Kobak Word came from the Arizona Trail Association (ATA) that they were going to be recognizing Elisabeth Wheeler for her many hours (100+) of volunteer service. Immediately, Seana Kobak and Ray Peale, along with others, began to plan a surprise celebration in her honor. Elisabeth has dedicated many hours on the Arizona National Scenic…
Features, March 2020
An Electric Bike for You?
Roger Fife Turning back the clock on aging? I will be 80-years-old in just two months, but as I approach that milestone, it feels like I am getting younger physically and I owe this to riding my e-bike. Yes, an electric bike! Many SaddleBrooke residents have physical problems related to their legs, such as trouble walking,…
Features, March 2020
How Can You Be a Schizophrenic for a Day?
Steve Weiss In January, residents from SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch volunteered to be interviewed in a simulation representing a psychological condition of choice at the University of Arizona School of Nursing located at the Banner Medical Center. Each volunteer gave three 10-minute interviews with senior nursing students. The interviews were conducted in a small interview…
Features, March 2020
Stroke Neurological Support Group Meeting Notice
Esta Goldstein We are looking forward to greeting many in the community for our March 20 meeting at the Preserve Clubhouse Room 2 from 10 a.m.-noon. Our guest speaker will be Kim Holaway, a volunteer from the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. She was a teacher, counselor, principal, and adjunct professor for University of Phoenix. She…
Features, March 2020
Flying High at 90!
Dorothy Wood As a young girl growing up in Brooklyn and Rochester, NY, Janet Schmidt dreamed of being a pilot. She recalls that her options seemed to be limited to being a nurse or teacher. Pilot just didn’t seem an option for a girl in those days. Janet moved to SaddleBrooke in 1998 with her…