prime magazine feb. 2015

Celebrating Midlife and BeyondFREE FOR YOU

February 2015

Valentine’sDay from Roman Ritual

to Saintly Sentiment to Massive Marketing

and: $aving for your grandchild’s education

February 2015 | www.primemontgomery.com2

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Editor’s Notes

Quick Reads

ArchivesHelp identify these people

Yard ‘n GardenGrowing paperwhites

A Gracious PlentyEasy, tasty Valentine meal

Alabama’s Top 10 Events for 2015

The Heart of the Matter Dr. L.L. Hill’s miraculous surgery

All You Need Is Love A Valentine Story

In Every Life Make Your Resolutions Work!

Social SecurityFraud Watch!

Educating Junior How Grandparents Can Help

Travel The Best of the “Ests”

Tinseltown TalksThe Virginian -- James Drury

Puzzles

Things To DoRiver Region Goings-On

Medicare What’s New in 2015?

Puzzle Answers

February DVD Releases

Off the Beaten PathA Nose for Trouble

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The roots of Valentine’s Day are old and deep, planted long before marketing made this a frenzied period of card and gift-giving. Its origins spring from both pagan ritual and Christian sacrifice. Learn more starting on page 14 (where else?). Plus, find out why, in 1902, Montgomery was the site of a medical first regarding matters of the heart.

February 2015Table of Contents

Celebrating Midlife and BeyondFREE FOR YOU

February 2015

Valentine’sDay from Roman Ritual

to Saintly Sentiment to Massive Marketing

and: $aving for your grandchild’s education

Can you identify any of the young people in this February, 1958 photograph? It was taken at a Valentine’s Day Event at Montgomery’s Morningview Baptist Church. See page 8 for how you can help.


EDITOR’S NOTE

If you’re on Facebook, become a fan of PRIME Montgomery!

PrimeMONTGOMERY

February 2015 Vol. 5, Issue 10

PUBLISHERBob Corley, [email protected]

EDITORSandra Polizos, [email protected]

ART DIRECTORCallie Corley, [email protected]

WRITERSRalph Foster, Andrea Gross, Mary Flanders,

Alan Wallace

CONTRIBUTORSNiko Corley, Ginny Gaines, Mark Glass,

Cheryl Hitch, Kylle’ McKinney, Bob Moos, Arlene Morris, Nick Thomas, Kittie Williams

PHOTOGRAPHERSIrv Green, Bob Corley

SALESBob Corley • 334-202-0114,

[email protected] McFarland, • [email protected]

Prime Montgomery7956 Vaughn Road, #144

Montgomery, AL 36116 • 334-202-0114www.primemontgomery.com

ISSN 2152-9035

Prime Montgomery is a publication of The Polizos/Cor-ley Group, LLC. Original content is copyright 2015 by The Polizos/Corley Group, LLC., all rights reserved, with replication of any portion prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed are those of contribut-ing writer(s) and not necessarily those of The Polizos/Corley Group, LLC.Prime Montgomery is published monthly except for the combined issue of December/January. Information in articles, departments, columns, and other content areas, as well as advertisements, does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Prime Montgom-ery magazine. Items relating to health, finances, and legal issues are not offered as substitutes for the advice and consultation of health, financial, and legal professionals. Consult properly degreed and licensed professionals when dealing with financial, medical, emotional, or legal matters. We accept no liability for errors or omissions, and are not responsible for advertiser claims.

Not as thrilling as Christmas, or as exciting as Halloween, I always viewed St. Valentine’s

Day as a charity holiday, thrown in to keep the winter blahs at bay. What’s more, with no school vacation (even the State Fair warranted a half-day off) and little commercial build-up (from a child’s perspective, at least) it seemed a purer holiday than all the rest – a day set aside solely for telling those closest to you how very nice you thought they were.Even so, Valentine’s Day could be

exhausting, forcing me to muster every creative bone in my not-so-creative young body. For weeks before the big event I stressed over the inevitable elementary school assignment to design and produce unique valentines for my family and outshine my efforts from last year. (My mother scrupulously kept all my artwork, much to my dismay.) Armed with lacy white doilies, red, pink and white construction paper, glitter, scissors, crayons and Elmer’s glue, I’d set out to create cute valentines for all my kin. But the assignment was rarely com-pleted; the supplies ran out long before the list of relatives.Like an Old Master at work I’d dramatically toss out two or three designs as

inferior, destroy a couple more for poor craftsmanship, and lose at least one-a-year to an over-zealous application of glue. Mom always got a specially crafted card from me, but, more often than not, Dad, Grandmother, and my siblings received only a folded paper heart. Thankfully, designing valentines to distribute to classmates was not required.

Released from my artistic shackles I loved shopping for the mass-produced greetings and manipulated every 25-count package at the dime or grocery store to view each card. Sentiments like “Be Mine,” “Happy Valentine’s Day,” and “Just for You” passed muster, while “I Like You,” “To My Special Friend” or anything referring to “love” were out of the question. And though many of my girlfriends included messaged candy hearts along with their valentine cards, I shuddered at the seemingly exhaustive amount of extra reading – and addi-tional scheming – required.Following the class Valentine’s Day party it was exciting to read, and re-read,

the cards we received, and wonder if the boys were halfway as exacting as the girls about who got what card. The fun was in the speculation but, even then, I doubted boys put too much stock in a nickel card. On the other hand, a box of candy or a flower were another matter entirely.When my best friend unexpectedly received a gold-filled heart from a boy in

fifth grade, she demanded he take it back. Dumbfounded, the innocent young man complied. Even at such a young age we knew our strict parents would never understand. We were right. I hope you receive many love-filled valentines, whether hand-crafted of con-

struction paper, doilies and glue, or presented as a gold-filled necklace from a not-so-secret admirer. Have a wonderful, warm February, and take heart – spring’s not far away!

Sandra Polizos Editor


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QUICK READS

6

Dietary Flavanols Reverse Age-Related Memory Decline Dietary cocoa flavanols (naturally occurring bioactives found in cocoa) reversed age-related memo-

ry decline in healthy older adults, according to a study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists. The study, published in an online issue of Nature Neuroscience, provides

the first direct evidence that one component of age-related memory decline in humans is caused by changes in a specific region of the brain, and that this

form of memory decline can be improved by a dietary intervention.Age-related memory decline is different from the often-dev-astating memory impairment that occurs with Alzheimer’s, in

which a disease process damages and destroys neurons in various parts of the brain, including the memory circuits.

The researchers point out that the product used in the study is not the same as chocolate, and they caution

against an increase in chocolate consumption in an attempt to gain this effect.

Nasal Spray for Migraine Pain? Researchers are developing a novel prochlorpera-

zine nasal spray as a potential new treatment for migraines, which are manifested by severe pain and headache, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sen-sitivity to light and sound. According to the Migraine

Research Foundation, migraine ranks in the top 20 of the world’s most disabling medical diseases.

Venkata Yellepeddi, Ph.D., and colleagues from Roseman University of Health Sciences, developed a prochlorperazine nasal spray that could prove

useful. Comparative clinical studies have shown that prochloperazine provides better pain relief than other anti-migraine drugs. Currently pro-chlorperazine is only available in tablet form. It is thought that a nasal spray version of prochlor-perazine will not only be effective, but fast acting and have better patient compliance overall.

Worry, Jealousy, Moodiness May Increase Alzheimer’s Risk

Women who are anxious, jealous, or moody and distressed in middle age may be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life, according to a nearly 40-year-long study published in an online issue of Neurology®. The study found that women who scored highest on the tests for neuroticism (being eas-ily distressed and personality traits such as worrying, jealousy or moodiness) had double the risk of develop-ing dementia compared to those who scored lowest on the tests. Being either withdrawn or outgoing did not appear to raise dementia risk alone, however, women who were both easily distressed and withdrawn had the highest risk of Alzheimer’s disease in the study.

Men Who Exercise Less Likely to Wake Up to Urinate Men who are physically active are at lower risk of nocturia (waking

up at night to urinate), according to a study led by a Loyola Univer-sity Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researcher. The study is pub-lished in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Nocturia increases with age, and is estimated to occur in more than 50 percent of men 45 and older.

Among men in the study group, those who were physically active one or more hours per week were 13 percent less likely to report nocturia and 34 percent less likely to report severe nocturia than men who reported no physical activity. (Nocturia was defined as waking two or more times during the night to urinate; severe noctu-ria was defined as waking three or more times to urinate.)


Your Pet and Your HealthThe American Heart Association

says pets -- especially dogs -- may be an ally in the management of blood pressure and overall cardiovascular disease prevention, according to a study published in the online journal Circulation. Specifically, pet ownership may be linked to lower blood pres-sure, lower levels of cholesterol and less incidence of obesity.

Some scientists hypothesize pet owners may just be healthier people to begin with. Dog owners who walk their dogs may also find this activity an excellent way to stay active.

Studies of the link between pet ownership and systemic blood pressure haven't always found that dogs and cats have the power to lower blood pressure, but some did note what appear to be significant benefits.

Poor Sleep and DementiaPeople who have sleep apnea or spend

less time in deep sleep may be more likely to have changes in the brain that are as-sociated with dementia, according to a new study conducted by VA Pacific Islands Health Care System and the Pacific Health Research and Education Institute in Hono-lulu, Hawaii and published in an online issue of Neurology®.

The study found that people who don’t have as much oxygen in their blood during sleep, which occurs with sleep apnea and conditions such as emphysema, are more likely to have tiny abnormalities in brain tissue, called micro infarcts, than people with higher levels of oxygen in the blood. These abnormalities are associated with the development of dementia.

In addition, people who spent less time in deep sleep, called slow wave sleep, were more likely to have loss of brain cells than people who spent more time in slow wave sleep. Slow wave sleep is important in processing new memories and remember-ing facts. People tend to spend less time in slow wave sleep as they age. Loss of brain cells is also associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.


Prime is teaming up with the Alabama Department of Archives and History to present a different

group of photographs each month in an effort to identify the individuals depicted. The photos are from the collections of

three Montgomery-based photographers active in the mid-twentieth century, Hor-ace Perry, John E. Scott, and Jim Peppler.

In addition to identifying individuals, Archives is interested in any other details about the images, including correc-

tions to the descriptions. If you have information about these photographs contact Meredith McDonough, [email protected], or call 334-353-5442. You can also e-mail Prime at [email protected].

Above: Young people singing and clap-ping in the audience during an Otis Redding show at the Montgomery City Auditorium. (Feb. 21, 1967, photo by Jim Peppler)

Left: Valentine’s Day event, Morningview Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL. (Feb., 1958, photo by Horace Perry)

Below: Neal Posey coaching a Y.M.C.A. basketball team in the gymnasium at Clo-verdale Junior High School, 1125 E. Fairview Avenue, Montgomery, AL. (Feb. 1, 1973, photo by John E. Scott)

IDENTIFYING HISTORY

Do You Recognize These People?


YARD ‘N GARDEN

Forcing Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs to bloom indoors gives you the luxury of a garden within your home

anytime of the year. Paperwhites beautify the home or can be gifted as a starter project. I usually begin after Thanksgiving with a few bulbs and add a few more the next week, and then the next. It is an easy and worthwhile project that requires just a few materials and steps, yet provides a unique experience along with fragrance and beautiful blooms. All you need are:

1) clean containers2) marble chips3) bulbs

I shop for containers in which to grow Paperwhites all year. I prefer to see the action, so I like to use glass containers. They can be as short as 4 inches or as tall as 18 inches.

To begin, put about 1½ inches of marble chips into the bottom of your container. Put bulbs root side down, about 1 inch apart. Add water to the top of thr chips. Place in sunlight for approxi-mately two weeks. Check the water level often. If the water level is too deep, it will rot the bulbs.

When greenery gets about 3 inches tall, begin rotating the container towards the sunlight so your plants will stay erect. You might need to stake or loosely tie greenery together.

Growing Paperwhites allows you to enjoy the uniqueness, beauty and fra-grance of these flowers for yourself. The process is educational, producing results which can be used as lovely centerpieces or wonderful gifts. You can even make a do-it-yourself kit to give as a gift and include the container, marble chips, and bulbs.

When blooms are spent, toss the bulbs into the flower bed and look forward to another surprise next year. And don’t forget to wash your indoor containers and marbles to get ready for the next season of beautiful winter blooms.

Cheryl Hitch, a Master Gardener in the Capi-tal City Master Gardener Association, lives in Montgomery. For information on becoming a master gardener, visit the website, www.capci-tymga.org or e-mail [email protected].

Paperwhite Season

By Cheryl Hitch


A GRACIOUS PLENTY

Valentine’s Day usually brings to mind a lovely bouquet of flowers and an expensive dinner at one of the

restaurants you rarely visit. Here’s a differ-ent idea for a great meal that only requires a little time, and a level of difficulty so low, it’s hard to measure. It’s a great meal for you gentlemen to prepare, and you’ll get rave reviews from your Valentine.

Think of dessert first, since this is Valen-tine’s. Either purchase or bake a small loaf pound cake, and make this delicious sauce to accompany it. You can make the sauce a couple of days in advance and store in the refrigerator.

Sauce:Place the following in a saucepan:1 can sweetened condensed milk1 can Hershey’s chocolate syrup1 stick butter1 tsp vanilla

Heat the saucepan containing all ingre-dients over low heat till the butter melts, stirring well until everything is well mixed. Remove from heat and serve immediately over the pound cake, or store in the refrig-erator and heat in the microwave before serving.

On Valentine’s Day, purchase a whole deli chicken. Place it in the oven at about 300 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes; just enough to get it warm or keep it warm if it’s pur-chased and brought straight home. Next, make rice (instant is always a choice), using

chicken stock for part or all of the liquid, and add a squeeze of lemon. Lemon gives it a nice flavor and “kicks it up a notch”, as Emeril says. Then make the salad.

Winter Salad:6 cups of Romaine lettuce, washed

and broken in bite-size pieces 3 slices cooked bacon1 apple chopped1pear chopped¼ cup dried cranberries¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Put salad ingredients together, adding feta at the last along with the dressing. Brian-na’s Poppy Seed dressing is a good choice, adding balsamic vinegar to taste. Pour over salad.

Serve the meal in front of a crackling fire, or with candles at the diner table Either way, use pretty dishes and stemware and have flowers at the table. This simple but delicious dinner is a winner. Food and flow-ers… they’re never out of style for Valen-tine’s! Enjoy!

Make Time for

your Valentine

By Kittie Williams and Ginny Gaines


FEATURE

425 Coliseum Blvd.Montgomery, AL 36109

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Eastbrook Flea Market& Antique Mall

“Where Mardi Grasmeets

Valentine’s Day.”nnnnn

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VINTAGE

vintage appareland

accessories

Feb. 15-Apr. 26 — Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough and the

Golden Age of Painting in Europe. Celebrating the golden age of painting

in Europe during the 17th and 18th century. Huntsville Museum of Art, www.hsvmuseum.org

Mar. 5-9 — 50th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, Selma/Lowndes/Montgomery. Weekend of events commemorating of the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Mont-gomery Voting Rights March. www.dreammarcheson.com

Apr. 10-12 — Eufaula Pilgrimage, Eufaula. Eufaula hosts Alabama's oldest

tour of homes and has more than 700 structures listed on the National Register. Each spring the

city of Eufaula opens its doors to share this his-

torical wealth. www.eufaulapil-grimage.com

May 15-17 — Hangout Music Festival, Gulf Shores. Weekend music festival featuring an impressive lineup of bands and musicians performing on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores. www.hangoutmusicfest.com

July 13-19 — The Barba-sol Championship, Ope-lika. A new PGA TOUR tournament sponsored by Barbasol will debut in 2015 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika. www.rtjgolf.com

Oct. 7-10 — Moundville Native American Festival, Moundville. Expe-rience live cannon fire, the lives of Creek and Cherokee Indians, hunting camps and demonstrations of tradi-

tional skills of the early 1800s. www.moundville.ua.edu

Nov. 5-14 — “Come Home It's Suppertime” Folklife Play, Brun-didge. Alabama's Official Folklife play featuring depres-sion-era stories of life in the rural south. The play will be celebrating its 20th season. www.piddle.org

Nov. 27-Dec. 31 — Bellingrath Magic Christmas in Light, Mobile. Stroll through the gardens with more

than three million twinkling lights in over 928 custom designed set pieces in 13 scenes. Tour the Bellingrath Home decorated in its holiday finery. www.bellingrath.org

Nov. 28 — Iron Bowl, Auburn. The Southeast's biggest college football rivalry pits two SEC powerhouses, Auburn University and the University of Alabama, against each other for the next year's brag-ging rights. www.auburntigers.com

This listing is available in the 2015 Alabama Vacation Guide and Calendar of Events, available at the eight state welcome centers, local tourism bureaus, and online at www.alabama.travel.

Top Events for 2015Each year, the Alabama Tourism Department selects the state’s top 10

events based on significant anniversaries and the uniqueness of the event. Here, in chronological order, is this year’s top 10 list.

Courtesy of the Alabama Tourism Department


FEATURE

In the early morning hours of September 15, 1902, Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill Jr. was summoned

by two local Montgomery physicians who were attempting to treat Henry Myrick. Myrick, a 13-year-old African American youth, was the victim of a stab wound to the heart the previous afternoon. Six hours passed before the first physicians had been called, and another two hours passed before Hill arrived at the boy's home. Myrick's wound had been bleeding continuous-ly, and although he was still conscious, his pulse was fading. Hill convinced the family to let him operate. Widely regarded as an authority on heart wounds, Hill had not actually operated on a living heart.

Hill moved Myrick to a table, and by lantern light began the procedure, assisted by his brother and a fourth physician who had arrived to admin-ister chloroform. Hill opened the youth's chest and discovered a great deal of internal bleeding within the pericardium, the protective tissue sur-rounding the heart. To relieve pressure on the injured organ, Hill opened the pericardial sack to drain the blood, then stitched the stab wound, which was in the left ventricle, with catgut thread. The procedure lasted 45 min-utes. Myrick survived and within a few weeks had recovered from his injuries.

With this procedure, Alabama’s Luther Leonidas Hill, Jr. became the first American physician to successfully repair a wounded heart in a surgery that the patient survived. The proce-dure caused a sensation in the popular media and medical journals. The story was reported in the New York Sun, and Hill published his own account of the

Matters of the Heart

Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill, Jr. (above and right). (Photos courtesy AL Dept. of Archives and History)

Adapted from an article by Ralph Foster


surgery along with an updated list of heart suture cases in the November 1902 issue of the New York Medical Record.

Yet despite his success and ad-vocacy of such procedures, heart surgery did not advance significantly in either the United States or Europe for several decades.

Hill was born January 22, 1862, in Montgomery, to Rev. Luther L. and Laura Croom Hill. The son and grand-son of Meth-

odist ministers. He planned to enter the ministry, but after completing his studies at Howard College in Marion, Perry County (now Samford University in Birmingham), he turned to medicine, graduating from the City University of New York in 1881.

Hill also studied at Jefferson Medical College in Philadel-phia, New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital, and at King's College Hospital, London, England, where he worked under Joseph Lister, a pioneer in sterile surgical techniques. Hill returned to Montgomery to establish his medical practice, specializing in surgery, and in 1888 Hill married Lillie Lyons of Mobile. Among their five children was future Alabama U.S. Senator Lister Hill.

Hill retired from practice in 1931, living to see his son Lister elected to Congress and later as senator. Perhaps as a result of his father's influence, Lister Hill became a cham-pion for public health, sponsoring the Hill-Burton Act which significantly expanded hospital care. Luther Leonidas Hill, Jr., died in Montgomery in 1946 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

In 1959, the University of Alabama Medical Center in Bir-mingham dedicated the Luther Leonidas Hill Heart Center in his honor. In 2001, Hill was elected posthumously to the Alabama Health Care Hall of Fame. The downtown Mont-gomery office he shared with his brother Robert still stands and bears a historical marker placed by the Alabama Histori-cal Association.

Information courtesy Encyclopedia of Alabama, www.encyclopedi-aofalabama.org.

Downtown Montgomery office Hill shared with his brother. (Photo by Bob Corley)

$20 Heart Screenings on

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Contrary to popular belief, Valentine’s Day was not creat-

ed by Hallmark or the Post Office to increase revenue. Valentine’s Day dates back to pre-Christian Rome and the feast of Lupercalia when young women put their names in a basket and were paired up with the young men who picked their names out of the basket.

In ancient Rome, Febru-ary 14th was a holiday to honor Juno, Queen of the Roman Gods and God-desses. She was also the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. In ancient Rome, the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate except during Luperca-lia. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and they would be partners for the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year,

and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

No one knows exactly how Valentine’s Day began.

FEATURE

All You Need Is LoveBy Mary Flanders The surprising origins

of Valentine’s Day


It is known that St. Valentine was a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. Legend has it he was a priest who married couples in secret in defiance of the Roman Emperor Claudius II’s ban on engagements and marriages. St. Valentine was captured and sent before the Prefect of Rome, where he was sen-tenced to be beaten to death and

his head cut off. He was martyred on February 14 in about 270 AD. , the same day of the year the Romans held the “love lottery.” Another bit of St. Valentine lore says he left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter (whom he had befriended) and signed it “from your Val-entine.” His name began to be linked with love and marriage.

The leaders of the early Christian Church in Rome tried to eliminate the pagan ele-ment in the Lupercalia feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of young ladies. Since this festival

began at about the same time as the Christian St. Valentine was killed, the early Church

fathers channeled St Valentine into the Lupercalia festival and Val-entine’s Day began to evolve. By 496 Pope Gelasius marked Feb-ruary 14 to honor St. Valentine. February 14th became the date

The surprising origins of Valentine’s Day


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to exchange love messages and St. Valentine became the patron Saint of lovers. From then on the date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. In larger communities there was often a social gathering or a ball.

It wasn’t until the 1700s that sending cards began to gain popularity. The oldest exist-ing Valentine is one written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife. He wrote it to her while imprisoned in the Tower of London, after the battle of Agincourt.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first val-entine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800’s and now the date is very commercialized. Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas for the volume of cards delivered by the Post Office, with postal facilities in towns with names like Loveland, Colorado, doing a stout business around February 14. Remember when you exchanged valentines with your classmates in elementary school? School children still do that, too.

For those lovers with a big budget on Valentine’s Day, the sky is the limit. There are gifts for that special someone that boggle the imagination.

According to forbes.com, one of the most expensive chocolates in the world is To’ak, consisting of just two ingredients, cacao and cane sugar. Sold in individual wooden boxes, only 574 bars were produced in two years,

each weighing 1.5 oz. and costing $260 per bar.

If your love is on a diet, you might choose to impress her in a different way. Clive Christian offers the world’s most expensive perfume, “Imperial Majesty, No. 1,” available only in the Salon de Par-

fums of London’s Harrod’s department store. It is presented in a signature crystal bottle with 24 carat gold lattice-work, 2000 individually set flawless white diamonds, two yellow diamonds and a rare pink diamond. Containing 30ml of the luxury fragrance, the perfume can be hers for $215,000.

If she’s allergic to perfume, or if this is the day you’ve chosen to pop the question, you truly have no limits. The engagement ring Donald Trump gave Slovenian-born model Melania Knauss in 2004, for example, is a 12 carat flawless emerald cut diamond. The ring, featuring tapered diamond baguettes on the side and set in platinum, is reportedly valued at $3 million in today’s market.

Chocolate: The world’s most expensive pure chocolate may be the 2014market newcomer To’ak at $173

an ounce. (forbes.com).

Clive Christian No. 1 Imperial Majesty perfume holds the Guiness Book of

World Records title for mostexpensive perfume in the world (16.9 oz. bottle = $215,000).


If you want to give her the moon and stars look into the night sky at BPM 37093 in the Centaurus Constellation. You’ll find a white dwarf star, nicknamed “Lucy” after the Beatles song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” It is composed of crystallized carbon, which makes it the big-gest diamond in the entire universe, equalling a stone of 10 billion trillion trillion carats.

Okay, so you’re looking for something a little more down to earth? How about flowers? Want to impress her? White flowers of any kind cost more than colors because they bruise more easily. The top 10 most expensive and generally available flowers are: Casa Blanca lilies, gardenias, hydrangeas, lillies of the valley, lisianthus, orchids, peonies, roses, stephanotis, and tulips. What’s thought to be the rarest and most expensive bloom? Many say it’s Sri Lanka’s Kadupul flower, considered priceless because it blossoms right before midnight and dies before dawn.

If the romance of the written word appeals, the novels of Kathleen Woodiwiss will set a passionate pulse a-flutter for this special day. With titles like The Flame and the Flower, The Elusive Flame, and Shanna, Woodiwiss wrote the first historical fiction romance novels and began the genre almost single handedly. The “Queen of Romance Novels” was a Louisiana native, born in 1939.

If you’re not ready to write a novel for your love, you can still give a truly romantic gift to touch the heart and soul of that spe-cial person. For under $50 you can have a personalized romance novel written for you and about you. There are several online sites where filling out a questionnaire enables you to purchase a personalized novel. The books are available in paperback or hard cover. For an additional fee you can even send in your own pho-tos for the cover artwork. Give that to your fan of romance novels and you’ll let loose the fires of passion to leap and roar as her eyes flicker with…..

Anyway, she’ll love it.Dinner out, dinner in, funny card or sentimental one, candy, flowers, perfume, jewelry, or however you choose to celebrate,

Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year dedicated to truly focusing on that certain someone and saying “I love you.”

Perhaps Robert Browning said it best when it comes to this most romantic day –

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.”

Jewelry is a great Valentine’s gift, with diamonds the preferred choice

for many.


IN EVERY LIFE

4255 Carmichael Court N.Montgomery • 334-277-9111

8007 U. S. Highway 231Wetumpka • 334-567-9111

Roy T. Hager, M.D., F.A.C.S. | James D. Izer, M.D.Charles N. Robbins, M.D. | Richard M. Murphy, O.D.

For a free copy of ITEC’s Viewpoint newsletter call 334-277-9111.Visit ITEC’s website at www.eyes-itec.com

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Did you make a New

Year’s resolution or goal? If so, what is the status at one month? Has it been achieved, still in process, or forgotten?

A new year prompts people to consider how to better themselves. However, a survey sponsored by Google found only 20 to 40 percent of people keep resolutions. Research shows adhering to healthy habits such as maintaining a normal weight, getting 2.5 hours a week of exercise, eating a healthy diet and not smoking can reduce a woman's chances of getting heart disease by 90 percent over 20 years (The Journal of the Ameri-can College of Cardiology).

Even so, the most-broken resolutions include health promotion activities — losing weight, exercising more, eating healthier, stopping smoking, managing stress, making or saving more money, or improving a relationship.

Changes in behavior begin with con-templating the benefits and potential barriers to action.

Recommendations from healthcare providers or evidence from studies such as the one above provide motiva-tion to pursue an action. After begin-ning the action, difficulty often occurs in maintaining the change.

As February begins, this may be your experience.

One factor that can impede ac-complishment is not setting realistic goals. Goals must be simple—one or two things that CAN be accomplished. Then, focus on making goals measur-able. “I want to improve my health” is not measurable; “I will walk one mile, five days-a-week” is measurable and

can be evaluated as met, partially met, or not achieved.

Another factor related to keeping goals involves being held accountable. One source relates success rates in accomplishing goals to a variety of ac-countability levels:

A third factor linked to changing hab-its relates to determining the level of motivation needed to make any change. For example:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how motivated are you to make the change? If you answer 7, why is it 7 rather than 5?

What would it take for you to be mo-tivated at a level 9 instead of 7? These answers help you identify what really is your motivation.

Then, on another scale of 1 to 10, how likely do you believe that you will actually accomplish and maintain the change? If the answer is 5 out of 10, why is it 5 rather than 3?

This answer provides insight into forces that will help you achieve your goal.

Then consider why is it 5 rather than 8? This answer will help you to identify barriers that will need to be overcome.

Setting specific goals, finding a person with whom to discuss progress or bar-riers, and identifying levels of motiva-tion or barriers can help revive reso-lutions that are becoming stagnant. I wish for you a happy and healthy 2015!

Arlene H. Morris, EdD, RN, CNE, is Profes-sor of Nursing, Auburn Montgomery School of Nursing, and Immediate Past President of the AL State Nurses Association. Reach her at [email protected].

Get Real With Resolutions

SUCCESS ACCOUNTABILITY10% thought “That was a good idea” 25% thought “I will do it”40% thought “I will do it by a certain date”50% set a plan60% told another person their plan95% made scheduled progress reports to another person

Arlene Morris


SOCIAL SECURITY

If you’re like most people, you protect what’s valuable to you. To protect your family financially,

you buy health and life insurance. To protect your home, you get home-owner’s insurance, a security alarm, or perhaps a large dog. To protect your jewelry, you hide it in a safe place or buy insurance in case you need to replace it. To protect your money, you invest it, perhaps in a bank that offers FDIC coverage.

Social Security is much the same. We value the people we serve, our employees who work hard to provide world-class customer service, and the integrity of our programs.

We protect these by using many tools to identify, prevent, and stop fraud, and we seek the maximum punishment

for those who commit it. The tools we use help us predict where fraud

may occur, and, by monitoring cases

closely, we identify fraud sooner rather

than later. We also have stiff penalties that discour-

age people from committing fraud.Social Security has a zero-tolerance

policy for fraud. While we cannot pre-vent every instance of fraud, any more than law enforcement can prevent all crime, we aggressively investigate and

pursue prosecution of those who try to cheat the system. Our message to those who would defraud Social Security is clear: We will find you; we will prosecute you; we will seek the maximum punishment allowable under the law; and we will fight to restore to the American public the

money you’ve stolen. Social Security takes fraud seriously and so should

you. If you suspect someone is committing Social Security fraud, report it online at http://oig.ssa.gov/report or call the Social Security Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271.

Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached in Montgomery at 866-593-0914, ext. 26265, or by e-mail at [email protected].

Help SOCIAL SECURITY Fight Fraud

Kylle’ McKinney


FEATURE

A recent survey by Fidelity Investments found that 53% of grandparents plan to help pay their grandchildren’s education costs. Grandparents are pitching in for numerous reasons. More families are opting for private primary and secondary

education, post-secondary education costs have risen sharply in recent years, loans instead of grants comprise most financial aid, large student debt loads can be a long-term burden, and parents are often unable to shoulder the entire expense of educating their children. In this environment many grandparents are willing to play a practical role in helping the youngest members of their family.

Good decisions about assisting are based on understanding the pros and cons of various choices. Having gen-eral information before considering specific options may speed up the process and help avoid unpleasant surprises.

Remember, though, that your first responsibility is

your own needs. Realistically assess your own requirements and resources, not only now but for the future, before committing to help. Finding yourself short of money later be-cause you helped your grandchild might cre-ate bigger challenges for your family than the education issues. It is also important to avoid using money as a relationship management tool. If you decide to assist, the following information can help you formulate a plan.

Primary and Secondary (K-12) Educa-tion

If private school for K-12 is in your grandchild’s future, the avenues for assisting are limited. The simplest way is to write the school a check. This avoids gift tax questions. If you prefer, you can give money to the child’s parents. Gifts in excess of $14,000/recipi-ent could be subject to federal gift tax.

If the child is not old enough to attend and you want to get a head start, one tax-advantaged plan is available. Called a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA), it allows for annual cash contributions of $2,000 to an account for a single beneficiary from all sources. In other words, if more than one person will be adding money to an ESA for little Johnny, all donors must coordinate their giving to avoid exceeding the $2,000 annual maximum.

While ESA contributions are not deductible, income taxes are not levied on ap-preciation of the assets in the account. If you have a newborn granddaughter and fund the ESA at the maximum level until she starts school, you may achieve a little tax-

EducatingJunior

By Alan Wallace, CFA, ChFC, CLU


sheltered growth before the money is needed. Funds withdrawn from the account to cover K-12 or post-secondary costs are generally not subject to income tax.

However, given the cost of private K-12 educa-tion in our area, the benefit available from an ESA is pretty limited. Furthermore, ESAs carry other constraints:n Donors are subject to an income limitation.n You cannot establish an account until the

child is born.n You cannot add to it after the child reaches

age 18.n Any remaining balance must be withdrawn

by the child by age 30.

Post-Secondary (College, Vocational & Post-graduate) Education

With few exceptions the cost of post-second-ary education falls mainly on the student and his family. Advance planning and pre-funding can make the burden more manageable.

Twenty years ago the options for accumulat-ing college funds were quite limited. Among the most common was a taxable account set up for that purpose. The account would either be in the name of an adult (a parent or grandparent of the student) or in the name of the student as a UTMA/UGMA account (Uniform Transfer to Minors Act or Uniform Gift to Minors Act). Like most states, Alabama has a UTMA statute allow-ing assets held for the benefit of a juvenile to be controlled by a single custodian until the child reaches majority age. In Alabama, that is age 19, at which time the child gains full legal control of the assets. Since 19-year-olds do not uniformly make rational decisions, UTMA accounts carry clear risks.

Fortunately, Congress created a pair of new options about 20 years ago. Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for two kinds of post-secondary funding accounts or qualified tuition plans: prepaid tuition plans and savings plans. Keep in mind that neither plan guarantees a student admission to any school. One of the best sources of information about both types and the available options is www.savingforcollege.com. (A great site for comparing schools and their costs is www.collegeboard.com.)

Prepaid Tuition PlansGenerally offered by state governments, resi-

dency in that state may be necessary to partici-pate. Federal law does allow individual institutions to set up a plan, but none have done so. One plan, the Private College 529 Plan, is available from a consortium of more than 270 private schools.

State-sponsored prepaid tuition plans are intended to keep pace with the cost of tuition, usually based on an average of the state’s public colleges and universities. Benefits include favorable tax treatment. If the student attends an out-of-state or private school, the plan will generally pay out based on the average of in-state public school costs at the time the student is enrolled. These plans usually cover just tuition and basic fees, not room and board, books, etc.

The plan is controlled by the owner, not the child, and is transferable to another member of the family if the child does not use the plan. A prepaid plan falls into one of two classifica-tions: a prepaid contract plan (prepay for 1-5 years of tuition) and a prepaid unit plan (pre-pay for units that equate to credits or hours of instruction).

If this program sounds familiar, it may be because the Alabama PACT (Prepaid Af-fordable College Tuition) program was a prepaid tuition plan. This program has been closed to new accounts since 2008. One lesson from the demise of AlaPACT that could extend to other prepaid tuition plans is that disappointing investment re-sults and rising tuition costs might prevent them from meeting enrollees’ expectations.

Section 529 College Savings PlansNow holding more than $200 billion, 529 sav-

ings plans have become the preferred method for accumulating funds over the past decade for post-secondary education. Most plans are offered by individual states and may be purchased directly or through a licensed broker who may be paid a commission. Here is a brief summary of the main


features and benefits of these plans.Tax benefits – Although contributions are not de-

ductible for federal purposes, investment gains inside the plan and withdrawals used for qualified expenses are not subject to federal income tax. Most states afford similar treatment. If the student qualifies for a scholarship, funds withdrawn are not subject to the penalty which usually applies to a non-educational withdrawal.

Covered costs – Qualified expenses include books, room and board, in addition to tuition and fees.

Control – The account is controlled by the adult custodian, designated by the donor, not by the child.

Transferability – The beneficiary (student) may be changed to another member of the family, with fairly wide latitude. No age-related deadline forces funds to be withdrawn; a remaining balance could benefit a later generation.

Deposit and balance limits – There is no income cap for funding a 529 savings plan. The amount you contribute is more likely to be limited by your circumstances than by tax law or the rules of the particular program you select. If you plan to make large contributions, consult with your tax advisor about possible gift tax consequences and appropri-ate planning, and check the rules for the plan you want to use.

Flexibility – You may use a plan sponsored by any state (or multiple plans in multiple states). Funds may be moved from one 529 program to another without federal taxation, although state taxes or

benefits may apply in some instances. You may choose from any of the investment choices offered by the plan(s) where you open an account.

Your choice of a particu-lar plan, of which there are dozens, should be based in part on these important considerations:

Contribution and balance caps – Plans set limits on contributions or plan balances. Choose one that fits your needs and goals.

Expenses – Compare plan expenses. Lower costs can help your money deliver more education.

Investment choices – Each plan offers its own investment options. In some cases the choices are those of a single investment organization; in others the plan “cherry picks” options from an array of managers.

State tax benefits – Some states offer tax benefits to in-state residents using their plan. For instance, Alabama residents may deduct up to $5,000 per taxpayer annually for contributions to the Alabama CollegeCounts 529. A couple filing jointly can deduct $10,000/year and save up to $500. In fact, Alabamians can get this benefit on a transfer from another state’s plan. (continued on pg. 24)


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According to Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer, “The Alabama CollegeCounts 529 is the best way to save for your grandchild’s college education. No doubt about it. The program has grown dramatically over the past four years. We now have $1.2 billion of assets under management and

accounts have increased to 71,000. We encourage account holders that have 529s from other states to rollover their accounts to CollegeCounts for the tax benefits available to Ala-bama taxpayers.”

Final ThoughtsIf you decide to help with

educational costs, here are five final items to keep in mind.

1) Have a conversa-tion with the parents of the child(ren) you plan to help. Coordination gener-ally improves the outcome.

The potential benefits of consulting with your child and her spouse include improved relationships, better choices about what plan(s) and investment option(s) to use, and a seamless transition if something happens to you.

2) If you plan to assist multiple grandchildren, opening a single aggregated account may have benefits. Maintaining separate accounts for each child may do nothing but compli-cate your life and increase fees, until you need to segregate money for a child enrolling in college or the account balance reaches the program’s maximum.

3) If you use a single account for the benefit of grandchil-dren by more than one of your children, retain control and make sure that your will prescribes how the account is to be divided if something happens to you.

4) If you use a single account, name the youngest grand-child the beneficiary until the older ones have applied for financial aid. This reduces the risk of having assistance with-held from the older ones because they appear to have a big 529 balance.

5) Do not vastly overfund a 529 account since a 10% pen-alty applies to earnings (not principal) withdrawn for non-qualified expenses.

Post-secondary education provides many benefits, includ-ing improved employment prospects and higher income po-tential. If you choose to help your grandchildren reap these rewards, a well-designed plan can leverage your investment in their future.

Alabama State Treasurer Young Boozer


FEATURE

I’m a sucker for superlatives — highest, hottest, etc. My personal bucket list demands I visit as many “ests” as possible, places that hold the

record for being, in some way, the very best of their category.

I thought compiling the list would be simple, es-pecially after I limited it to the U.S., but of course it wasn’t. I ran into myriad problems of measure-ment and definition. Eventually I came up with my own criteria, based as much on practicality and desirability as on quantifiable data. Here are my recommendations for the Best of the Ests:

Highest I have no intention of actually climbing the tall-

est peak, which rules out Alaska’s Mt. McKinley (20,237 feet), yet I want to do more than peer toward the heavens. Thus, I head for Colorado’s Mount Evans. At 14,265 feet, Mount Evans is a pigmy among giants, but—and this is important—it’s home to the highest paved road. This means you can drive almost all the way to the country’s

highest parking lot, walk a mere quarter mile to the summit and voila’, you’re standing atop the highest reasonably accessible peak in the U.S.

The highway was built between 1917 and 1927 as a means of drawing tourists. It worked. Today the scenic drive—a two-lane ribbon that winds between towering evergreens, open meadows and lovely alpine lakes—is one of Colorado’s top attractions. But be forewarned, the road is closed during winter, usually starting in September. You can still hike or bike to the top, but you can’t drive.

Lowest Choosing the lowest spot is easy. Since I quickly

rule out deep-sea diving and descending into a mine, I’m left with Death Valley, California, which is the lowest point of dry land that was formed by nature as opposed to created by man-and-shovel.

The Valley’s precise lowest point (282 feet below sea level) is near Badwater Basin, which sits amidst nearly 200 square miles of salt flats.

The “Ests” QuestBy Andrea Gross; photos by Irv Green

Extremes in the U.S.

Highest parking lot in the U.S. -- Mt. Evans, Colorado. Lowest spot in the U.S. -- Death Valley, California.


A boardwalk lets visitors walk part way into the basin, but most folks step down onto the actual flats. The landscape is bizarre but beautiful, a pattern of interlocking shapes created by the valley’s unique combination of extreme heat, minimal rainfall and low elevation.

DriestHere I run into trouble. Calexico, a small town on the California-Mex-

ico border, has the lowest annual rainfall, but Death Valley has the most consecutive days with no rainfall.

In the end I opt for neither. In my mind, “dry” suggests a place where I can mount a camel and ride endless miles across towering sand dunes. Calexico is dune-less, and while Death Valley has dunes, they aren’t record-setters. For that I have to go to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, which although devoid of camels has 750-foot tall sand piles, the highest in North America.

Later I learn that the dunes aren’t really dry. In fact, it’s the moist layer of sand right under the surface that holds the upper dry sand in place. But that’s okay. At this point in my Quest-Est, I’m more concerned with imagery than scientific accuracy.

TOP: Visitors to Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo-rado, bring boogie boards to sand-surf the dunes.RIGHT: A pair of hikers, dwarfed by the park’s dunes.

For resources to plan your own “Ests” Quest, check out this article on our website, PrimeMontgomery.com.


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Wettest As for the wettest place, I must choose between the soggi-

est land or the drippiest sky. Since I don’t have a pair of wet boots but own several umbrellas, I decide on Hawaii’s Mount Waleleale. Then I learn that the mountain’s average rainfall exceeds 38 feet a year — a fact that greatly dampens my enthusiasm (pardon the pun) — so I restrict my search to

the contiguous U.S. and end up on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

While the Aber-deen Reservoir is the rainiest place with 130.6 inches a year, Forks, Washington, is the rainiest town with 120 inches a

year. More important, it’s given this acco-lade not only by the

National Climatic Data Center, but also by Stephenie Meyer, who used it as a setting for her Twilight book series. Why, I may even spot a vampire along the shore or amidst the trees. This makes Forks a double superlative—winner of both the wettest and the weirdest categories.

ColdestOnce I exclude non-contiguous Alaska, Rogers Pass, Montana,

holds the record for a one-day temperature low (-70ºF). However, the peak of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington wins the title for all-time year-around cold (annual average temperature of 27º). In addition, with wind gusts that some-times reach more than 230 mph, it’s also considered the windiest place in the United States.

Therefore, with masochistic determination, I head to the summit. The road is steep, narrow and bordered with deadly drop-offs, but the view on top is spectacular. What’s more, at the Weather Discovery Center in nearby North Conway, I learn Mount Washington holds bragging rights to the best Est of all: Home of the World’s Worst Weather.

It’s a perfect way to end my search. The title of “Worst” makes Mount Washington the “Best.”

Forks, Washington, setting for the “Twilight” book series.

For bad weather, visit Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.


TINSELTOWN TALKS

While today’s tele-vision landscape is littered with

so-called reality program-ming, westerns dominated the airways in the 1960s. One of the most popular was The Virginian, which ran for nine seasons on NBC from 1962-1971. It starred James Drury as the un-named, mystery foreman of the Shiloh ranch, set in Medicine Bow, Wy.

Drury celebrated his 80th birthday in April and, far from retiring, continues to travel the country greet-ing fans at western festivals (www.thevirginian.net). He is also resurrecting his tough but honorable cowboy character in a new show for kids that combines live-action and animation.

“It’s called Billy and the Bandit aimed at 8 to10-year-olds, but adults can enjoy it, too,” said Drury from his home in Houston. “Billy is the great, great, grandson of ‘The Virginian’ and confined to a wheel-chair. He is told tales of the old West by his grandfather, played by me, and fantasizes about western adventures as he falls asleep. All kinds of stories come out of that.”

By Nick ThomasPhotos courtesy of James Drury

James DruryIntroducing “The Virginian”

to New Audiences

Drury as “The Virginian” then, (above and opposite, bottom right), and now, (opposite, top, and bottom left) sporting his signature black hat.


With the pilot script now completed and cast and crew filming, Drury reunites in the new series with his old “Virginian” costars, Roberta Shore and Gary Clarke.

“It’s an exciting project,” Drury said. “We’re looking forward to telling some great stories for families every week.”

Currently broadcast on cable’s INSP TV, Drury isn’t surprised The Virginian has re-mained popular with audiences for more than 50 years.

“It was the first 90-minute western on TV and that gave our writers an opportunity to explore detailed stories,” he explained. “It was like doing a movie every week. We also had a wonderful cast of continuing characters, and with the great writing, the finest actors in Hol-lywood wanted guest starring roles – George C. Scott, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Robert Redford come to mind. Every day I’d go off to the set excited about the wonderful actors I’d be working with.”

But starring in a weekly 90-minute series was demanding.“Some days we would be filming parts of five different

episodes, so it required a lot of mental concentration,” said Drury. “I had a strong work ethic, so I didn’t mind. I did the show for nine years, but would have been delighted to con-tinue for another ten!”

With his rugged good looks and wrangling experience,

Drury was a natural TV cowboy.“I’ve been riding horses since

I was in diapers!” said Drury. “My grandfather put me on his Belgian plow horse when I was just a toddler. The animal was so broad, my legs stuck straight out on both sides like I was doing the splits. It’s one of my earliest memories.”

Born in New York City, Drury spent time growing up on his parents’ Oregon ranch and developed an interest in acting after performing in a Christmas play as a child. He later returned to New York for stage work before mov-ing to Hollywood. Along with wife Carl Ann, Drury has lived in Houston for 35 years, and off-screen has competed in cutting horse competitions, polo, and dressage.

“Texas has been good to me,” said Drury. “I’ve worked with many great horse train-ers here and up through Oklahoma. I love it all – the dust, the sweat, the sunshine,

and the smell of the horses.”As he did in The Virginian, Drury plans to bring his love of

the old West to Billy and the Bandit and is confident audi-ences will embrace the show.

“There are so many cable chan-nels now looking for new content,” he said. “Westerns were morality plays where good always triumphed over evil and people respond to that. Our show retains those values of the old West. Parents and grand-parents can watch it with the kids, and that’s a valuable fam-ily experience these days.”

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 450 magazines and newspapers.


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2015

8:00-10:00 AM

Begins and ends at Baptist Medical Center East

301 Brown Springs Road

Join us for the 2nd Annual Montgomery Red Dress Dash 5k.

Put on your favorite–or not so favorite–red dress and help us dash the myths about

Heart Disease in women!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a women, we need your help to fight the

No. 1 killer of women, heart disease.

REGISTER online today!

www.active.comSearch: Red Dress Dash, Montgomery, AL

Montgomery Red Dress Dash sponsored by:

Nationally sponsored by:

For more information:American Heart Association Local Office

[email protected](205) 510-1523

Register online at www.active.com

Locally sponsored by:


2014-15 SeasonClassical Season Concert I • Monday, October 13 • 7:30pm Concert II • Monday, November 24 • 7:30pm Concert III • Monday, December 15 • 7:30pm Concert IV • Monday, February 16 • 7:30pmConcert V • Monday, April 27 • 7:30pm

Fellowship Series Cello, November 13 • 7:30pmViolin, December 4 • 7:30pmCello, January 13 • 7:30pmViolin, February 10 • 7:30pmCello, March 29 • 2:30pmViolin, April 16 • 7:30pm

Montgomery Symphony Orchestra

montgomerysymphony.org / 240-4004

For Reservations Call 334-356-46626268 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery

Tuesday-Friday11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.4:30 - 9:00 p.m.Saturday6:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.4:30 - 9:00 p.m.

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GAMES

Across1 Elevates6 Nearly15 Reaction to flatness16 Not predestined17 1975 Pulitzer winner for

criticism18 Early German fliers19 Whiskey purchase20 Jolts21 Substantive part22 Sanskrit term of respect23 Old Spanish bread25 Safe investment choices28 Bad mark33 "Monster" Oscar winner34 Court service35 Accessory36 "Shirt Front and Fork"

artist37 Drum accompanying a

fife38 Team nicknamed the

Halos, briefly40 Risk41 Five-time 30-game win-

ner of early baseball42 Got tight43 Moisture overload re-

sults, in plants

45 Manhattan part47 Door support51 Source of a cc52 "Lolita" co-star, 196254 Side unit56 One way to think57 Court expert58 "The Liberty Bell" com-

poser59 Made more attractive, as

a deal60 Serf

Down1 Gripes2 Event celebrated in

"Through the Looking-Glass"

3 When "you're gonna want me for your girl," in a 1963 hit

4 Mongolian dwelling5 Jedi foes6 Spices (up)7 Eye parts8 Absorbed9 Adviser of a sort10 Cannon attachment11 Soother12 Drama Desk relative

13 Prismatic bone14 Lab work23 Parker product24 "The Joy Luck Club" author26 Campus town near Bangor27 Shoe part29 Semi-hard cheeses30 Album that includes "Michelle"31 Disbeliever's comeuppance32 London flat?33 It's 1 on the Mohs scale34 Some coll. students36 Constantine native39 Back40 Some microwaves42 Caught stealing, say44 Chop up46 Stop by47 Little bits48 Fresh49 Place for a rock group?50 Something to pick?52 Plymouth potato dish53 11-Down substance55 Young louse 2015 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.©

Crossword and Sudoku answers on page 36.


Theatre, Art, Wine, Health, Estates, Ballet, Bunco

Wetumpka Depot Players“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”Feb. 5-7, 12-14, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 8 2 p.m. For tickets call 334-868-1440 or visit wetumpkadepot.com.Box office open Wed.-Fri., 9a-3p. 300 S. Main St., Wetumpka.

Montgomery Museum of Fine ArtsWinter Season. Free-- Rewind: Art of the 1980s, through Mar. 1

-- Canaletto’s Vedute Prints: An Exhibition in Honor of Adolph Weil, Jr. , through Mar. 8-- An Invitation to the Ball: Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Fancy Dress Costumes, through Mar. 18-- Reflections: African- American Life from the Myrna Colley-Lee

Collection, through Mar. 8Open Tues.-Sat., 10a-5p.; Thur., 10a-9p; Sun. noon-5 p.

Night of Discovery: A Tour of West Coast WineMontgomery Museum of Fine Arts. Feb. 12, 6-8:30p.Live music by the LoFi Loungers. Six signature red and white wines paired with tapas-style food. Food and wine experts on hand. Space limited, reservations required. Tickets $50/per-son MMFA member, $60/person non-members. Buy online at https://secure.qgiv.com/for/montgomery/event/449496/or call 334. 240.4350 or email [email protected] by Mon., Feb. 2, 2015.

Senior Health and Wellness Expo. FreeEastdale Mall. Sat., Feb. 18, 10a-2p. Health screenings, wellness advice for seniors door prizes. Visit Prime advertiser Wesley Gar-dens’ booth while at the Expo.

Estate Planning/Asset Protection Workshop. FreeArchibald Senior Center115 East Jefferson St., Montgomery, AL. Wed., Feb.18,1:30-3:30p.Wills, trusts, powers of at-torney, advance directives, living wills, more. Registration required. Call 334-625-6774 or register online, www.redo-aklegalpc.com. Conducted by Red Oak Legal, PC.

Ballet “Cinderella”Alabama Dance TheatreDavis Theatre for the Performing ArtsFeb. 27, 7:30p., Sat. Feb. 28 2:30p., Sun. Mar. 1, 2:30p.Tickets $15-$30. On-sale Feb. 9. For information or tickets call 334-241-2590 or visit alabamadancetheatre.com. Following Sat. and Sun. matinées children can attend Cinderella’s ball and meet Cinderella and friends in the palace (additional $10).

Scholarship Fundraiser, “Bunco” NightDoor prizes, cash prizes, raffle. American Business Women’s Association, River Region Chapter. Tues., Mar. 10, 6:30p.AllSouth Appliance508 N.E. Blvd, MontgomeryTickets $25 (advanced)$30 (door).For information contactTracy Raybon, 334-294-2752.

Way Off Broadway Theater, Prattville“Odd Couple” (female version!)March 12, 7:30p. (Opening Night)Mar. 13-29 (Fri. & Sat.) 7:30p.Sun. 2 p. For advance tickets call 334-595-0854.


MEDICARE

There are some changes to Medicare in 2015, and we’ll outline those here. The best news, however, is that there are no changes in Medicare’s Part B premium and

deductible. The standard premium for the part of Medicare that covers doctor visits and outpatient care will remain at $104.90 per month in 2015, which means more of your Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will stay in your pocket.

A small number of people with Medicare – about 4 percent – pay surcharges on their Part B premiums because their an-nual incomes exceed $85,000. They, too, will see no increase in their premiums for physician visits and outpatient services. The Part B deductible for 2015 will also remain the same as in 2014 – $147. That’s what you pay out of pocket for doctor appointments and outpatient care at the beginning of each year before your Medicare coverage kicks in and helps to cover costs.

Bigger discounts on drugs in the “doughnut hole”

If you have a Medicare drug plan, the health care law is shrinking the coverage gap, or “doughnut hole,” and what you pay out of pocket when you’re in it. For 2015, the gap begins once you and your drug plan together have spent $2,960.

When you reach the doughnut hole, you’ll receive bigger discounts on brand-name drugs – 55 percent in 2015, instead of 53 percent this past year – and larger price breaks on generics – 35 percent in 2015, instead of 28 percent previously. The discounts will continue to grow, year by year, until 2020.

“Dis-enrollment” from Medicare Advantage plans

If you’re unhappy with your private Medicare Advantage health plan, an annual “dis-enrollment” period allows you to return to the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program un-til Feb. 14. You can also pick a drug plan to go with your new coverage.

A word of caution here: There are a few things you can’t do during the six-week “dis-enrollment” period. You can’t switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another. Nor can you switch from the traditional Medicare program to an Advantage plan. Most people will need to wait until the annual enrollment period in the fall to make either of those changes.

If you pay a Part A premium, it’ll shrinkPart A covers inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nurs-

ing facility, hospice services and some home health care. Most beneficiaries, or their spouses, have worked long enough to qualify for premium-free Part A coverage. For the 1 percent who must pay, their monthly premium will drop from $426 to $407 in 2015.

The Part A deductible that beneficiaries pay when admit-ted to the hospital will increase modestly – from $1,216 to $1,260. Once you meet your deductible, Medicare covers the full cost of your first 60 days in the hospital – there’s no co-

payment.

Medicare’s websites make com-parisons easier

Medicare’s “compare” websites – found at www.medicare.gov – are good places to begin your research when looking for a nursing home, hospital, home health agency, dialysis facility or physician. This year, Medicare will make the websites even simpler to use.

The nursing home compare and the physician compare websites already dis-play star ratings and have proved espe-cially popular with consumers. Similar star ratings will be added in 2015 to help you compare hospitals, home health agencies and dialysis facilities.

Access to your personal health information

Having ready access to your Medicare claims data gives you a better understanding of your health information and greater control. It also makes it easier to share your medical history with doctors, caregivers or anyone else you choose.

Visit mymedicare.gov to use Medicare’s “blue button” today. You can download 12 to 36 months of claims information for Medicare Parts A and B, and 12 months of claims information for Part D, to your computer or mobile device.

This overview of the noteworthy changes to Medicare are expanded on in great detail in the “Medicare and You 2015” handbook you received in the mail. You can also visit www.medicare.gov and download a free digital version of the hand-book to your e-reader.

Bob Moos is Southwest public affairs officer for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Medicare Changes for 2015By Bob Moos

Theatre, Art, Wine, Health, Estates, Ballet, Bunco

Estate Planning/Asset Protection Workshop. FreeArchibald Senior Center115 East Jefferson St., Montgomery, AL. Wed., Feb.18,1:30-3:30p.Wills, trusts, powers of at-torney, advance directives, living wills, more. Registration required. Call 334-625-6774 or register online, www.redo-aklegalpc.com. Conducted by Red Oak Legal, PC.

Scholarship Fundraiser, “Bunco” NightDoor prizes, cash prizes, raffle. American Business Women’s Association, River Region Chapter. Tues., Mar. 10, 6:30p.AllSouth Appliance508 N.E. Blvd, MontgomeryTickets $25 (advanced)$30 (door).For information contactTracy Raybon, 334-294-2752.


MACOA’s 21st Annual Culinary CaperBenefitting Meals On WheelsSun., Mar. 1, 12:30 p.m. AL Activity Center, 201 Dexter Ave.Sponsorships $1,200 & $3,500Tickets $75/ea. Montgomery chefsprepare special dishes. Silent Auction.For reservations call Chacolby Burns-Johnson,334-263-0532, e-mail [email protected] to 300 guests


PRIME DIVERSIONS

John Wick, St. Vincent & Dumb and Dumber ToRecent dvd releases

John Wick (R) Keanu Reeves stars in a

rather standard-issue revenge flick, stylistically bearing more resemblance to shoot-em-up video games than to cinematic crime fare. He plays a go-to hit man for Russian mobsters who was allowed to retire from the biz for true love about five years earlier. But just after his wife dies, the son of his former boss unwittingly messes with the wrong guy, and at the worst possible time. Thus begins the ensuing bloodbath.

Reeves’ eponymous character is described as being so cold-blooded and efficient at his former craft that he’s not the Boogeyman - he’s the one you send to kill the Boogeyman. It’s a natural vehicle for Reeves, since few displays of emotion, or even lines of dialog, are required. Willem Da-friend-or-foe (you’ll understand when you see it), Ian McShane, John Leguizamo and Bridget Moynihan appear in roles that are surprisingly small for such a non-prestigious piece of escapism. Directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, both having plenty of experience in flicks trading far more heavily on brawn than brains, deliver all the adrenalin rushes one might hope to find in an efficient package. Forget your cerebral functions; this one’s all visceral. In fact, I probably shouldn’t have used the term “eponymous”; it’s thematically overqualified. (DVD Release: Feb. 3)

St. Vincent (PG-13) Bill Murray shines as a curmudgeon with a gooey center in

this sentimental comedy that gets surprisingly good mileage from a familiar premise. A single mom (Melissa McCarthy) with an undersized son moves into the house next to Bill’s run-down abode. He seems to hate everyone - himself includ-ed - but winds up baby-sitting for the lad while mom works

many late nights to support them. Bill boozes excessively, gambles poorly and spends considerable time with a preg-nant hooker (delightfully played against type by Naomi Watts). There are also some more admirable aspects of his history and nature lurking beneath the hard shell he’s so masterfully crafted.

The inevitable ups and downs of such set-ups play out as they must, but the cast and some sharp dialog from writer/director Ted Melfi (especially impressive, since this is his fea-ture debut wearing either of those hats) make the heart and humor sides work quite nicely. Even the sillier developments

seem tolerable just because the actors do so well individually and collectively. It’s particularly gratifying to see McCarthy in such a relatively low-key role after so many over-the-top gigs in broad comedies like The Heat, Identity Thief and the Hangover series. Her character is arguably the sanest, calmest one in the bunch, giving her fans a fine change of pace. But it’s Murray’s superb mix of sarcasm and soft-ness that holds it all hold together. This may be the natural progression of his persona, from the overgrown man-child of Stripes and two Ghostbusters outings, to his odd competition with a shrewd teenager in Rushmore, to the lost soul of Broken Flowers, to this surly old guy who yells at the neighbors while wishing he knew how to be friends with them. The net result is viewers who will laugh enough along the way before misting up at the end. Game, set and match. (DVD Release: Feb. 17)

Dumb and Dumber To (PG-13)

If you remember anything about Jim Carrey and Jeff Dan-iels pairing up 20 years ago to play a couple of likeable dopes who made Bill And Ted or Beavis and Butthead look like Rhodes Scholars, you know exactly what to expect from their reunion. Neither Harry nor Lloyd got any smarter, which leaves them ill-prepared for a road trip to find the previously-unknown daughter of one, who may be the True Love of the other...or something like that.

The plot is no more than an excuse for a bunch of low-brow-to-grossout gags that push the limits of its PG-13 rating, although the Farrelly Brothers and their co-conspirators man-age to sneak in a touch of coherence and (arguable) clever-ness to their product. The worst part about the experience is the shame one may feel immediately after gasping for breath from laughing so hard at some of its most outrageous, if not offensive, moments. Don’t watch with the kids; don’t watch with the prudes, or those easily nauseated. The rest (mostly those with arrested adolescent development) can relish a per-fect example of guilty-pleasure flicks. (DVD Release: Feb.17)

Mark Glass is an officer and director of the St. Louis Film Critics Association.

Mark Glass


OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Niko Corley

I got the call an hour into our trip. My youngest pup - hardly a pup any longer at nearly four years - was casually roam-ing the neighborhood in that worry-free way only dogs who know their owners won’t be back for a few days can manage.“Do you have a dog named Bella?” the voice on the phone

asked.I did indeed, but she never left the yard without me. Know-

ing Coco’s penchant for escape and my own thrifty tendency to reuse dog collars, I described my younger dog to the caller. It was a positive ID. A call to my father-in-law, who was in town and down the street, placed Coco back into our yard and our trip back on schedule.Except it didn’t. The trip went well but unbe-

knownst to me until arrival back home, four more times that weekend Coco scaled the six-foot privacy fence. Thanks to my gracious father-in-law and understanding neighbors, what was certainly an inconvenience for all of them wound up being only a minor issue.As we drove, my wife and I discussed Coco’s

nose for both birds and trouble, possessing an uncanny ability to find each in places neither clearly resides. While we were thankful to have her back in the yard and appreciative she hadn’t ended our family vacation early, we knew from past experience most “fixes” with Coco were only temporary solutions.Coco was nothing if she wasn’t predictable. A

creature of habit, once a new form of entertain-ment - be it sneaking off to chew duck decoys one by one or repeatedly scaling a newly-discov-ered low spot in the fence - the first shot was always but a taste of the volley to come. On more than one occasion, I’d look out into the yard to see contents of the playhouse we used as a makeshift store room strewn about the lawn. The entrance was blocked, but she somehow always found her way inside.For a week straight a year ago, our chickens lived in constant

terror when Coco found a foothold in the ornamental spacing of the brick wall separating our courtyard and garden where the hens resided. I’d hear them screeching frantically and walk out back to find all of them fighting for the limited real estate of the coop’s roof while Coco stood rigid, pointing the “covey” of hens.It was laughable until she claimed one kill and another seri-

ous maiming, after which I watched Coco like a hawk. She must have known it too, playing it cool until she saw the split in blinds disappear. When I finally caught her in the act, I

locked her in her crate, went straight to the store, bought an invisible fence collar and kit and spent the next two hours installing it in the dark. After a few eye-opening zaps, Coco dared not go near the brick wall, and the chickens were safe once again.Before long, she found a low spot in the chain link fence

between us and one of our neighbors. Though none of us save Coco knew of it, there was a limb that had fallen against the fence and nearly parallel to the ground, roughly half the dis-

tance to the fence top. I’d step out the back door to take out the trash and find Coco on the wrong side of our fence!When I finally caught her mid-escape, I

watched intently as she used the limb as a step to spring over into the neighbor’s yard. She then crawled under their fence and ran back around our house to the back door. For fun, I put her back in our yard to see

how long it would take to repeat. In two min-utes, there was the tap-tap-tap of a dog’s tail at our back door. Out came the spool of invisible fence wire and the trenching shovel, making fully two sides of our back yard Coco-proof.But none of it should’ve surprised me. Be-

cause she loves the water so, we’d taught her as a pup to climb swimming pool ladders on the

off chance that if she fell in and no one was around, she could climb out. It was a cool trick, albeit one that came with unforeseen complications. To date, she’s climbed ladders of every variety, fences of wood, metal and stone, and has scaled trees after birds, possums, squirrels and pears until there are no more limbs within reach.

When we arrived home from our trip, I made a beeline for the invisible fencing kit and once again spent several headlamp-illuminated hours burying wire in hopes of keep-ing Coco contained. With this latest run, three-fourths of our back yard is now Coco proof. Since then however, I’ve noticed her eyeing the only remaining invisible fence-free portion of our prop-erty. If I were a betting man, that stretch would be the odds-on favorite for our Houdini hound’s next escape. I’ll keep the headlamp ready.

Niko Corley, a licensed charter boat captain, spends as much of his free time as possible on the water or in the woods. He can be reached at [email protected].

A Nose for Trouble


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prime magazine feb. 2015

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