More than 125,000 readers throughout Greater BaltimoreVOL.12, NO.3

I N F O C U S F O R P E O P L E O V E R 5 0MARCH 2015

I N S I D E …

F R E E

By Carol SorgenGianni Toso’s Mount Washington home

is a long way from his native Venice, Italy,but he carries with him 700 years of hisfamily’s tradition as Murano glassmakers.

The Venetian island of Murano has spe-cialized in fancy glassware for centuries, de-veloping or refining many glassmaking tech-nologies that are still used today in the craft-ing of pieces ranging from contemporary artglass and glass figurines, to glass chande-liers, wine stoppers and tourist souvenirs.

Toso is one of the pre-eminent glassblow-ing artists in the world today. His works canbe found in galleries and private collectionsthroughout the United States, Australia, Bel-gium, Germany, Israel and Japan.

Toso, 72, and his wife Karyn moved toBaltimore 20 years ago (first having settledin New Jersey after moving to the U.S.).

“I had first been to Baltimore in 1972and felt comfortable here in a way I didn’tin New Jersey,” he said (perhaps in partbecause of Baltimore’s large OrthodoxJewish community, of which the Tosos aremembers).

An early start to his artThough Toso earned a Master of Fine

Arts degree in painting, glassblowing has al-ways been in his blood. He began workingin a glass factory at the age of 10 — withouthis parents’ permission or knowledge —earning $1 a week to keep the factory’s fur-nace stoked with wood. (In some ways, notmuch has changed; a wood-burning stoveheats the studio that Toso built himself adja-cent to his Northwest Baltimore home.)

Once his parents found out about hissubterfuge, they allowed the young Giannito keep working at the factory, as long ashe attended school at night.

At the age of 14, Toso became a studentat the prestigious Abate Zanetti fine artsacademy on the island of Murano, wherefor seven years he followed a curriculumthat included geometric design, art histo-ry and painting. The school’s philosophywas that through a well-rounded educationartists can create new forms.

At the same time that he was studying atthe academy, Toso learned the practicalaspects of glassblowing by working in 12different factories over the course of 14

years, making everything from chande-liers to goblets to ashtrays.

When he was 23, Toso opened his ownsmall studio, producing lampworked sou-venirs. (Lampworking is a type of glass-work where a torch or lamp is primarilyused to melt the glass. Once in a moltenstate, the glass is formed by blowing andshaping with tools and hand movements.)

Four years later, Toso opened a studioin the Jewish ghetto of Venice, where hecreated a line of 12 animal figurines that hesold to souvenir shops in San Marco.

A whirlwind romanceIt was also at that studio that Toso met

his wife. “She stopped in my studio looking for a

kosher restaurant,” he recalled. “It was al-ready late in the day and the restaurantswould soon be closed, so I told her that ifshe wanted a kosher meal, she would haveto eat in my home. Seven hours later, wedecided to get married.”

Like a glassblower knows when the pre-cise moment has arrived to execute a shape,said Toso, so did he know that the seeminglysudden decision to get married made sense.

“You know when the time is right (forglassblowing or marriage!)…not a minutesooner or later!” he said.

Venice brought Toso more than a wife.It was there that he began to be recog-nized for his art. In 1969 his massive chess

Gianni Toso, one of the world’s pre-eminent glassblowing artists, works on one of hispieces in his Mt. Washington studio. He moved to Baltimore 20 years ago from Mu-rano, an island near Venice known for its ancient tradition of glassmaking.

See GLASS BLOWER, page 28

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For the past two months, I’ve been writingin this column about the financial pit that weare digging for ourselves as acountry. At least, that’s oneway of looking at the trillionsof dollars of expanding deficitsembedded in our federal andstate government budgets.Our demographic trajecto-

ry (rapidly aging population,expanding longevity, dwin-dling proportion of currentworkers to retired workers,etc.) suggests this imbalancebetween revenues and costswill only get worse by the day. I have tried to make the

case for a realistic assessment of the prob-lem, and suggested a wide variety of stepswe can take, both as individuals and asgovernment entities, to ameliorate theconsequences that will otherwise overtakeus in just a few years. While I have received a number of

thoughtful letters from readers (some ofwhich appear below), I also was recentlysent a proposed article by a Dr. StanleyRiggs of Florida. He is plugging a book herecently wrote, entitled Build Wealth &Spend It All, Live the Life You Earned.He did not send, and I have not read, the

book. But I read his article, and the argumenthe made intrigued me at first.

His premise, based on hisfamily’s experience, is thathard-working savers like hisparents scrimped and sacri-ficed their whole lives, dutifullysaving for retirement. But in hismother’s last years, the entiresum was “completely drainedby the nursing home in lessthan 18 months.” I was with him that far. I

knew many older adults (in-cluding my own mother) whospent their last dollars in amatter of months, or a couple

of years at most, paying for nursing homecare. But Riggs’ epiphany was not that his

parents should have tried to save more ifthey could, but rather, that they shouldhave spent all their savings much earlier intheir lives (or given it away to family orcharities), when they could have enjoyedits benefits more. He suggests his motherwould have been better off had she en-tered the nursing home eligible for Medi-caid and died poor. He seems to be saying that since her

last years were destined to be unpleasant

anyway, and since having lots of money ina nursing home doesn’t get you serviceany better than that provided fellow resi-dents who have no assets, what was thepoint to following all that “save for retire-ment” advice? Furthermore, he points out that, in gen-

eral, the current advice of estate planningprofessionals is to allocate your invest-ments among cash, stocks and bonds, andto spend about 4 percent of the total eachyear, adjusted for inflation. In most cases (assuming continued earn-

ings, and no significant losses, in your in-vestments), that should enable you to grad-ually deplete your savings over 25 or 30years. The goal is to preserve your financialindependence for as long as possible. But he finds this, too, to be foolish, in

that “traditional estate planning seeks topreserve your net worth up to, and usuallybeyond, your life, with the remainderbeing distributed to your heirs, attorneysand the taxman.” Instead, Riggs advocates the “I’m spend-

ing it all” approach, as his book title suggests.Since no one knows the date of his or her(natural) death, this requires a “tolerance forbeing almost broke” at the end, as he says. But then he asks, “Do I want to be the

patient in the nursing home with the mostmoney, or the one with the greatest memo-ries? Would I rather be rich and have bro-ken dreams, or be broke but have richmemories?”From a purely selfish perspective, I sup-

pose his approach makes sense. Like thebumper sticker, “I’m spending my chil-dren’s inheritance,” it glorifies the GreedyGeezer stereotype.I tell you about this approach not to praise

it, but to bury it, if possible. For I do consid-er it to be purely selfish, and despicably so. I am not saying we need to continuously

deprive ourselves of pleasures throughoutlife. Far from it. When we have reasonable

incomes, after setting aside reasonableportions for savings, we are entitled toenjoy the fruits of our labors. And if we are confident there will be

money left over after we are gone, I think itmakes sense to give at least some of it asgifts to our children and grandchildren whilewe are still alive to watch them enjoy it. Both of those behaviors are not only

normative, but they teach important les-sons to our families and to others: thatthere are rewards for a life well-lived andthat planning ahead has benefits. But to encourage people of means to

spend themselves into poverty, with theexpectation that their fellow taxpayers willfoot the bill for their last years, is not onlyirresponsible, it holds the potential to im-poverish our entire country.Currently, mandated spending on Social

Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare pro-grams and interest on the federal debt con-sumes two-thirds of the federal budget.Medicaid, an entitlement that is typicallyhalf-funded by state governments, is a rap-idly growing share of every state’s budget.Considering the more than 75 million

mostly affluent baby boomers now head-ing into retirement, what it would coststate and federal governments (i.e., us tax-payers) to cover all of that generation’slong-term care costs would no doubtcrowd out most discretionary funding,leaving little or nothing for healthcare, ed-ucation, social services, you name it. That might bring pleasure to one gener-

ation of fortunate, well-off Americans, butcould well put an end to the Americandream for everyone else for decades. I’d like to know what you think. Please

share your opinion with us via letter, fax,email or website comment.

Should we spend it all?

2 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

BeaconThe

I N F O C U S F O R P E O P L E O V E R 5 0

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915(410) 248-9101 • Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.comSubmissions: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial is the 1st of themonth preceding the month of publication. Deadline for ads is the 1st of the month preceding the monthof publication. See page 31 for classified advertising details. Please mail or email all submissions.

© Copyright 2015 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedi cated to inform, serve, and en ter tain the citi zens of the Greater Baltimore area, and is pri vate ly owned. Other editionsserve Howard County, Md., Greater Washington DC andGreater Palm Springs, Calif.Subscriptions are available via third-class mail ($12),

pre paid with order. Maryland residents add 6 percent forsales tax. Send sub scrip tion order to the office listedbelow.

Publication of advertising contained herein doesnot necessarily con sti tute en dorse ment. Signed col -umns represent the opinions of the writers, and notnecessarily the opinion of the publisher.

• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal• Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal• Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei• Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel• Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King• Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben• Contributing Editor..........................Carol Sorgen• Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory• Advertising Representatives ............Steve Levin, ........................................................................Jill Joseph

• Editorial Assistant ........................Rebekah Sewell

FROM THEPUBLISHERBy Stuart P. Rosenthal

Letters to the editorReaders are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD

20915, or e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

Dear Editor:This is in response to the column “Fac-

ing facts, part II” that appeared in the Feb-ruary Beacon.This is not totally a personal issue, as it is

also a political and economic issue. On anyEcon 101 chart, you have a revenue line, anexpenditure line, and the distance betweenthe two is the budget gap. The question ishow to get these two lines to converge.The answer is political will. You have

been around as long as I have, and youknow as well as I do, that no politician hasthe will to take any constructive action tosolve a real problem.Until this happens, we will continue on

this path toward who knows where.Malcolm PriceEaston, Md.

Dear Editor:It’s no secret that having a circle of

friends equates with good health, as yourFebruary cover story (Good friends bringgood health”) says. That’s not the only ad-vantage. As Robert D. Putnam shows in hisbook, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Re-vival of American Community, the benefitsof “social capital” are immense. Through careful research, he illustrates

the ways communities with supportive net-works have higher percentages of school

See LETTERS TO EDITOR, page 11

By Daniel PendickSmartphones and tablets combine an

extraordinary amount of portable comput-ing power with Internet connections viacell phone signal and WiFi. Many healthentrepreneurs are trying to harness thatpower to help people get healthier. Accord-ing to one estimate, the number of healthapps for phones may already top 40,000.Now the tough question: Do they actual-

ly work? A study published last fall in theAnnals of Internal Medicine on one popularweight-loss app finds that the answer is“not so much.” But the reason may liemore with the user than the product.Researchers at the University of California-

Los Angeles put to scientific scrutiny a freeapp called MyFitnessPal. It’s based on re-search on how people make changes in theirhabits. The company claims it has more than50 million registered users, and was recentlyacquired by Baltimore-based Under Armour.MyFitnessPal is a web-connected food

journal and weight loss coach. A user can ac-cess a database of more than 4 million foods,and add what he or she ate to a daily log. The app calculates the number of calo-

ries consumed and compares them to the

daily calorie goal, which the app computesbased on the user’s current weight, goalweight and desired rate of weight loss.The researchers randomly assigned

more than 200 overweight middle-agedwomen to one of two groups: One used My-FitnessPal as a weight-loss aid, the othertalked to a primary care doctor about weightissues but did not use MyFitnessPal. Thewomen’s progress was assessed at threeand six months — long enough to detect asignificant difference in weight loss amongthese relatively motivated calorie counters.The app users lost an average of about 5

pounds — but so did the non-app users.That means, at least in this study, recom-mending a weight-loss app to people whowant to lose weight isn’t much better thangetting advice from a doctor. One reasonmay be that use of MyFitnessPal fell offquickly — from an average of five times aweek at the start of the study to just overonce a week by the second month.

Attempting a better approachSimply giving people an app to track

their data is not enough to create positivehealth outcomes, said Dr. Kamal Jethwani,

the head of research and innovation at theCenter for Connected Health at PartnersHealthCare (Boston, Mass.) and assistantprofessor of dermatology at Harvard Med-ical School.Many health apps still lack the built-in

intelligence to figure out what particularmix of features — coaching, social connec-tions, and financial or other incentives —can provide sufficient motivation to fuelreal change.“There are many examples of apps that

do one of the three right,” Jethwani said. “Ihave not seen one that does several thingsvery well.”To help change that, Jethwani and his

colleagues at the Center for Connected

Health are developing a smarter app calledText 2 Move to spur healthier behaviors inpeople with diabetes. This dynamic phone messaging system

tracks a user’s activity and location, andprovides him or her with personalized, mo-tivating messages and other feedback. Pre-liminary research suggests it increases av-erage walking time by a mile a day and im-proves blood sugar control.The next-generation version of the app

will have multiple motivation modes —coaching, social and “gamification” [whichrefers to using game-like methods and be-haviors to encourage participation]. It will

B A L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon 3

InnovationsTechnology &

New apps aim to help users lose weight

SeeWEIGHT LOSS APPS, page 4

analyze a user’s behavior for a short trialperiod and then “decide” which behavior itthinks will work best.“We would want to have an app that, with-

in a couple of weeks, based on your data,decides what motivational style is going towork for you and offers you a host of op-tions,” Jethwani said. This is more likely tosucceed than depending on stressed andovertaxed healthcare workers to figure outthe best option and “prescribe” it for you.

What makes an app work?In spite of the MyFitnessPal’s poor show-

ing in the UCLA trial, it and other healthapps can be useful tools for people whowant to manage their weight and lifestyle. But it takes two things from the user —

motivation to make a change, and using theapp enough to produce the desired effect.“Clinicians must become aware of these

tools and support our patients in their use,since they are a great way to start movingthe needle on the awareness and educa-tion needed to produce lifestyle changes,”said Jethwani. “Motivated patients willachieve great results, while other patientsmay stop using them, but will definitelygain better insights into their lifestyles.”If you are interested in health apps, good

information is available from a website calledWellocracy (www.wellocracy.com), which isrun by the Center for Connected Health. Itprovides tools and information to help peo-ple find apps and personal fitness trackersthat suit their personal needs and motiva-tional style. [Also, see “Using a digital fitnessmonitor” on this page.]Take a few for a test drive and see if you

feel better.Daniel Pendick is executive editor, Har-

vard Men’s Health Watch.

© 2015 President and Fellows of Har-vard College. All Rights Reserved Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

4 Technology & Innovations | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Weight loss appsFrom page 3

The latest trend in high-tech healthputs control in the palm of your hand.It’s called digital fitness monitoring, andit comes in the form of tiny gadgets thatyou wear or place in your pocket.“If you’re already motivated to exercise

or eat differently, the monitor is a great toolto track your progress and help you under-stand where you need to make changes,”said Dr. Anne Thorndike, a preventivemedicine researcher and assistant profes-sor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.Digital fitness monitors (DFMs)

come in wearable styles such as wrist-bands, watches and pendants, as well ashand-held pieces you can clip onto asleeve or slip into a pocket.DFM features may be simple — such as

sensors that track the number of steps youtake or how many calories you burn. Orthey may be more sophisticated, with sen-sors that capture your heart rate, perspira-tion, skin temperature and sleep patterns.Some DFMs have longer-lasting bat-

teries, light-up screens and alarms thatvibrate or flash to remind you to bemore active or announce that you’vereached a goal. Others have satellite navigation,

speed and pace sensors, and evenweather gauges. Most have programsfor a computer or smartphone that allowyou to chart your progress.DFM prices increase with the number

of bells and whistles available. You maysee one gadget for $25 and another for$750. The majority, however, are in the$50 to $200 range. How much you spendis a matter of personal preference.“Sophisticated monitors can be fun, but

all you really need to know is how manysteps you’re taking,” said Thorndike.She advises that you first determine

what kind of information will help youreach your fitness goals, then consider ifyou’re going to wear a DFM on yourwrist or clip it onto your clothes. “Andlook for something that’s easy to useand can be charged quickly,” she said.Before you set your fitness goals,

wear the DFM to get a sense of howmany steps you already take.“We tell people to shoot for 10,000 steps

a day, but if you only take 2,000, you can setyour first goal at 3,000,” said Thorndike.Then use the DFM to see how you’redoing throughout the day: if you’re low onsteps by dinner, take a walk afterward.And consider fitness competitions

with others using DFMs. Thorndike justcompleted a study that found youngadults who used DFMs and engaged incompetitions had a small but statisticallysignificant increase in activity levels.— Harvard Health Letter© 2014 President and Fellows of Har-

vard College. All Rights Reserved. Distrib-uted By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Using a digitalfitness monitor

Do you like tochat?

Senior Forums has thousands ofthreads in categories from Health, to DaysGone By, to Retirement. You can remi-nisce about a John Wayne variety showfrom 1970, get downsizing advice, and findout about best dog breeds for seniors. Ask a question, comment and interact

with older adults from around the country.Registration is easy. Just create a username and provide your email address.

www.seniorforums.com

Grandparentingfor Boomers

Did you go to Woodstock or wish youhad? Have a soft spot for Bob Dylan? Thenthe website Boomer Grandparents, whichfocuses on grandparenting with a slightcounterculture slant, is for you. The site in-cludes grandparenting stories, travel tips,gift ideas and tech ideas curated by a 64-year-old grandmother.

http://boomergrandparents.com

Sell your oldtechnology

Still hanging onto your old iPhone orKindle? Instead of collecting dust, they canput some money in your pocket with verylittle work on your part. Glyde helps you set a price, advertises

the item on its site (you can buy usedphones and devices there, too) and sendsyou a postage paid, insured shipping boxwhen it sells. Glyde takes a percentage ofthe sale. For example, an iPhone 5 withsome wear would sell for $137 on the site,and Glyde will send you $113.

http://glyde.com

Neighborhoodwatch

Want to know about recent crimes havebeen reported to the police near yourhome, office or favorite shopping center?Enter an address in CrimeReports, and amap pops up with surrounding blockstagged with location of crimes. You can choose what types of crimes to

show, including breaking and entering, as-sault, vehicle theft, homicide and more.The map will display up to 30 consecutivedays worth of reports from the previous six

B A L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Technology & Innovations 5

Beacon LinksBy Barbara Ruben

See BEACON LINKS, page 6

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BB3/15

By Anick JesdanunMany people use smartphone apps to

map their drive to dinner or find a less-con-gested route to work. But did you knowthat you can use them for public transit,too? You can even access some maps whenyour Internet connection is down, such asin the subway, or if it’s spotty. Here’s a look at what leading free map

apps can do for you, whatever mode oftransportation you choose.

Bumper to bumperMost major map apps show you current

traffic conditions. The best guide you to-ward a little-known shortcut or less-obvi-ous route to avoid congestion. In a high-traffic area like Washington,

D.C., Waze is the app for you. Users updatethe map with the latest conditions, even re-porting cars parked on the shoulder. Google

bought Waze in 2013, so Google Maps nowfactors in Waze’s user contributions, too. The Here app for Windows also will

help you find the speediest route. But itdoesn’t want you to get a ticket. The appknows speed limits for various roads andwill beep when you go over, even by asmall amount. (You can turn that featureoff, when you want.)

Taking a stroll? Map apps give you the choice to input

what mode of transportation you plan to takeon your route. It’s worth clicking “walk” ifyou’re hoofing it to your destination. Other-wise you might end up on a six-lane highway,miss shortcuts such as recreational paths,and go out of your way taking one-waystreets. I eliminated a one-block detourusing Google Maps’ walk-specific directionsto visit a friend in Chicago, for instance.

Apple Maps is very user-friendly for walk-ers. As you walk, the distance displayed de-creases, but the map itself doesn’t change. That confused me at first, but I came to

appreciate it. Other apps tend to constantlyrefresh depending on where you are andhow you’re holding the phone, which can beheadache-inducing as you move your handor arms. With Apple Maps, the directionyou should be heading toward is on top, andthe streets are fixed on right angles. If you choose transit on Google Maps, it

will include the walk to and from the busor subway stop in its directions. AppleMaps doesn’t offer transit directions, but itwill suggest transit apps you can install.

Use your computerSay you’re comparing restaurants on

your home computer, and you don’t want toduplicate efforts when you leave the house.

If you use Apple Maps, you can researchplaces and directions on the Mac’s Mapsapp and hit a share button to send the desti-nation to your iPhone or iPad. From the mo-bile device, you simply tap on that locationto get voice-guided directions. Google offers something similar, though

it’s not as precise in practice. If I look up adestination on Google Maps on a Mac orWindows computer, the place is usually al-ready there when I check my phone, aslong as I’ve signed in to my Google account.It’s more automated than Apple’s approach,but sometimes the destination I need isn’tthere. Other times, the app is cluttered withplaces I’ve searched for before but wasn’tnecessarily intending to go to. Either way, it beats retyping everything

on a phone’s small keyboard. Here for Windows allows you to download

maps for an entire state or country ahead oftime, so you can get directions when youdon’t have an Internet connection or don’twant to pay for data roaming abroad. The app is inconsistent in finding the right

destination, but once it’s found, you can getvoice navigation as long as your phone canlocate a GPS signal. Unfortunately, it’s notavailable on Apple or Android devices. Youneed the less-common Windows phone. Google has an offline option, too. You need

to look up the location ahead of time and savethat portion of the map by pulling up the infobox at the bottom of the screen. (Though youdon’t get directions — just the map.) Several third-party apps promise offline

mapping, but you should expect to spendup to $10 on a premium version for any-thing useful. CoPilot’s free version is the most func-

tional of the three I tried. You need to payfor voice guidance, but a passenger can fol-low upcoming turns on the screen for free. With Maps.me, you need to pay just to

enter a destination. And even if you pay forGalileo, you still don’t get turn-by-turn di-rections from that app. — AP

6 Technology & Innovations | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

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A calming influence

After viewing the above website youmight want to take a few minutes out ofyour day to relax and perhaps medicate.Calm.com offers soothing music andvideo of nature scenes. Every time youopen the site, the picture is different.Users can just watch and listen, or learn to

meditate in two- to 20-minute sessions. Calmalso offers an app to turn your iPhone or iPadinto an island of tranquility anywhere.

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Beacon linksFrom page 5

Free map apps help drivers and walkers

By Marilynn MarchioneScientists often test drugs in mice. Now

some cancer patients are doing the same— with the hope of curing their own dis-ease.

They are paying a private lab to breedmice that carry bits of their own tumors sotreatments can be tried first on the cus-tomized rodents. The idea is to see whichdrugs might work best on a particular per-son’s specific cancer.

The mice may help patients make whatcan be very hard choices under difficultcircumstances. Studies can suggest a cer-tain chemotherapy may help, but patientswonder whether it will work for them.Often there’s more than one choice, and ifthe first one fails, a patient may be too sickto try another. So hundreds of people havemade “mouse avatars” over the last fewyears to test chemotherapies.

“What I’m doing is personalized cancertreatment. It’s the wave of the future,” saidEileen Youtie, a Miami woman using miceto guide care for her hard-to-treat form ofbreast cancer. “Part of this is trying toeliminate chemos that are not going towork on me. I don’t want to waste time tak-ing them and poison my body.”

Still experimental — and expensive

But there are no guarantees the micewill help.

“There’s not a lot of science” to say howwell this works, and it should be consid-ered highly experimental, said Dr. Len

Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer ofthe American Cancer Society.

There are some early encouraging re-ports, he said. One study of 70 patientsfound the mice generally reflected howwell patients responded to various drugs.

Dr. Andrew Gaya of Leaders in Oncolo-gy Care, a private clinic in London, helpedlead a 70-patient study of avatar mice, andgave results at a cancer conference lastSeptember. It looked back at how well miceperformed in patients whose outcomesfrom treatment were already known.

About 70 percent of the time, tests in themice suggested something that turned outto have helped the patients, he said. And ifsomething had not worked in the mice, italmost never worked in a patient.

But there is no evidence that using miceis any better than care based on medicalguidelines or the gene tests that many pa-tients get now to help pick drugs.

Mouse testing costs $10,000 or more,and insurers don’t cover it. It takes severalmonths, so patients usually have to starttherapy before mouse results are in.

“I do see promise, but it’s very time-con-suming, it’s very expensive. For the aver-age patient, standard care is going to bethe way to go,” said Alana Welm, a cancerresearcher at the Oklahoma Medical Re-search Foundation.

She gave a talk on mouse avatars in De-cember at the San Antonio Breast CancerSymposium. It was the third major cancermeeting in the last year to feature work oncustomized cancer mice.

A Baltimore mouse houseSeveral labs breed these mice, but the

main supplier to patients has been Cham-pions Oncology, a company based in Hack-ensack, New Jersey, that also operates inLondon, Tel Aviv and Singapore. About7,000 mice are kept in a Baltimore lab withsix rooms that resemble stock rooms of ashoe store, with tall shelves that hold rowupon row of plastic cages labeled witheach cancer patient’s name.

Most mice are white-furred femaleswith beady red eyes, but others are hair-less. Some live alone while others climbover one another and sleep in small piles.All have easy access to food and water, andmany bear signs of the tumor graft — ashaved portion of hair, an incision scar anda lump growing off one side.

Patients have a tumor sample sent toChampions, which charges $1,500 to bankit, plus $2,500 for each drug tested in groupsof mice implanted with bits of the tumor.

The tumor grafts are under the mouseskin — not in places where the cancer nor-mally occurs, such as the pancreas or lungs,and therefore don’t reflect the humantumor’s environment.

Most patients try three to five drugs andspend $10,000 to $12,000, said Champions’chief medical officer, Dr. Angela Davies.Youtie spent $30,000 “because I want themto test all the possible drugs,” even somefor other types of cancer.

Reuven Moser, a 71-year-old man from TelAviv, Israel, said his avatar mice confirmedthat drugs prescribed for colon cancer that

had spread to his liver were a good option. “Most of the time the oncologists want

to follow a protocol, but they don’t knowhow it will affect the patient,” Moser said.“It was very reassuring” to see the mice re-spond, he said.

Not perfect, but best for now Mice have some drawbacks, said Dr.

Benjamin Neel, director of research atPrincess Margaret Cancer Centre inToronto and a spokesman for the Ameri-can Association for Cancer Research.

The mice have highly impaired immunesystems so they can tolerate the human tu-mors. That means they don’t reflect how aperson’s immune system would respond toa treatment and cannot be used to test im-munotherapies.

“Even if it turns out these have realvalue,” they’re likely to be eclipsed bynewer advances, such as ways to growtumor cells in a lab dish that take only afew weeks, he said.

But for now, mice seem the best bet, alongwith gene testing and her doctors’ advice, saidYoutie, the Miami woman with breast cancer.

Her mouse testing suggested that eitherof two drugs would be effective, so shechose the one thought to have fewer sideeffects on the heart. She recently finishedchemotherapy, is about to finish radiationtreatment, and said she does not feel guiltyabout using the mice.

“Animal abuse? I don’t look at it thatway,” she said. “It’s not testing cosmetics.It’s trying to save my life.” — AP

Cancer patients try drugs out on mice first

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon 7

HealthFitness &REVERSE SHOULDER PAINA recently developed surgery rebuildsyour shoulder joint in reverse

REVIVE WINTER SKIN Try moisturizers with jojoba or coconutoil to help eliminate dry skin

BACK IN SHAPEStrengthen your core, sleep more andimprove posture to help back pain

BONE UP ON VITAMINSVitamins C, B12, D and K, along withmagnesium, help keep bones strong

By Dr. John W. SperlingDear Mayo Clinic:

I have severe arthritis in my shoul-der. I recently found out my rotatorcuff is also torn. I can’t lift my armmuch anymore without a lot of pain.

My doctor recommends reverseshoulder arthroplasty. What does thissurgery involve? How successful is itfor someone in my situation?

Answer: Reverse shoulder arthroplastyis surgery used to replace a damagedshoulder joint. The procedure differs fromstandard shoulder replacement surgerybecause it switches the shoulder’s normalball-and-socket structure around to allowfor more stability in the joint after surgery.

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty is partic-

ularly useful for people like you who havea damaged rotator cuff along with shoul-der arthritis. In such cases, this surgeryoften can effectively reduce pain and in-crease shoulder mobility.

Your rotator cuff is a group of musclesand tendons that surround your shoulderjoint. They hold the joint in place and helpyou raise your arm. When tendons in therotator cuff tear, it often leads to pain andweakness in the shoulder joint.

In some cases, torn rotator cuff tendonscan be surgically repaired. But when theyare severely damaged, especially if arthri-tis also affects the joint, reverse shoulderarthroplasty may be a better treatmentchoice.

In your natural shoulder joint, the top of

your arm bone fits into a socket on yourshoulder blade. During reverse shoulderarthroplasty, that ball-and-socket mecha-nism is reversed.

A surgeon attaches an artificial ball tothe shoulder blade. An artificial socket isattached to the top of the arm bone. Thenew socket is fitted against the new ball toallow smooth movement.

The tissue is sewn together around thejoint, and the incision is closed. After surgery,the large deltoid muscle that covers yourshoulder typically is able to move the arm.

The surgery usually takes one to twohours and requires an overnight hospitalstay. As with all surgeries, reverse shoul-der arthroplasty carries some risks, in-cluding bleeding and infection.

After the surgery, you need to have yourarm in a soft sling for several weeks. Phys-ical therapy is often recommended afterreverse shoulder arthroplasty, but mostpeople can complete that therapy at home.

The stitches placed during surgery dis-solve on their own, so a follow-up proce-dure to remove them is not necessary. Fullrecovery can take up to several months.

The results from reverse shoulderarthroplasty usually are quite good. In ap-proximately 90 percent of cases, peoplewho have this surgery experience signifi-cant pain relief, and their ability to move

their arm increases substantially.

New technique; experience countsCompared to other forms of joint re-

placement surgery, such as hip and kneereplacement, reverse shoulder arthroplas-ty is relatively new.

It was introduced in the United States in2004, although it was available in Europe forabout a decade prior to that. Currently in theU.S., only a handful of specialty healthcarefacilities, including Mayo Clinic, do a highvolume of these surgeries each year.

With that in mind, if you decide to pur-sue reverse shoulder arthroplasty, it is agood idea to find an orthopedic surgeonwho specializes in shoulder replacementand who is familiar with performing thisspecific type of shoulder surgery.

In the hands of an experienced surgeon,reverse shoulder arthroplasty can be avery effective treatment option for peoplein your situation who are dealing with botha rotator cuff injury and shoulder arthritis. — John W. Sperling, M.D., Orthopedics,

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. E-mail questions to MayoClinicQ&A@

mayo.edu. For more info, visit www.mayoclinic.org.© 2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Ed-

ucation and Research. All Rights ReservedDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Option ‘reverses’ typical joint surgery8 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Dr. Howard LeWineQ: My skin is very dry and itchy, es-

pecially in winter. There are so manymoisturizers to choose from. How do Ipick one?

A: Regularly applying a good moisturizeris an important part of skin care. Moisturiz-ers can soothe dry skin and help relieve itch-ing. Also, wrinkles will be less noticeable,even though the effect is only temporary.

Indeed, there are lots of products avail-able. Most moisturizers contain water,glycerin, petrolatum, stearic acid, andpropylene glycol and/or lanolin. Findingone that’s right for you may mean trying afew different products.

Simple petroleum jelly is one of the mosteffective moisturizers, especially when usedright after bathing to seal in moisture. It’salso one of the least expensive. However,many people dislike using petroleum jelly ontheir faces because it looks and feels greasy.

Instead, creams and lotions that containsome water are a better choice for a facialmoisturizer. Many of them are humec-tants. These are oil-free moisturizers thatbind water to skin, so the smoothing, soft-ening effects may last longer.

Some moisturizers contain botanical in-gredients, such as jojoba oil, coconut oil,safflower oil or linoleic acid. These ingredi-ents tend to help maintain the skin’s outer

layer of keratin and keep skin supple.Manufacturers often add cetyl alcohol,

palmitic acid and/or dimethicone to mois-turizers. These ingredients lend a creamy,velvety, or translucent look and feel to theproduct.

If you’re frequently outdoors, look for amoisturizer that also provides protectionfrom sunlight. Choose one with at least anSPF of 30 that protects against both UVAand UVB rays.

Think twice if you’re considering a skintoner. Many of these contain drying, irri-tating ingredients like alcohol or acetone.Some also contain highly acidic citrus,camphor or menthol.

Q. Over the past couple of years,I’ve had to get up at night more to uri-nate. Now it’s happening two to threetimes every night. What could causethis?

A. When a person needs to get out ofbed to urinate two times or more at night,doctors call it nocturia. There are somemedical reasons for nocturia that you andyour doctor should consider. The morecommon ones are:

1. An enlarged prostate in a man. An en-larged prostate can push on the bladder orurethra causing a more frequent urge tourinate.

2. Diabetes mellitus. Some of the excess

sugar in the bloodstream “spills over” intothe urine. Your body makes extra urine toremove it.

3. A bladder problem. Inflammation froma urinary tract infection or interstitial cystitiscan cause you to urinate more often.

4. A medicine. Water pills (diuretics) arethe most common medicines that causenocturia.

Less common causes include:1. Water retention in the legs (edema).

Fluid that builds up in the legs during the

daytime may move to the kidneys at night.2. A high blood calcium level. Much like

sugar, excess calcium prompts your body tomake more urine to get rid of the calcium.

3. A kidney problem. Some kidney con-ditions cause excessive amounts of waterloss through the urine.

4. Too little antidiuretic hormone(ADH). Without this hormone, the bodycan’t hold on to water. The condition is

Which moisturizers are effective in winter?

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 9

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SeeMOISTURIZERS, page 10

By Dr. Michael ReeseDear Mayo Clinic: How soon after

starting on antidepressants should Ibegin to feel better? What type ofchanges will I notice?

It’s been three weeks and I don’t feellike my depression has lessened. Ifanything, it seems to be getting worse.Do I need to try another medication?

Answer: Many people who start taking anantidepressant begin to see some improve-ment in their symptoms within several

weeks. But for others, it may take longer. The changes are not immediate or sud-

den, so you may not notice them much atfirst. Because of that, it’s important to givethe medicine time to work. Anytime youfeel symptoms of depression getting worse,however, contact your healthcare provider.

As with all medications, you need to takean antidepressant at an adequate dose foran adequate length of time to see the mostbenefit. Typically, four to six weeks is a rea-sonable amount of time to use an antide-

pressant and decide if it is effective for you.In most cases, the improvement you get

from an antidepressant is gradual, and thebenefits may be subtle. For example, iftearfulness is a common symptom for you,it might become less frequent. But it’s un-likely to disappear right away.

If anxiety is a persistent problem, it mayslowly diminish and your interest in re-turning to hobbies and other activities maygradually increase.

Sometimes family members and friendsmay notice that you’re doing better beforeyou feel significantly better. With that inmind, try not to rely only on your own per-spective. Consider asking the people aroundyou what their impressions are, too.

If you don’t see any improvement withinfour to six weeks, then it may be time for an-other approach. Your healthcare providermay recommend that you continue takingthe same medication, but increase the dose.

It’s possible that taking another type ofmedication along with an antidepressantmay be helpful. This is called augmenta-tion. The purpose is to use an additionalmedicine, such as lithium, to boost the ef-fects of the antidepressant.

In addition to medication, adding anoth-er type of therapy to your treatment planmay be useful, as well. For example, psy-chotherapy, also known as counseling or

Antidepressants provide relief gradually

called diabetes insipidus.Other than edema, the other medical

problems almost always cause frequenturination during the day, as well as atnight.

There may be simpler explanations fornocturia. You could be drinking too muchwater and other fluids late in the day. Drinkenough to quench your thirst and maintaingood hydration, but drink as little as possi-ble within four to five hours of bedtime.

Also consider your use of alcohol and caf-feine, especially in the evening. Both ofthese drinks increase urine output by thekidneys.Howard LeWine, M.D., is a practicing

internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospitalin Boston and chief medical editor of inter-net publishing at Harvard Health Publica-tions, Harvard Medical School.For additional consumer health informa-

tion, please visit www.health.harvard.edu.© 2015 President and Fellows of Har-

vard College. All Rights Reserved. Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

10 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

MoisturizersFrom page 9

See ANTIDEPRESSANTS, page 11

HELPFORYOURFEET.COM

Dr. Goldman is currently investigating andtreating patients with Lower Extremity symptoms attributed to FIBROMYALGIA.Many may have relief, without medicationor therapy, within 1-2 weeks.Most people with foot or leg symptoms (arthrit-ic, aching, burning, or cramping) , even those who have had other treatments including surgery of the foot (or back) can behelped, usually in 1 or 2 visits. Many people with DifficultyStanding or Walking attributed to Arthritis,Spinal Stenosis, Neuropathy, Poor Circulation or Poor Balance can be helpedquickly without medication. If I cannot help you, I will refer you to another specialist.

graduation, for instance. Areas lacking “so-cial capital” suffer from higher drop-outrates, illness, out of wedlock pregnancies,divorce, drug use and crime.

So congratulations Pam Schneider andRandy Jacobs, friends from childhood! Butnot all of us are so lucky.

The plague of loneliness in America is realand growing. Another study is also describedin The Lonely American: Drifting Apart in theTwenty-first Century by Jacqueline Olds.

At times, I’ve been crushingly lonelyand always blamed myself — but nolonger. Our society encourages individual-ism and isolation. Where are the clubs andcommunity organizations of years past?!

After retiring from the railroad, I’dhoped to work with civic organizations and

volunteer for worthwhile causes. What afutile desire that turned out to be.

Most of the clubs are defunct. TheWomen’s Civic League’s clubhouse at 9 N.Front Street is always shuttered — it waswhere I served as recording secretary forseveral years.

As for volunteering, it’s an insult! I’vehelped out so many times only to come awayfeeling I was nothing more than “unpaidhelp.” Volunteers today are never considered“part of the team.” We’re just dogs’ bodies towork when needed and then discarded.

I’ve mentioned this at church, and inlight of falling church attendance, more ef-fort should be made to encourage com-radeship. In years past, ostracism andexile were painful sentences. Yet we inflictthese punishments on ourselves.

Furthermore, since civic groups, churchattendance, trade association and club mem-

bership foster a healthy democracy, it is inthe interests of the elite that these organiza-tions not be discouraged. Lonely peoplespend money, don’t forget.

Recent highly reported events have forcedme to examine my life and our culture. Themore I do this, the more I see we are a socie-

ty deprived of friendship and belonging. This can and does lead to tragedy. It’s

time Americans recognize the individualis-tic lifestyle we embrace is hazardous toour health!

Rosalind Ellis HeidBaltimore

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 11

talk therapy, often can be effective treat-ment for depression.

Several kinds of psychotherapy are avail-able. Your healthcare provider can helpyou decide which one may be right for you.

Switching to a different antidepressant isan option, too. Usually a medication from aclass of drugs known as selective serotoninreuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, is the first line

of treatment for depression. These includemedications such as fluoxetine (Prozac),paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft).

Other types of antidepressants are avail-able, though, if SSRIs are not effective foryou. Among them are drugs known as sero-tonin and norepinephrine reuptake in-hibitors, or SNRIs, and norepinephrine anddopamine reuptake inhibitors, or NDRIs.

Studies have shown most antidepressantsto be comparable across classes. Thatmeans there’s no need for you to be on one

certain type of antidepressant. You can workwith your healthcare provider to find theone that best fits your needs and circum-stances.

Communication with your healthcareprovider is key to developing an effectiveplan for treating depression. It’s importantthat you feel comfortable talking with himor her about your symptoms and howyou’re doing. If you don’t feel you havegood rapport with your provider, or if com-munication is challenging, you may want

to consider seeking a second opinion.Also, keep in mind that if your symp-

toms get worse at any point, it’s critical foryou to contact your provider to reassessyour situation. The two of you can then de-cide if you need to make changes to yourtreatment plan right away.— Michael Reese, M.D., Psychiatry and

Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.© 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Ed-

ucation and Research. All rights reserved.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

AntidepressantsFrom page 10

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Join us for one or more of our upcoming events!

It is our policy to admit residents without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap or national origin and any other federal, state or local fair housing protections. Note: Housing for Older Persons is exempt from the prohibitions against age or familial status.

DOWNSIZING YOUR HOME SELLING YOUR HOME

Thursday, February 26 • 2 p.m. Presented by Heather Murphy

of Abilities Network

There is no charge for this event but seating is limited. Reservations

are necessary by Tuesday, February 24 by contacting Jeri Farmer

at 410-983-3496.

Tuesday, March 10 • 2 p.m. Presented by

Maureen O’Shea

There is no charge for this event but seating is limited. Reservations are necessary by Monday, March 9

by contacting Jeri Farmer at 410-983-3496.

Open Houses - Stop In!Saturday Open House

February 21 • 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Walk-in WednesdayMarch 4 • 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

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www.heritagerun.org

Letters to editorFrom page 2

With changes in the spine that comewith aging, occasional backaches maygrow more frequent and blossom into achronic and disabling pain condition.

But this doesn’t have to happen to you.To maintain the best back health possible,you have to address both the body and the

mind, said Dr. Zacharia Isaac, a physicalmedicine and rehabilitation doctor at Har-vard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hos-pital, Boston, Mass.

“Cardiovascular and strength trainingare good basic prevention to keep yourback healthy,” Isaac said. “Because of the

brain’s involvement with back pain, main-taining a good sleep cycle and good emo-tional state are also very important.”

Tips1. Don’t baby your back.It’s important to respond to back pain

constructively.“Acute back pain flare-ups are so painful

that most people start to baby their backs,”Isaac said. “If people tend to shrink toomuch from their daily activity level, theyget de-conditioned.” In turn, de-condition-ing can lead to worse pain and disability.

“Neurological changes happen that sen-sitize you to the pain,” Dr. Isaac said. “Thatfeeds into a cycle of more avoidance of ac-tivity and more de-conditioning.”

When you have a sore back, avoid ex-tended bed rest. Slowly transition back toyour usual activities.

“It’s important to maintain normalcy,”Isaac said. “Get up and walk around thehouse. Try to do light tasks. Maintainmoderate activity.”

2. Strengthen your core.Strengthen the muscles that support the

lower spine as an insurance policy.“Moderate exercise is very helpful,”

Isaac said. “Many people who are moder-ate exercisers have fewer musculoskeletalproblems.”

Ask your doctor to suggest daily backexercises appropriate to your condition, orask for a referral to a physical therapist toteach you the most effective exercises toprevent back pain.

3. Stay limber.If the muscles that support the lower

spine become tight, it can make pain worse.Trouble generally develops in the musclesand ligaments of the pelvic girdle, which

Physical fitness essential for healthy back12 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

See HEALTHY BACK, page 15

GET IN CONTROLIf you suffer frombladder or bowel

incontinence, you’re not alone. JohnsHopkins gynecologist Victoria Handaand colorectal surgeon SusanGearhart will hold an online seminarto discuss treatment options, includ-ing nonsurgical therapies and surgi-cal procedures, and what to expectafterward. The seminar will be heldTuesday, Feb. 24, from 7 to 8 p.m.To register, call (877) 546-1009.

IT’S TAX TIME Get your taxes pre-pared for free every

Thursday from now through April 9from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the ArbutusSenior Center. Call the office or stopby the front desk to make an appoint-ment with an AARP tax preparer andfind out what you need to bring. Ap-pointments fill up quickly. The seniorcenter is located at 855 A SulphurSpring Rd. For more information, con-tact (410) 887-1410 orarbutussc@baltimorecountymd.gov.

HELP AVAILABLEFOR SENIORS ANDDISABLED

Maryland Access Point (MAP) offersexpertly trained staff utilizing a com-prehensive and up-to-database to pro-vide information about services andresources for seniors and personswith disabilities in Baltimore Countyand beyond. Call the information hot-line at (410) 887-2594.

BEACON BITS

Feb. 24

Ongoing

Ongoing

By Kara Lydon, R.DWhen you think about bone nutrition,

you probably think of calcium first. Andrightly so: A solid body of research sug-gests that you should meet your daily cal-cium needs (1,000 - 1,200 milligrams) foroptimal bone health.

With 54 million Americans sufferingfrom osteoporosis, it’s important to do allyou can to feed your bones to prevent thisdebilitating condition.

Get these nutrients, tooThe promising news is that a host of

other nutrients are emerging as potentialnutrients for optimal bone health, as well.These include:

1. Magnesium. Fifty to 60 percent ofmagnesium in the body is located in thebone, so it makes sense that magnesium

influences bone formation. Recent re-search suggests that magnesium deficien-cy could be a risk factor for osteoporosis.

A 2014 study in the American Journal ofClinical Nutrition found that lower magne-sium intake is associated with lower bonemineral density (BMD), while a 2010 issueof Biological Trace Element Research foundthat magnesium supplementation at 90percent of the RDA suppressed bone lossin postmenopausal women.

The National Institutes of Health concursthat diets that provide the recommendedamount of magnesium can enhance bonehealth, but cautions that further research isneeded to fully understand the role it playsin osteoporosis prevention.

2. Vitamin C. Widely recognized for itsrole in maintaining a healthy immune sys-tem, vitamin C also is a major player in bone

development. The current literature on therelationship between vitamin C, bone me-tabolism and osteoporosis in humans is out-dated and inconsistent, but recent animalstudies show promising findings.

Researchers from Mount Sinai Schoolof Medicine reported that vitamin C had apositive effect on preventing bone loss inmice, which could translate to humans.

3. Vitamin B12. This vitamin is bestknown for its neurological functions, but italso may affect bone formation. A 2013 re-view in the Journal of Nutrition and Metab-olism found an association between lowB12 levels and low BMD. Similarly, Turk-ish researchers found a significant associa-tion between B12 levels, BMD and osteo-porosis in postmenopausal women.

4. Vitamin D plays an essential role incalcium absorption. Insufficient levels canlead to rickets in children and osteoporo-sis in adults. A 2012 meta-analysis in theNew England Journal of Medicine foundthat supplementation of at least 800 Inter-national Units (IU) of vitamin D reducedthe risk of hip and non-vertebral fractures.

5. Vitamin K also has gained attention re-cently for its role in bone health. A 2014 re-view in the Journal of Nutrition in Gerontologyand Geriatrics confirmed a link between vita-min K intake and reduced risk of fractures.

Sources in food1. Magnesium 310, 420 mg. Sources: av-

Your bones need more than just calciumBA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 13

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PREVENT BONE LOSS AND OSTEOPOROSIS

Join Johns Hopkins endocrinologist Kendall F. Moseley on

Thursday, March 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Baltimore North in

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ceptible to bone loss; strategies for optimizing bone density, including common

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BEACON BITS

Mar. 12

By Barbara RubenCan supplements made from red grape

skin and tomato extract help enhancememory? That’s the question Dr. MajidFotuhi, founder and chief medical officerof NeurExpand, a medical practice thatworks to help improve cognitive functionin older adults, is trying to answer.

He is studying if and how the supple-ments resveratrol (derived from grapes)and Fruitflow (from tomatoes) can helppeople with mild memory loss. The sup-plements may help improve blood flow to

the brain, which in turn might improvebrain function, according to Fotuhi.

Previous studies (not by Fotuhi) havefound that patients taking NSAID pain re-lievers like ibuprofen and aspirin, com-bined with vitamins E and C , did better oncognitive tests. DHA, a fatty acid found infish and algae, has also been shown tohelp.

Now Fotuhi is looking at other supple-ments that might support brain health.“People are always asking me what theycan take. I don’t want to recommend any-

thing without clinical studies showing abenefit,” Fotuhi said.

Volunteers soughtThe NeurExpand study is now recruit-

ing people ages 50 to 80 with concernsabout their memory.

“We are looking for people who forgetnames, forget where their keys are, butare otherwise functioning OK,” he said.

The three-month-long study takes placeat the NeurExpand office in Lutherville,and requires three visits.

During the study, participants will berandomly divided into four groups. Onegroup will take 150 mg. each day of resVi-da, a resveratrol supplement. The secondgroup will take 150 mg. each day of Fruit-flow-II The third group will take both sup-plements, and the fourth group will take aplacebo, or a pill with no active ingredi-ents. Neither the researchers nor the pa-tients will know who is in which group.

Fotuhi wants to see if taking both sup-plements might have a synergistic effect,similar to the study of NSAIDs and vita-mins C and E, in which those taking a com-bination had much better results.

What the study entailsDuring the first study visit, participants

will take several tests to assess their mem-ory and cognitive skills, as well as cardio-vascular fitness testing, including a stresstest on a stationary bike.

The next day, participants will have ablood test and have an ultrasound taken oftheir carotid artery in their neck to assessblood flow to the brain. These tests will be

done both before participants take the as-signed supplements and three hours after.

After three months, participants will re-turn to repeat many of the same tests.

To qualify for the study, participantsmust be in good overall health, have a pri-mary care physician and be sedentary ormoderately active.

They must also discontinue certain dietarysupplements for a month before the studystarts. These include the supplements in thestudy, fish oil, seed oils, ginkgo biloba, gin-seng and DHA. Those in the study may notdrink more than two glasses of wine per day.

Those with major neurological and psy-chiatric diseases, including Parkinson’s dis-ease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple scle-rosis, cannot take part in the study. Thosein the study also cannot have uncontrolledhigh blood pressure, low platelets, liver fail-ure, renal failure or bleeding disorders.

Taking supplements to support memo-ry is just a small part of what Fotuhi rec-ommends to maintain brain health. Themost important factor is exercise, he said.

He also recommends a diet high in fruitsand vegetables and low in processed foodsand trans fats (“No donuts, no Frenchfries” he admonishes). Adequate sleep andlearning new things are also important.

“Of course, all this is easier said thandone,” he concedes. “Supplements are just anadded factor that will make you even better.”

As for the supplements in the currentstudy, “If the trial shows positive results, Iam going to start taking them,” Fotuhi said.

For more information, call (410) 494-0193or see www.neurexpand.com.

14 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Do You ExperienceMemory Problems?

For more information, please call 410.494.0193

www.NeurExpand.com

Enroll now in a clinical study at the NeurExpand Brain Center.

A clinical study is underway to evaluate the effects of two dietary supplements, Fruitflow® (tomato extract) and Resveratrol (grape extract) on memory, blood flow, and fitness. Dr. Majid Fotuhi, Medical Director of the NeurExpand Brain Center is the Principal Investigator.

You may qualify to participate if you:

primary care physician

Call today to see if you are eliglible.

SM

SM

Health Studies PageTHE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Studying supplements to improve memory

FREE HEARING SCREENINGCatonsville Senior Center will offer a free hearing screening onTuesday, March 10, from 9 a.m. to noon. Make an appointment at

the front desk. Catonsville Senior Center is located at 501 N. Rolling Rd. For moreinformation, contact (410) 887-0900 or gemcdowell@baltimorecountymd.gov.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 10

allow you to bend and twist at the waist.“When the hip girdle is unbalanced, you

have more flare-ups of back pain,” Isaac said.Learn some stretches to keep your

pelvic girdle limber. Some of the same ex-ercises often recommended for routineback pain will help, but a physical therapistcan carefully assess your specific muscu-loskeletal issues and prescribe stretchesto release the tension.

4. Straighten up.Poor posture can put stress on the back

and trigger back pain. Don’t slouch whenyou sit. If you are slouching or leaning be-cause of ongoing pain, loosening the hipgirdle with stretching exercises may help.

“That allows you to stand more uprightand put less mechanical strain on the lowback,” Isaac said.

5. Get some sleep.Getting restful sleep is essential for any-

one with back problems because sleepdeprivation sensitizes you to pain.

“When you have poor sleep, it also altersbrain chemistry and you’re more prone todeveloping a chronic pain state,” Isaac said.

6. Stay positive and relax.People who are depressed and anxious

tend to have worse back problems. And ofcourse back pain itself can get you down.Like sleep deprivation, blue moods and anx-iety can make you more sensitive to pain.

Relaxing deep-breathing exercises canhelp relieve the stress of a back pain flare-

up. If you are getting depressed, anxiousor hopeless about your condition, ask formore help from your doctor.

Think of the flare-up as a temporary set-back, and focus on what you will be able todo in the future to make back pain a lessfrequent companion in your life.— Harvard Men’s Health Watch© 2015. President and Fellows of Har-

vard College. All Rights Reserved. Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

ocado, almonds, spinach, black beans,edamame, peanut butter, whole-wheatbread, kidney beans

2. Vitamin B12, 2.4 mcg. Sources:clams, salmon, haddock, canned tuna, for-tified breakfast cereals, milk, yogurt, cot-tage cheese, egg

3. Vitamin C 75, 90 mg. Sources: or-anges, strawberries, red or green bell pep-

pers, Brussels sprouts, kiwi, mango4. Vitamin D 600, 800 IU. Sources: cod

liver oil, Sockeye salmon, fortified milk,swordfish, canned tuna, fortified orangejuice, egg

5. Vitamin K 90, 120 mcg. Sources: collardgreens, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,green leaf lettuce, kale, Swiss chard

— Belvoir Media Group, LLC, www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.

© 2014 Belvoir Media Group. Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 15

BonesFrom page 13

GET THE HELP YOU NEEDThe Baltimore County Self-Help Guide, a resource for women, familiesand service providers, is available online. It lists services in areas in-

cluding health, education, employment, as well as crisis hotline phone numbers. Theguide can be found at www.baltimorecountyonline.info/agencies/women/resources.Call (410) 887-3448 for more information.

POPULAR JEWISH MUSIC GROUPThe Maccabeats, a popular a cappella group, will perform at BethShalom Congregation, 8070 Harriet Tubman Ln., Columbia on Sun-day, April 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $20 in advance and are

$25 at the door. For tickets and more information, see www.beth-shalom.net orcall (410) 531-5115.

KIDNEY WALKParticipate in the 13th annual Greater Baltimore Kidney Walk onSunday, Apr. 19, at Camden Yards. This popular communityfundraiser calls attention to the need for organ donation and pre-

vention of kidney disease. Registration begins at 9 a.m. in Parking Lot B. AfterZumba warm-up exercises, the 2-mile walk will begin at 10 a.m., followed byrefreshments and entertainment. Adults also can take NKF-MD’s free Kidney HealthRisk Assessment (KHRA) to see if they are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Walkparticipation is free, but there is a $100 fundraising minimum to earn a t-shirt.Walkers may walk alone or form teams, and sponsorships are available. For moreinformation or to register, visit www.kidneywalk.org or call (410) 494-8545.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFTat Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line

*You must be at least 65 years old and in good health*Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and

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CALL TODAY!

Want to Prevent Falls in the Elderly?Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study

at the University of Maryland & Veterans Affairs of Baltimore to better understand balance and the

prevention of falls in aging individuals.You will receive:

• Health evaluation• Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises

• Compensation for your time

Healthy backFrom page 12

Apr. 26

Apr. 19

I overheard a family talking at the tablenext to mine. The son, who looked 35years old, snapped, “Cut mesome slack, I only smokethree cigarettes a day!”

I debated whether or not Ishould intrude upon theirconversation, and eventuallydecided not to. Everything Iwant to tell him, I shall nowtell you. Even if you smoke fewer

than five cigarettes a day, youdamage your heart. There’s atwo- to four-fold increase inheart disease and stroke fromsmoking. It causes more than 480,000deaths each year in the United States.

Second-hand smoke is the combinationof smoke from the burning end of a ciga-

rette as well as the smokebreathed out by a smoker. It’sno less dangerous for youthan smoking, because it con-tains over 7,000 chemicals,hundreds of which are toxic.

Not easy to quitSmokers have a difficult

time quitting. There’s a billion-dollar market for nicotinepatches, lozenges, gums andprescription drugs like Chantix.These are certainly good op-

tions, but they don’t work for everyone. So today, I’m sharing some ideas that in-

clude dietary supplement options you canfind at a health food store. I still insist youget your medical practitioner’s approvalbefore using these, because I can’t possi-bly know what’s right for each of you.

These are just considerations, and theydo have side effects of their own:

SAMe (S adenosylmethionine). Yourbody makes this natural amino acid, but youcan also buy SAMe as a dietary supplementin the United States. With your physician’sapproval, the starting dosage of 200 mg. istaken twice daily on an empty stomach (onehour before a meal). Slowly increase it by200 mg. every few days until you get up to400 to 600 mg. taken one hour before mealstwo or three times daily. If it makes you irri-table, you’re taking too much.

After you’ve been on SAMe for a while,and you’ve achieved a dose of at least 400mg. twice daily, you can try adding anoth-er natural amino acid, Tyrosine, about 200to 500 mg. twice a day, one hour before eat-ing. The net effect should make you feelgood, and stop the crave for nicotine.

5HTP (5 Hydroxytryptophan). Thisis another natural amino acid that createsmore serotonin, just like the prescription

drugs sertraline and fluoexetine. If you’re on an antidepressant, then a low

dosage of 25 to 50 mg. should be okay. If youdo not take antidepressant medications,then a higher dose, like 100 to 300 mg. onceor twice a day, might be acceptable. Beforebeginning, read about potential adverse re-actions, such as “serotonin syndrome.”

Lecithin. This naturally occurring com-pound is a good source of choline, whichhelps stabilize cell membranes. It’s often(but not always) derived from soy. Thedosage is 500 to 1000 mg. twice daily.

So now you have several options, and ef-fective combinations vary from person toperson. Some of you might benefit from tyro-sine alone, or just SAMe, or perhaps lecithin.

Whatever combination you try, includea little vitamin C, since smoking depletesthat antioxidant. This information is opinion only. It is not

intended to treat, cure or diagnose your con-dition. Consult with your doctor before usingany new drug or supplement. Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist

and the author of The 24-Hour Pharmacistand Real Solutions from Head to Toe. Tocontact her, visit www.SuzyCohen.com.

Supplements can help you quit smoking

DEAR PHARMACISTBy Suzy Cohen

16 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

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By Carole FeldmanYou’ve downsized to an apartment, the

kids are long gone, and you’re no longer eli-gible for some of the deductions and exemp-tions that had helped you lower your tax bill.

But for those 65 years or older, there areother tax breaks that might benefit youcome tax time.

Social Security taxes For one, not all your Social Security ben-

efits are subject to federal taxes. Howmuch depends on your other income andfiling status. “No one pays federal incometax on more than 85 percent of his or herSocial Security benefits,” the Social Securi-ty Administration says on its website.

To determine what percent of your bene-fits might be taxable, add half your benefitsto your other income, including nontaxableinterest. If your combined income is be-tween $25,000 and $34,000 and your filingstatus is single, up to 50 percent of your ben-efits might be taxable, according to the IRS.For married couples filing jointly, the 50 per-cent taxable figure applies if your combinedincome is between $32,000 and $44,000.

Combined income lower than the

threshold? Social Security benefits aren’ttaxable. If the combined income is abovethese income ranges, up to 85 percent issubject to income taxes.

While some states also tax Social Securi-ty benefits, you won’t have to pay state taxon them in Maryland, Virginia or the Dis-trict of Columbia.

Higher standard deductionPeople 65 and over also should consider

whether it’s more beneficial for them toclaim the standard deduction or to itemize.

The standard deduction is higher —$7,750 if your filing status is single,$14,800 if you’re married filing jointly andyou and your spouse are both at least 65.That compares to $6,200 for single filersunder 65 and $12,400 for married taxpay-ers under 65 who are filing jointly.

“Seniors very often have already paid uptheir mortgage and they very often don’titemize anymore,” said Jackie Perlman,principal tax research analyst at the TaxInstitute at H&R Block.

But it’s important to do the math — orlet your tax preparer or tax software do itfor you — to see whether it still makes

sense to itemize even with the higher stan-dard deduction.

Even if you don’t have mortgage inter-est to deduct, you can still deduct anyproperty taxes you paid. State incometaxes also are deductible, or alternatively,you can choose to deduct state sales taxes,an attractive option if you live in a state thatdoesn’t have an income tax.

Medical expensesFor those 65 and older, medical expens-

es are deductible to the extent they exceed7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. Thatthreshold applies even if only one spousehas reached 65 and you file jointly. Forthose under 65, medical expenses are de-ductible only if they exceed 10 percent ofadjusted gross income.

Medical expenses include the portion ofdoctor, dentist and hospital bills, and thecost of prescription drugs not covered byinsurance, as well as premiums forMedicare or other insurance coverage.Prescription eyeglasses are also included,as are the cost of false teeth, hearing aids,wheelchairs and the cost of transportationto medical appointments.

Of course, charitable donations are de-ductible by everyone who itemizes. How-ever, taxpayers who are at least 70 1/2 hadanother option for charitable donationsthat was extended in December onlythrough the end of 2014.

At that age, you’re required to take a mini-mum distribution from your individual retire-ment accounts. If you rolled that distributionover directly to a charity by Dec. 31, 2014 —instead of taking the money and then donat-ing it — the distribution is not counted as in-come and therefore is not taxable.

“The difference is you’re lowering notonly your taxable income but also your ad-justed gross income,” Perlman said. Andthat can affect such things as whether SocialSecurity benefits are taxable and whetheryou can deduct your medical expenses.

But there’s no double-dipping. If youitemize, you can’t also deduct a charitabledonation that was made through a directrollover from an IRA.

There is also a small tax credit for low-income seniors, which Perlman says is notwidely used. “It might be helpful for some-

Older taxpayers receive some tax breaks

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon 17

SHORE UP FINANCESWork longer, save more and take benefitslater to avert a retirement crisis

POISED FOR GROWTHFrom Apple to Macy’s to Sirius XM, hereare some stocks to consider for growth orspeculation

LEARN FROM THE WINNERSA veteran investment analyst shares herpersonal portfolio strategies

MoneyMoneyLaw &

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See TAX BREAKS, page 18

Many of today’s workers will have ahard time retiring at the traditional agewhile maintaining their standard of living.

A new book on the subject, Falling Short:The Coming Retirement Crisis (Oxford Uni-versity Press), offers useful insight into theproblem. Authors Charles Ellis, AliciaMunnell and Andrew Eschtruth, experts inretirement planning, offer advice both on“what we can do as individuals” and “whatwe can do as a nation.” Here are some oftheir ideas.

Here are some of their ideas for individ-ual initiative. • Work longer. Not everyone has this

option, but those who do reap significantadvantages. Working longer not only pro-duces current income; it also results in alarge increase in Social Security benefits,allows you to contribute more to your re-tirement plan for higher investment in-come, and shortens the length of retire-ment, reducing the lump sum required tomaintain your standard of living.

• Save more. This is easier said thandone. In a 2014 survey, 36 percent of re-spondents had not saved any-thing for retirement, and 56 per-cent had not even tried to figureout how much they might need.

Making saving “easy and au-tomatic” is the way to go in orderto save more. I was able to retirein my 50s because I instituted au-tomatic investments from mysalary as soon as I started work-ing, prioritizing my retirementobjectives over other expense al-ternatives.• Make your 401(k) plan

work for you. The earlier youstart contributing toward retirement, andthe longer you wait before withdrawingfunds, the lower the required contribution.Join your employer’s retirement plan as soonas possible, and contribute at least enougheach year to receive the full employer match.• Invest wisely. Don’t stop investing in

stocks because of a short-term fall in prices.[Ed: In fact, when prices fall, it may be the besttime to buy.] Rebalance your portfolio regu-larly. Use investment alternatives with the

lowest fees. Use index funds and target fundsto achieve superior results with low fees.

• Keep the money in theplan until you retire. Toomany who invest in retire-ment plans withdraw fundsprior to retirement, particu-larly when they change jobs.Avoid this; you’ll pay a 10 per-cent penalty and lose the tax-deferral advantage. Whenchanging jobs, you alwayshave options to roll over re-tirement funds.• Consider an advanced

life deferred annuity. Annu-ities are contracts offered by in-

surance companies that pay monthly pay-ments in exchange for a premium. They canprotect you from outliving your assets — andmay provide you more annual income thanyou could obtain on your own.

An advanced life deferred annuity, alsocalled longevity insurance, is designed toensure a steady income if you live beyondyour mid-80s. The authors cite a typical case

THE SAVINGSGAMEBy Elliot Raphaelson

How to avoid your own retirement crisis

one who neither contributed to the SocialSecurity system nor ever married.”

Free tax prep assistanceThe IRS offers free tax preparation help

for people 60 and older, working throughnon-profit groups. Two organizations pro-vide such assistance at many locationsthroughout the Washington area.

The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide pro-

gram is available free to taxpayers with lowand moderate income, with special atten-tion to those 60 and older. You do not needto be a member of AARP. For more infor-mation or to find a location near you, go towww.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaidor call 1-888-687-2277,

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance(VITA) program offers free tax help to peo-ple of all ages who generally make $53,000or less, as well as to older adults and peoplewith disabilities. To find locations, seehttp://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep. — AP

18 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Tax breaksFrom page 17

See AVOID CRISIS, page 19

LOOKING FOR A LOW-COST, LEGALALTERNATIVE TO BANKRUPTCY?

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Federal law protects your income from creditor garnishment. DebtCounsel for Seniors, Veterans and the Disabled (DCSD) can protectyou from creditor harassment. If you can’t pay your credit card ormedical bills or your student loans or payday loans, you can stop payingthem without filing for bankruptcy.

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By Carolyn BigdaWe’ll start with eight companies that

will grow no matter what happens to theeconomy. Then, we offer funds and fundportfolios you can invest in starting with amere $1,000.

Stocks to considerAbbott Laboratories (symbol ABT,

$44). The drug and medical-device makerhas said it will sell part of its overseas gener-ic-drug business for $5.3 billion. The dealwill allow Abbott to focus on emerging mar-kets, where sales in the third quarter of 2014helped boost overall profits by 13 percent.

American Express (AXP, $92). In2014, Amex launched OptBlue, which al-lows third-party processors to managecard transactions for small retailers. Execsbelieve the number of mom-and-pop storesnewly accepting Amex could rise by 50percent annually for several years.Apple (AAPL, $115). In the quarter

that ended in September, during which thelatest iPhone models were released, Applesaw its strongest revenue growth rate inseven quarters. Its new mobile-paymentsystem, Apple Pay, faces competition, butadoption by retailers is growing. And ahigh-tech wristwatch, Apple Watch, should

start shipping in early 2015.Gilead Sciences (GILD, $101). Gilead

won approval from U.S. regulators in Octo-ber to sell Harvoni, which could become ablockbuster hepatitis C drug. Gilead alsohas treatments for HIV. Analysts say profitscould increase by 25 percent in 2015.Macy’s (M, $63). Macy’s shoppers

can now check online to see if an item is ina nearby store. If an improving economyboosts consumer spending, Macy’s will beready. Among other things, Macy’s, whichalso owns the Bloomingdale’s chain, hasstarted testing same-day delivery fromstores. Analysts see earnings rising 13 per-cent in the January 2016 fiscal year.Precision Castparts (PCP, $236). The

firm makes complex molds and other com-

ponents used to build jet engines. For threeof the past four quarters, the company hasfallen short of earnings forecasts as clientsused up inventory, and the stock hasdropped 13 percent over the past year. ButStephen Levenson, an analyst at investmentbank Stifel, said the de-stocking should endin early 2015. Meanwhile, production of thehigh-tech Airbus A350 XWB and Boeing 787Dreamliner will boost profits.Charles Schwab (SCHW, $28). Low in-

terest rates have pressured profits at CharlesSchwab. But the broker is making up for itwith volume. According to a report by theWilliam Blair firm, Schwab was on track togather more than $100 billion in net new as-

Stock and fund ideas poised for growth

of a person at age 65. A one-time premium ofapproximately $12,000 would buy paymentsof $7,000/year for the rest of their life start-ing at age 85. This alternative may be suit-able for healthy individuals who have othersources of income between 65 and 85.• Opt for a Social Security “annuity.”

Another option for individuals who have suf-ficient assets at retirement age is to “buy” anadditional amount of Social Security byclaiming benefits later, up to age 70.

By doing so, you increase your Social

Security income by 8 percent per year de-ferred. This alternative is actuarially supe-rior to a commercial annuity because in-surance companies have expenses thatadd to the cost of the product that SocialSecurity does not charge.

Planning for retirement is not easy. Thisbook is concise, informative and highlyreadable. It is a valuable tool for anyoneplanning seriously for retirement (andeveryone should be.)

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questionsand comments at elliotraph@gmail.com.

© 2015 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 19

Avoid crisisFrom page 18

See STOCK FUND IDEAS, page 21

By Kathy KristofCan a wise but moderately lethargic in-

vestor beat — or at least equal — the stockmarket? Kathy Kristof, a Kiplinger’s colum-nist and author of Investing 101, is aimingto answer that question with her practical in-

vesting project. She is taking $200,000 of her own money

and dividing it into two pieces — $10,000going into Vanguard Total Stock MarketIndex ETF (symbol VTI), and the rest goinginto individual stocks that she selects.

Here she talks about five of her winningtrades.

Four of my stocks have more than dou-bled since I bought them: Apple (symbolAAPL, $115, 110-percent total return), Mi-crosoft (MSFT, $48, 106 percent), SeagateTechnology (STX, $66, 217 percent) andSpirit Airlines (SAVE, $84, 503 percent). Afifth, Lockheed Martin (LMT), would alsohave been a big winner had I not sold it toosoon.

Why did I buy these stocks? With Appleand Microsoft, the lure was cash. Bothcompanies are loaded with the green stuffand continue to add to their treasuries.Lesson one: Cash is king.I discovered Spirit while writing a story

about the risks of buying initial public offer-ings (kiplinger.com/links/ipo). Wall Streethated airline stocks at the time, but Spirit wasprofitable and growing rapidly; three months

after we posted the article, I bought 723shares for $13.96 apiece, a couple of bucksabove the IPO price. Wall Street now loves air-line stocks, and Spirit is my biggest winner.Lesson two: Wall Street is fickle.

Keep your own counsel.In July 2012, I reported that Seagate’s

shares were selling for a “ludicrously low”3.2 times projected earnings. To be sure,75 percent of Seagate’s sales were tied topersonal computers, a business that WallStreet has declared dead.

But as I mulled the market’s dismalprognosis, I was creating vast amounts ofdata, including pictures and videos that Iwanted to store. So I bought a new harddrive — and about a month after the arti-cle appeared, I picked up 435 shares ofSeagate for $23.11 apiece.Lesson three: When Wall Street

leaves a company for dead, stop tocheck its pulse.

Lockheed entered my portfolio a monthafter I recommended it in December 2011.Despite a near government shutdown andconstant battles over the federal budget,Lockheed shares climbed 25 percent inthe 13 months after I bought them.

At that point, I sold because I thought Icould do better elsewhere. Bad move. SinceI bailed, the stock has soared 98 percent.Lesson four: When you own a great

company, ignore temporary setbacks.Buy and hold.

My untimely sale of Lockheed wasn’t atotal bust. I used some of the proceeds tobuy an additional 105 shares of Apple at$60 apiece (the figures are adjusted for arecent seven-for-one split). I’ve made 92percent on those shares, but I would havedone better had I just held on to Lockheed.Lesson five: When it comes to trad-

ing, less is better.Kathy Kristof is a contributing editor to

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. © 2015 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Dis-

tributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

20 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Five lessons learned from stock winners

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Call 410-605-7179. Mention code: EPC-DM.

sets for the third straight year in 2014.Stanley Black & Decker (SWK, $94).

The power-tool maker is benefiting from ahousing rebound. In the third quarter, salesin Stanley’s do-it-yourself segment rose 9 per-cent. Ron Sloan, senior manager of the In-vesco Charter Fund, said the company’s prof-it margins could climb by as much as threepercentage points in 2015.

Portfolios for $1,000Build a high-yield ETF portfolio. Start

with three shares of junk-bond fund iSharesiBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (sym-bol HYG, $90, 5.2-percent yield). Add 10shares of iShares US Preferred Stock ETF(PFF, $39, 5.6 percent. Finally, buy fourshares of Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ, $81,2.5 percent).

(Money-saving hint: If you have a bro-kerage account at Fidelity, you can buy thetwo iShares ETFs commission-free. Like-wise for Vanguard brokerage clients andthe Vanguard ETF.)Buy a top-notch fund. These five funds

have performed better than their categoryaverage over the past 10 years, and each re-quires $1,000 or less to get started:

Both Oakmark Fund (OAKMX) and Oak-mark Select (OAKLX) invest mainly in largeU.S. companies selling at bargain prices.Homestead Small-Company Stock (HSCSX)

is a member of the Kiplinger 25. Artisan In-ternational (ARTIX) invests mainly in large,growing foreign companies. For an all-in-one option, try Vanguard STAR (VGSTX).

Other investment optionsBe a lender. At peer-to-peer lending

sites such as Lending Club and Prosper,you can invest in personal loans and re-ceive monthly payments and interest asborrowers repay the loans.

To mitigate risk, create a portfolio ofloans with a range of credit ratings. Pros-per lists average investor returns of 5.5percent to 11.4 percent, and LendingClub’s historical returns range from 4.7percent to 9 percent.Take a flier on a low-priced stock.

You can buy 100 shares of any of the sevenstocks listed below for less than $1,000.They all carry a fair amount of risk, but ifthings go right, you could make a bundle.(For more details on each stock, visitkiplinger.com/links/low.)Aptose Biosciences (APTO, $7.08)Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH,

$3.82)Groupon (GRPN, $7.27)Kratos Defense & Security Solu-

tions (KTOS, $5.10)ParkerVision (PRKR, $0.91)Rite Aid (RAD, $5.69)Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI, $3.49)Grab 10 shares of a blue chip. Prefer

more-established companies? You could

buy 10 shares of any one of these fivestocks for roughly a grand. The reward:healthy dividends now and the likelihoodof share-price gains as earnings grow.CVS Health (CVS, $91, 1.2-percent

yield). The drugstore chain is getting aboost from its rapidly growing pharmacy-services segment.Danaher Corp. (DHR, $85, 0.5 per-

cent).Danaher makes everything from med-ical devices to measuring systems. It has $12billion in the till for making acquisitions.Walt Disney (DIS, $94, 1.2 per-

cent). The smashing success of the movieFrozen proves that we are all kids at heart.

MasterCard (MA, $89, 0.7 per-cent). The credit card company boostedits dividend by a stunning 45 percent inDecember.Pepsico (PEP, $98, 2.7 percent).

Besides its namesake soft drinks, Pepsiowns Frito-Lay, Quaker and other greatbrands.

Carolyn Bigda is a contributing editor toKiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.Send your questions and comments to money-power@kiplinger.com. For more on this andsimilar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.

© 2015 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Dis-tributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 21

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22 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

TravelLeisure &TravelLeisure &

University of Virginia faculty live in his-toric pavilions on campus. See story onpage 24.

By Victor BlockThe gracious mansion is a perfect exam-

ple of an 18th century gentleman’s coun-try estate. Its rooms are filled with elegantfurniture and architectural touches im-ported from Europe by Thomas Jefferson.In its heyday, a virtual Who’s Who of earlyAmerican leaders dropped by to visit, in-cluding two James — Monroe and Madi-son, the latter accompanied by Dolley.

About 10 miles away stands a much sim-pler wood-frame cottage where TheodoreRoosevelt escaped the pressures of thepresidency. It was built without a stove,well or bathroom facilities, and would havefit almost twice into the parlor of the muchlarger mansion. A newspaper article writ-ten at the time described its “meager com-plement of furniture.”

These two houses couldn’t be more dif-ferent, nor could the men who once stayedin them. This diversity, which says muchabout the character of the two presidents,also extends throughout Charlottesville,Va., and the countryside that surrounds it.

Part college town, part living historymuseum, Charlottesville adds life andcolor to important chapters of the nation’spast. The small city is nestled in the BlueRidge Mountains, surrounded by ruggedAppalachian Range peaks and pastorallandscapes. Agriculture has long been astaple of the area’s economy, and smallfarms, orchards and vineyards lie just be-

yond Charlottesville’s borders. In that rural setting, the city of about

44,000 residents is an enclave of arts, cul-ture and history. A good way to experi-ence and enjoy all three is to stroll alongthe Historic Downtown Mall.

The brick-paved pedestrian walkwaycombines the nostalgia of renovated his-toric buildings reminiscent of small-townAmericana with more than 130 trendyshops and 30 restaurants, many with anoutdoor cafe.

The street follows a route that duringColonial times connected Richmond withthe Shenandoah Valley. It was calledThree Notch’d Road, which referred tothree nicks made in tree trunks to mark it.

A tale of two presidentsA short drive from the Mall is Monticel-

lo — the plantation home that occupiedmuch of Thomas Jefferson’s interest andactivity over decades, and which demon-strates his genius in architecture. Workbegan on the mansion in 1768, when Jef-ferson (a self-taught architect) was 26years old, and remodeling continued untilhis death in 1826.

Design features included ideas gatheredduring Jefferson’s several years living inEurope. They include dumb waiters, whichhe saw in a Parisian café, skylights, Frenchdoors that open in tandem automaticallyand a seven-day wall clock that still chimes.

In contrast with the elegance of Monti-cello is the tiny, modest cottage whereTheodore Roosevelt enjoyed relaxingwhile serving as president. It was pur-chased by his wife Edith who, like Teddy,cherished simple pleasures derived fromnature.

The rustic retreat has been described as“the most unpretentious habitation everowned by a president,” which says a lotabout Roosevelt. Among personal touchesare a chart listing birds that he spottedduring his stays at the cabin, and lettershe wrote to his children decorated withsketches of cartoon-like figures.

Homes of Monroe and MadisonIntroductions to two other presidential

homes in the Charlottesville area supportVirginia’s nickname as “The Mother ofPresidents.” Four of the first five presidents,and eight in all, were born in the state.

Guides leading tours of Montpelier, thehome of James Madison, note his promi-nent place in history as, among other ac-complishments, a member of the House ofRepresentatives, delegate to the Continen-tal Congress, secretary of state and fourthpresident.

Strolling through the plantation house, Ifound even more meaningful his instru-mental role in drafting both the Constitu-

tion and its first 10 amendments, and thefact that he authored important docu-ments in the rooms where I was standing.

Madison’s prominence was equaled bythat of his famous wife Dolley. She wasknown for her social graces and hospitali-ty, which boosted her husband’s populari-ty. Dolley did much to define the properrole of the president’s wife, which led tothe term “First Lady.” When Madison leftthe White House in 1817, he and Dolley re-turned to Montpelier where they lived outtheir final years.

The Ash Lawn-Highland plantation,which borders Monticello, was home tothe fifth president. While serving as secre-tary of state, James Monroe negotiated theLouisiana Purchase, and the Monroe Doc-trine that he established formed the cor-nerstone of America’s foreign policy forover a century.

Monroe purchased the estate at the urg-ing of his close friend Thomas Jefferson.Monroe referred to the small house, thatwas added to by later owners, as his “cabincastle.”

Today, visitors are immersed in the at-mosphere of a working farm, with demon-strations of spinning, weaving, open-hearthcooking and other early American pursuits.

Thomas Jefferson began building his Charlottesville mansion Monticello in 1768, re-modeling the home, replete with innovations such as dumb waiters and skylights,until his death in 1826.

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An aerial photo shows the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.The 21,000-student university is ranked second among the 2014 top public schools ona list produced by U.S. News and World Report. Read about the school on page 24.

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On the presidential trail in Charlottesville

See CHARLOTTESVILLE, page 23

Sleepy ScottsvilleA setting very different from plantation

homes, and the hustle and bustle of Char-lottesville, is tucked into a horseshoe bendof the James River about 20 miles south ofthe city.

The village of Scottsville (populationabout 600) served as a local ferry crossingand river port during the 18th century.Flat-bottomed “bateaux” boats transportedtobacco, grain and miscellaneous cargo toRichmond, and returned with clothing, fur-niture and other goods imported fromEngland and France.

A combination of events, including theCivil War and advent of railroads, under-mined the town’s importance and left it asleepy shadow of its former self. However,it retains historical touches well worth ex-periencing.

A little gem of a museum recounts thestory of the town and river. A deterioratingwarehouse, which in the mid-19th centurystored grain, tobacco and other produceawaiting shipment in river boats, over-looks the Canal Basin Square adjacent tothe river and the canal beside it.

Exhibits in the square include a packetboat, which over 150 years ago plied theJames River, and a list of tariffs charged fortransporting cargo and passengers. Amongfares were “White person, 12 and older, 1

cent per mile” and “Coloured persons, 5and up, 1/2 cent a mile.”

Virginia vintagesNo trip to the Charlottesville area would

be complete without at least one stop at awinery, and even here the influence ofThomas Jefferson is felt — or, rather, tasted.

He began planting vineyards close toMonticello, and dreamed of producingwines equal to those of the Old World.However, a series of mishaps and misfor-tunes doomed his effort, and for some 200years Virginia’s infant wine industry didnot achieve distinction.

That changed recently as a new genera-tion of winemakers began to produce im-proved vintages. Virginia now has at least230 wineries, and if Jefferson’s dream ofcompeting in quality with the best thatFrance and Italy offer is yet to be com-pletely fulfilled, he would be proud toknow that his beloved native state is thefifth largest producer in the country.

Jefferson’s unusual failure as a maker ofwine pales in comparison to his achieve-ments and those of his famous neighbors,who were among the founders of our coun-try. A visit to Charlottesville brings theirand other stories to life in a setting as var-ied as were those early leaders.

Where to stay, eatIn a city surrounded by farmlands, it’s not

surprising that a number of restaurants serve

fresh-from-the-ground fare. Up to 95 percentof the ingredients used at the BrookvilleRestaurant in the Historic Downtown Mall(225 W. Main Street) come from Virginiafarms, foragers and the chef’s garden.

Some dishes, like chicken with waffle($25) and biscuits served four ways ($5 to$8) have a southern twang. For more infor-mation, call (434) 202-2781 or log ontowww.brookvillerestaurant.com.

Touches of the past come to life at theC&O Canal Restaurant (515 E. Water St.).For example, the walls and bar in thebistro are made with wood from an oldbarn, and the upstairs dining room served

as a bunk house for railroad workers dur-ing the Depression.

The menu here also focuses on local ingre-dients, including a Virginia oyster stew appe-tizer ($10) and locally raised pork tenderloin($27). For more information, call (434) 971-7044 or log onto www.candorestaurant.com.

Guests at the English Inn are immersedin a world of British tradition. In additionto the décor, touches like afternoon hightea add to the atmosphere. Amenities in-clude a hot breakfast buffet, indoor swim-ming pool, exercise room and sauna. Rates

B A L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 23

CharlottesvilleFrom page 22

See CHARLOTTESVILLE, page 24

WoodholmeGardens Assisted Living

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To many people, the town of Char-lottesville, Virginia and Thomas Jefferson’sMonticello are synonymous. Indeed, evenmore than at his famous home, the pres-ence of Jefferson can be felt throughout thequiet college town, most especially at theUniversity of Virginia, which he founded.

A visit to UVA brings you back to moderntimes — but only for a moment. Jefferson’svision of his “Academical Village” becamereality starting in 1819, and the Universitycontinues to function much as he intended.Welcome back to the 1800s.

In addition to offering arguably the finesteducation among public institutions avail-able to capable students “regardless ofwealth, birth or other accidental conditionor circumstances” — producing moreRhodes Scholars than any other state uni-versity — UVA maintains a tradition of stu-dent self-governance, including a student-

run honor system that actually works (atleast most of the time).

Although the university has expandedsince Jefferson’s time, Jefferson’s originalbuildings remain much as they were. The Ro-tunda, a scaled-down version of the Pantheonin Rome, was designed to maintain architec-tural balance in harmony with the five Pavil-ions on either side, which house classroomsand faculty residences.

Jefferson envisioned a scholarly commu-nity where students and professors live inclose proximity to share knowledge and nur-ture together a life-long commitment to edu-cation. To help achieve that goal, he inter-mingled students’ rooms among the Pavil-ions, connecting them with low colonnadedwalkways.

The expansive Lawn between the tworows of buildings, and the serpentinewalled-gardens weaving in, out and around

the Pavilions, provide quiet space for per-sonal reflection and personal connectionsbetween teacher and student. This was aradical approach to education at the time.

The 54 student rooms along the Lawnare astonishingly unchanged since theUniversity opened. The 150-square-footrooms contain a wooden bed, an old-fash-ioned secretary’s desk, fireplace and asmall free-standing wooden closet whichcontains a sink. Other plumbing facilities— minor amenities such as showers andtoilets — are located a bracing winter’swalk away.

Upon first viewing, I assumed they werejust another historical attraction that recre-ates living conditions — in this case, of stu-dents — in the early 1800s. Imagine my sur-prise to find that students today actually viefor the honor of living there!

A select few fourth-year students who

have made substantial contributions to theUniversity are chosen for the opportunityto closely approximate the lifestyle of thescholars who lived and studied in thesesame rooms in Jefferson’s day.

It is not surprising that Jefferson invest-ed so much heart and soul into his final tri-umph. The university embodies Jeffer-son’s three greatest passions: his vision asan educator, his talent as an architect, andhis skill as a gardener.

The very essence of his dream — the in-teractive student/faculty community, the stu-dent-run university governance, the personalcode of ethics — still permeates how campusresidents think and act today. Thomas Jeffer-son is alive and well and still attending theUniversity of Virginia.

For more information, see www.virginia.edu.

— Fyllis Hockman

24 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

The roots of the University of Virginia

begin at a reasonable $100. For more in-formation, call (434) 971-9900 or log ontowww.englishinncharlottesville.com.

It’s early Americana that’s the focus atthe Boar’s Head Inn, a gracious resort thatsets the tone for a visit to the history-richCharlottesville area.

A large part of the main hotel buildingis made of wood from a gristmill that wasbuilt nearby in 1834 and later dismantled.That includes the pine floor of the Old Milllounge, along with beams and wall panel-ing. Fieldstones that were part of themill’s foundations adorn a fireplace and anarched entrance into the inn.

The golf course is laid out over land thatwas part of a 1734 land grant, and wherethe Boar’s Head now stands a modest innnamed Terrell’s Ordinary provided lodg-ing for westward travelers.

Along with such historical touches, theBoar’s Head offers amenities and facilities ex-pected at an AAA Four-Diamond Resort. Inaddition to golf, there is tennis, squash, a spa,and activities ranging from biking and hot airballooning to fishing and swimming. That’s alot of leisure living for rates that begin at $165.For more information, call (855) 574-5627 orlog onto www.boarsheadinn.com.

Charlottesville is about 115 miles fromdowntown Washington, D.C. For more infor-mation about Charlottesville, call (877) 386-1103 or log onto www.visitcharlottesville.org.

CharlottesvilleFrom page 23

PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW Roland Park Country

School’s Kaleidoscope Program willhost a day trip to the PhiladelphiaFlower Show and Reading Market onThursday, March 5, from 8 a.m. to5:30 p.m. Cost of the trip is $95. Forreservations, call (410) 323-5500 orvisit www.rpcs.org.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 5

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon 25

By Dan CollinsWar is hell.What matters, as playwright Lynn Nottage

explores in her Pulitzer Prize-winning drama,Ruined, now playing at the Everyman The-atre, is how one chooses to deal with it.

For the soldiers of the Congo — like Com-mander Osembenga (Manu Kumasi) of theruling government, and rebel militia leaderKisembe (Gary-Kayi Fletcher) — war offersthe ultimate expression of freedom.

But this is a freedom from morality, civili-ty, mercy, and all the common bonds of whatwe judge to be humanity. War is a fiery floorwhere their unleashed ids may frolic in thebloodshed and maidenheads of the subju-gated men and women about them.

For others, war is economic opportunity.War affords men like Mr. Harari (BruceNelson) the chance to trade in gems andminerals torn from the earth as it is dug andblasted away by miners and soldiers alike.

But for women, war is only a destroyerof both flesh and fantasy. Dawn Ursulaplays Mama Nadi, a woman who hasmined a niche of her own, eking out a liv-ing as proprietor of a hardscrabble, corru-gated-iron-enclosed bar-and-brothel.

Ursula portrays Nadi as a woman in per-petual movement, almost dancing acrossthe stage as she interacts with cast mem-bers, as though there is continuous musicplaying in her head.

Based on real experiencesOne comes to understand there’s a

method to Nadi’s madness, for she isfeverishly working to keep her oh-so-deli-cately balanced view of reality from fallingapart.

There are considerable forces at work— drawn from Nottage’s interviews fromreal-life DRC (Democratic Republic ofCongo) war survivors — to destroy thatbalance. Fortunately, not all are evil.

Enter Christian (Jason B. McIntosh). If heis so named to represent historic Christianvalues, like grace, hope, love, faith and serv-ice, he does not disappoint. McIntosh por-trays Christian as someone simple on thesurface, but in fact a complex and compas-sionate man (Mama calls him “Professor”).He is driven by his love for Mama Nadi andfamily to endure a variety of sacrifices.

Will Christian somehow survive a warwhere children decapitate men with ma-chetes? Will he win that “last dance” withMama? We aren’t sure until the play’s finalscene.

You see, Christian represents a threat toMama Nadi’s sense of order: Who hastime for romance when you’re trying tosurvive in a war zone?

As Christian presses for some sign thathis feelings might be reciprocated, Nadistops moving, stands firm, juts out herchin and is defiant. It’s a stance she takesoften, whether it is standing up to falsesaviors of the people like Kisembe and Os-embenga (their respective rhetoric almostidentical despite representing oppositesides in the war), or reminding “the girls”

at the bar who is in charge.In hopes of offering his sister’s daugh-

ter some form of refuge, Christian bringsniece Sophie (Zurin Villanueva) and herfriend, Salima (Monique Ingram), toMama Nadi’s. Mama derides Salima forbeing “plain,” and re-fuses to accept Sophiewhen Christian informsher she is “ruined” — aterm meaning so de-filed by countless rapesas to make her “use-less” in the flesh trade.

Mama Nadi is ulti-mately swayed and takesSophie in; this is the firsttrue crack in her armor,one that will continue togrow, painfully, as theplay continues, leadingup to a final revelationwhich is at the core ofMama’s pain.

Solace in fantasyPain is the currency the women of this

brothel deal in. Ingram’s Salima is onemore refugee whose life and dreams were

Arts &Style

Everyman Theatrepresents Ruined, aplay based on truestories about the hor-rors of civil war in theDemocratic Republicof Congo. Here, Chris-tian (played by JasonB. McIntosh) unsuc-cessfully tries to wooMama Nadi (Dawn Ur-sula), who owns abrothel and bar.

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Ruined’s harrowing portrayal of Congo war

Gianni Toso crafted this award-winningchess set depicting Hassidic Jews andCatholic priests. See cover story continued on page 28.

See RUINED, page 27

Radio Flea Market

Cars, boats, furniture, antiques, tools, appliancesEverything and anything is sold on

Heard every Sunday, 7-8:00 a.m. on 680 WCBM

By Jennifer L. Waldera“I was feeling the need to scratch my artis-

tic itch,” said Cheryl Atkins, 63, of her inspi-ration to pursue photography. “I have alwaysbeen an artist in one form or another.”

Professionally, Atkins (who was also acompetitive bodybuilder, “a long time andmany pounds ago!”) and her husband Tomrenovate properties to sell or leasethroughout the eastern part of BaltimoreCity, where they reside.

Her involvement in designing the reno-

vation of those properties, however, wasnot enough to satisfy her artistic hunger. “Ido the designs for the rehabs in our realestate business and that kept me going fora long time,” said Atkins.

“Something was missing, though, andphotography filled that void. It fulfills meand makes me feel good about me, as it’sall mine.”

An eclectic portfolioAtkins bought her first camera and at-

tended a film photography class in the late1960s at Maryland Institute College of Art,but soon lost interest. It was not until 2007that she delved back into shooting photos,mainly of family at first.

Now, Atkins photographs everythingfrom architecture to farm animals, pets,landscapes and portraits, using bothCanon and Fuji camera systems. “I willshoot anything that catches my eye,” said

Atkins. “I think the worst thing any artistcan do is limit themselves.”

She is inspired by both local and world-renowned photographers, such as ConnieImboden, William Eggleston, Vivian Maier,Peter Turnley, Diane Arbus, DorotheaLange, Helmut Newton, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams, among others.

26 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

There’s a better way to weather winter.

FREEBROCHURE

Winter is always warm and wonderful at Charlestown and Oak Crest, Baltimore’s premier retirement communities. With predictable bills, an abundance of activities, and no maintenance concerns, you can relax and enjoy the season.

Change the way you react to winter. Call 410-782-0536 today or visit EricksonLiving.com/winter for your free brochure.

10523217

Photographer turns lens on hometown

See PHOTOGRAPHER, page 27

After a nearly 40-year break from photography, Cheryl Atkins picked up her cameraand began shooting again eight years ago. She now finds endless opportunities totake photos in Baltimore, including a popular series of “drive by shootings,” whereshe takes candids of Baltimoreans from a car being driven by her husband.

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One of Atkins’ favorite subjects is thecity street scenes and individuals found inher “Driveby Shootings” collection. Pho-tos in the collection routinely receive highpraises from fans and followers on socialmedia, like Flickr and Facebook, whereshe shares her work.

Since Atkins cannot photograph and driveat the same time, her husband serves as herwilling chauffeur. “Tom is in the driver’s seatand we drive all over Baltimore, while I takephotos of people on the streets,” she said. “Iabsolutely love it, and did this almost exclu-sively for the first few years I was seriouslyinto photography.”

While she loves photographing her

hometown, geographically speaking, thereare no limits to Atkins’ work. While the set-ting for many albums in her collection isBaltimore City-based — from portrayals ofquaint waterfront Fell’s Point to eventslike Artscape, farmers’ markets, and BikeJam — there is no shortage of picturesfrom cities like Portland, Oregon; Mystic,Connecticut, and Tilghman Island, whereshe and her husband have a getawayhome.

Though social media is the largest plat-form for her work, Atkins has also partici-pated in many exhibitions throughout Bal-timore, including solo shows at the EnochPratt Library and Patterson Park PublicCharter School. She has also taken part inthe School 33 Open Studio Tour and ingroup shows at the Highlandtown Gallery.

Raising money for charityAtkins also uses her talent to raise funds

for local organizations, holding shows atvenues such as the Laughing Pint bar andrestaurant in support of the Patterson Park

Public Charter School. “I really enjoyed doing that, and look

forward to doing the same thing for other

PhotographerFrom page 26

destroyed by war. Her fantasy of returningto her husband and her village is threat-ened on numerous fronts.

Bueka Uwemedimo, who plays her es-tranged husband, Fortune, is also aptlynamed, as what he represents — a returnto an idyllic life of sweet gardens and blueskies — is a fortune to be had, but a wildgamble at best.

Jade Wheeler’s Josephine, the daughterof a village chief, lives a fantasy where shewill go away with Mr. Harari to live in the

big city as befitting her royal heritage. So-phie reads romance novels to Josephineand Salima to help reinforce a dream of ahappy, loving life, for which there appearsto be little hope.

If Josephine’s fantasy is about statusand Salima’s about marriage, Sophie’sdream is to free her mind — to learn, tohave a career. A one-time university stu-dent, she is put in charge of keepingMama’s accounts, and since she cannot“entertain” in the usual way, sings songsinstead. When the soldiers visiting the bargrab her, one physically feels the pain ofher “ruination.”

Well-paced and directedDirector Tazewell Thompson does an

exemplary job in keeping the play wellpaced, encouraging vivid and in-your-face performances by this cast of 17 ac-tors.

Kudos to scenic director Brandon Mc-Neel for creating a realistic set, accentingthe far corners of the stage with piles ofbroken barrels, chairs, bicycles and tables,representing the chaos that dwells allaround Mama Nadi’s haven.

In the end, the war that Mama Nadifights so vainly to keep out bursts throughher door, blood is spilled and there is

death. But while Mama and her chargesmay be beaten, they are not defeated.

Nottage’s play is about the incredible re-siliency of the human spirit. Despite itsdarkest manifestations, there can be graceand love.

Ruined continues its run at Baltimore’sEveryman Theatre at 315 W. Fayette St. indowntown Baltimore through March 8.

Tickets range from $34 to $60 and may bepurchased by calling (410) 752-2208 or byvisiting www.everymantheatreorg. Patrons62 and older can receive a $6 discount offtickets for Saturday matinees and Sundayevening performances.

B A L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 27

RuinedFrom page 25

See PHOTOGRAPHER, page 29

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set, “Jews vs. Catholics,” won first prize in anexhibit of Murano’s master glassblowers.The chess pieces depict leaders of two oppos-ing theologies — Catholic Franciscan Priestsversus Hasidic Jews — in a whimsical way.

Shortly thereafter, famed artist SalvadoreDali commissioned Toso to make a series of12 of Dali’s surrealistic flowers in glass.

In 1972, Toso’s growing recognitionearned him an invitation — as the only Ve-netian — to participate in the InternationalGlass Symposium at the Museum Bel-lerive in Zurich, Switzerland. The sympo-sium was led by Harvey K. Littleton, theartist responsible for helping to foundwhat is called the studio glass movementin the United States.

Littleton developed and taught do-it-yourself techniques that liberated glass-blowers from the hot, sweaty, dirty work offactory production. They made molten

glass easier to work with in a studio setting,much like a potter works with wet clay.

According to Karyn Toso, her husband’sdecision to attend the symposium was noteasy, as Venetian glassblowing techniquestraditionally were zealously protected, andToso had to consult with his family aboutwhat he could and could not share with theother artists at the symposium.

“In the old Venetian Republic, if a glass-blower left Murano and went to anothercountry, he was killed, and the govern-ment seized all of his family’s property andpossessions,” Karyn relates on Toso’swebsite.

Fortunately, modern sensibilities pre-vailed, and Toso was able to accept the in-vitation without fearing for his life. Hespent two weeks living and working with16 other glassblowers from around theworld.

“It was a way for me to get off the smallisland (of Murano) and into the rest of theworld,” he said.

A new way to think, work“There, from all of the good energy and

enthusiasm, particularly from the Americanartists, for the first time in my life I sharedideas with strangers, and with people who,like myself, did not see glass only as artisanswho make craft production,” Toso added. “Itwas a fantastic cultural happening.”

It was at the symposium that Toso becameaware that glassblowing could combine theelements of both craft and art. Craft is repeti-tion, he explained, which would allow him tomake a living, while art makes people think.

Toso soon became a leader in the GlassStudio Movement, promoting the idea ofglassblowing as an art form. In 1979, Mar-vin Lipofsky, who had met Toso in Zurichand was at that time chairman of the GlassDepartment at the California College ofArts and Crafts, invited Toso to headline aglass-blowing tour of art departments inAmerican universities, making him thefirst Venetian to teach Italian techniques toAmerican students.

During that visit, Toso also became en-amored with American culture and thefreedom artists have here to create with-out having any political ties. He sold hisstudio in the Venetian Ghetto and beganhis new life in the United States.

“In America, I saw the future and conti-nuity of my family’s tradition, and the futureof the Glass Studio Movement,” he said. “Imiss Italy (and he still returns to purchasehis supplies on the island of Murano). Butin many respects, America is the mostbeautiful and blessed country in the world.”

Because Jewish Orthodoxy precludesworking on the Sabbath (from Friday atsundown to Saturday at sundown), Tosodoes not regularly exhibit in galleries be-cause “meet the artist” receptions are gen-erally held on weekends.

And though he, from time to time, servesas a guest faculty member at such institu-tions as the Corning Museum of Glass, healso eschews the administrative work anduniversity politics that accompany ongoingfaculty positions. “Culture should be sepa-rate from politics,” he explained.

While his Orthodoxy (which he came toas an adult in Venice) is a strong part of hislife, Toso’s glassworks encompass bothsecular and religious themes — from col-lections such as “Big Sur” and “Carnevale,”to “Chuppahs” (a Jewish wedding canopy)and “Menorahs” (the candelabrum used tocelebrate Chanukah, or the Festival ofLights).

Individual figures can begin at about$300, while a complex, 114-piece work thattook him a year to make, recently sold for$120,000.

What takes time, Toso explained, is notnecessarily the actual production, but the“harmony” he seeks in each piece.

“There has to be a dialog between fig-ures,” he said. “When you have that, youfeel the pulse and the heartbeat that theartist has created.”

While Toso says that his focus in life ishis family, the Jewish community, and “pay-ing the bills!” he is, at heart, a romantic Ve-netian (“not Italian!”) who sees art as thebest way to connect human beings.

For Toso, his glasswork is just one as-pect of his life as a “creator.” He gardens,he cooks, he makes wine (from grapessupplied by a California grower), and evenstill chops the wood that heats his studio,all with one goal in mind.

“I like to create positive energy in life.”To see more of Gianni Toso’s glass-

works, visit www.giannitoso.com.

28 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Glass blowerFrom page 1

FROM PAGE 30

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

causes in the future,” said Atkins.Between photographing, editing, post-

ing to social media and attending occasion-al exhibits, Atkins admits that her “pas-sionate hobby” fills most of her spare time,but that the support she gets from familyis priceless.

“My husband, family and friends havebeen amazingly supportive,” said Atkins.“From my husband driving to venues withme, to my niece Kathleen flying from L.A.for my artist’s talk at the HighlandtownGallery last summer, to the wonderful com-ments I get from my friends on Facebookand Flickr, I could not be more pleased. It’svery important to me to know that my workpleases them. I find it very motivational.”

Atkins credits photography with rekin-dling her artistic spirit, and recommends it

to others as well. “I want people to know thatinteresting things are around them every-where,” she said. “All one has to do is look.

“It is never too late to become involvedin photography,” Atkins continued. “If youfeel something lacking in your life, pick upa camera, or your phone camera, and takea walk. Photograph whatever pleases you,no one else. You might be surprised atwhat you find and who you find withinyourself.”

According to Atkins, it’s not necessaryto have an expensive camera to get start-ed. “Use your phone if that’s all you have,”she said. “Just start. Just shoot. Developyour eye and expose your work via anymeans you have available. Social media isfantastic for that.”

In terms of future plans, Atkins wouldlike to see her work included in print publi-cations, and may even consider opening agallery.

She also has in mind doing her own cof-fee table book. “I’m not yet sure the direc-tion…whether I want to do a ‘pretty’ one,or one of my hard-edged shots from thestreets of Baltimore,” Atkins said. “Bothare close to my heart.”

As always though, Atkins has set hersights high. When asked who or what wouldbe at the top of her list to photograph, shedefinitively answered, “Keith Richards.”

Atkins’ photos are for sale, priced around$400 for a matted, framed museum-gradeimage. (Unframed prints are also available.)Her work can be found on her Flickr site athttps://www.flickr.com/photos/tomkitty/.

B A L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 29

OLD AND NEW, WE BUY STERLING SIL-VER FLATWARE, Tea Sets, Single Pieces ofSilver, Large pieces of Silver Plate. Attic, Base-ment or Garage. Call Greg, 717-658-7954. Youhave something to SELL, we are looking to BUY.

MILITARY ITEMS Collector seeks: hel-mets, weapons, knives, swords, bayonets, we-bgear, uniforms, inert ordnance, ETC. From1875 to 1960, US, German, Britain, Japan,France, Russian. Please call Fred 301-910-0783, Thank you. Also Lionel Trains.

CASH BUYER FOR OLD COSTUMEJEWELRY – pocket and wrist watches (anycondition). Also buying watchmaker tools andparts, train sets and accessories, old toys, oldglassware & coins. 410-655-0412.

WE BUY JEWELRY, SILVER, GOLD,AND COSTUME. Coins, Paper Money Too.Watches, Clocks, Military Badges andPatches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

Wanted Wanted

Classifieds cont. from p. 31

PhotographerFrom page 27

L A B S E T A S A C SS E P I A E X E C O C H OA V E R B W I N E C L I PD I S C O U N T D R A C U L A

H A N B L E E D SA B E R I S K I S RB R A N D X M E N C O M I C SA E R O E N A O D E SD R N O D O W N P A Y M E N T

N I N Y A L E A T SA P I E C E A L EV I N C E N T L O W P R I C EA N N A E R I N E N D O NI T E M S E M I D I L L SL O R E S E P T E Y E

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

30 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com MARCH 2 0 1 5 — B A L T IMORE B E A CON

Crossword PuzzleDaily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.comClick on Puzzles Plus

Answers on page 29.

BB3/15

Scrabble answers on p. 28.

PUZZLE PAGE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20 21

22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36

37 38 39

40 41 42 43 44

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Cheap Thrills by Stephen Sherr

Across1. White coat place4. ___ good example8. Pouches12. Photoshop tone14. CEO, CFO, or the like15. Dos X cuatro16. Every sentence needs one17. It is bottled in 33 Down18. Prepare a coupon for usage19. Cheap monster22. Star Wars action figure23. Suffers a scraped knee24. Honest pres.27. Game first named “The Conquest of the World”

30. Land between the Med. and Dead Seas31. Cheap graphic lit.37. Dynamic beginning38. Last section of a SUBPOENA39. Poetic tributes40. Cheap villain45. Diarist Anais46. School with motto “Light and Truth”47. @@@48. Each51. Ginger drink53. Cheap actor60. Blonde heir, ___ Nicole Smith61. 2000 title character, ___ Brockovich62. ___ a high note63. New couple64. Formal introduction65. Pickle possibilities66. Teaching of old67. Back-to-school mo.68. TV Network logo

Down1. Son of Jacob; father of the blue jean2. King Kong, and his smaller relatives

3. Carbonated “beer”4. Tailor-made5. Highway offway6. Keep watch over7. Razor-edged8. 21st century carpooler9. Detective’s excited shout10. Free diner, sometimes11. Cantina cuisine category12. Gloomy13. On the train20. Operating system first created by AT&T

21. And another thing24. “I’m having ___ day”25. ___ Rabbit26. Get frequent flyer points28. Species of duck29. Singer Loggins or Rogers32. Party host’s lament33. Place to sample 17 Across34. Creative spark35. Sign omitted from a standard computer keyboard

36. Former fast flights41. They might land on Park Place

42. Unity43. “There aughta be ___”44. Barked shrilly48. Be of use to49. Ford from the 70’s50. First piece of peace52. Groundbreaking comic Kovacs54. Forest unit55. Walk awkwardly56. “Step ___!”57. Without purpose58. ___ slaw59. Negotiation’s start and end

OUTSIDE SALES/PART-TIME/BUSINESSTO BUSINESS. Flexible hours/Salary + Com-mission. We are a 25 year old family-owned com-pany seeking an experienced sales associate towork with established business customers aswell as cultivate new accounts. 410-332-1166.

SEEKING A LIVE-IN CAREGIVER to do lighthousekeeping, laundry, & prepare meals for eld-erly man; references required. Call 410-665-3849.

FREE RANDALLSTOWN BIBLE STUD-IES –What the Bible really teaches about theTrinity? Where’s hell? God’s name is importantto life everlasting. John 17:3, Psalms 83:18.Ben, 410-286-1357.

TAXES – ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPINGand eldercare. Call 410-653-3363.

FOR RENT, NEWLY RENOVATED LOVE-LY one-bedroom apartment in private home.Separate entrance, washer/dryer. Quiet neigh-borhood in Pikesville, near transportation.$800. 410-653-2594.

BOOKS, THOUSANDS, for the collectorand reader, all ages and subjects. AntiqueDepot, historic Ellicott City, Booth 119, 3rdfloor.

PARKWOOD CEMETERY – Taylor Avenue –Poplar Lot 831 – Site 2. Also includes one burialvault and one opening and closing of grave site– value $6,685. Sell for $3,300 or best offer, 410-529-1191.

14 KT. SCOTTISH RITE 32 degree DoubleEagle Ring, excellent condition, $600. ScottishRite 14 degree 10 kt. Band, $150. PicturesAvailable. Pretchless2@comcast.net or 410-668-9620.

MAUSOLEUM FOR SALE with opening andclosing, at yesterday’s price, at the Garden ofFaith Cemetery in Baltimore County. Pleasecontact Ruth at 410-842-5992.

2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints fromDante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed.Asking $900 for the pair. Can email pictures ifdesired. Call Steve, 410-913-1653.

HANDYMAN AND HONEY-DO SERVICE –Small jobs are my specialty. Prices by the hour,day or job. MHIC # 95672, Fully Insured. Dave,443-514-8583.

RESIDENTIAL PAINTING: RETIREDPAINTER seeking residential, light commer-cial work in Baltimore area. Call Mark at 443-324-0091. Good work at good prices.

SANFORD & SON HAULING & RECY-CLING. Trash + Junk removal, house & estatecleanouts, garage + basement cleanouts. Demo-lition – Shed, deck fence + pool removal. Li-censed + insured. Free estimates over thephone. Call 7 days a week, 7 am to 7 pm. 410-746-5090.

BALTIMORE’S BEST JUNK REMOVAL –Clean Outs: Whole House, Emergency,Attics/Basements. Furniture and Junk Re-moval, Yard Waste Removal, General Hauling,Construction Debris Removal. Free estimates.10% Senior Discount. Licensed, Bonded and In-sured. Call Jesse, 443-379-HAUL (4285).

LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN –FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational.Grammatical. Private lessons. ReasonableRates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALI-TY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a se-rious capable buyer. I am very well educated [lawdegree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the an-tique business] and have the finances and where-withal to handle virtually any situation. If youhave a special item, collection or important estate Iwould like to hear from you. I pay great prices forgreat things in all categories from oriental rugs toTiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, fromsilver and gold to classic cars. If it is wonderful, Iam interested. No phony promises or messy con-signments. References gladly furnished. Pleasecall Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834. Thank you.

BA L T IMORE B E A CON — MA RCH 2 0 1 5 Say you saw it in the Beacon 31

CLASSIFIEDSThe Beacon prints classified advertising

under the fol low ing headings: Business &Employment Opportunities; Caregivers;Computer Services; Entertainment; For Sale;For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free; Health;Home/ Handy man Services; Miscellaneous;Personals; Per son al Services; Va ca tion Oppor-tunities; and Want ed. For sub mis sion guide -lines and dead lines, see the box on the right.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!The Beacon does not know ing ly ac cept ob -

scene, of fen sive, harmful, or fraudulent ad-vertising. How ev er, we do not in ves ti gateany ad ver tis ers or their prod ucts and can notac cept re spon si bil i ty for the in teg ri ty of ei-ther. Re spon dents to clas si fied ad ver tis ingshould al ways use cau tion and their bestjudg ment. EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally ac-

cept ad ver tis ing in violation of federal, state,and local laws pro hib it ing dis crim i na tionbased on race, color, national origin, sex, fa mil -ial sta tus or handicap in connection with em-ployment or the sale or rental of real estate.

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIEDDeadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’sissue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reachedin the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone orfax, nor do we accept credit cards.

Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place apersonal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise. Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad. Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to the Beacon, to:

The Beacon, Baltimore Classified Dept. P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227

For Sale/Rent: Real Estate

For Sale

Financial Services

Events

Business and Employment Opportunities

Caregivers

Home/Handyman Services Personal Services

Wanted

Classifieds cont. on p. 29

Clinical ResearchStudies

Dementia Study . . . . . . . . . . . .14Diabetes Research Study . . . . .20Elderly Falls Study . . . . . . . . .15Gallbladder/Kidney

Stone Study . . . . . . . . . . . . .15HYPNOS Diabetic Sleep Study .15IDEAL Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14NeurExpand Memory Study . .14Parkinson’s Exercise Study . . .15

Financial Services Bennett Senior Services . . . . .18Boomer Business Summit . . . .18Catholic Charities . . . . . . . . . .17Debt Counsel for

Seniors and the Disabled . . .18Golden Real Estate . . . . . . . . .12JSR Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Ridgebrook Insurance . . . . . . .19Salvation Army . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Funeral ServicesHolly Hill Memorial Gardens . .20

Hearing ServicesClarity & Comfort

Hearing Center . . . . . . . . . . . .9Hearing & Speech Agency . . . .8Maryland Relay . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Home Health CareOptions for Senior America . . .3

HousingBlake & Sons

Waterproofing . . . . . . . . . . .29Brookfield Residential . . . . . . .6Charlestown . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Heritage Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Meadows of Reisterstown . . . .27Memorial Apartments . . . . . . .23Oak Crest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Park Heights Place . . . . . . . . .29Park View Apartments . . . . . .24Shangri-La Assisted

Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16St. Mary’s Roland

View Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Westminster House Apts . . . . .26Williamsburg Homes . . . . . . .21Woodholme Gardens . . . . . . . .23

Housing ReferralService

Senior Placement Service/Care Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Legal ServicesFrank, Frank

& Scherr Law Firm . . . . . . .17

Medical/HealthCleanse Institute . . . . . . . . . . .15Dr. Richard Rosenblatt,

DPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Dr. Stuart Goldman, DPM . . .10Health Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Ideal Health Chiropractic . . . . .7Low Vision Specialists of

Maryland & Virginia . . . . . . .4Mishpacha Dental . . . . . . . . . .13NeurExpand Brain Center . . . . .8Progressive Rehab

Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Smart Pain Management . . . . . .9

MoversEasy Movers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

PharmaciesCVS Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . .28Lexington Pharmacy . . . . . . . . .5Rite Aid Pharmacy . . . . . . . . .12Walgreen’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

RetailShelf Genie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Wilkens Beltway Plaza . . . . . .21

Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation

CommuniCare Health . . . . . . .13Holly Hill Nursing

& Rehabilitation . . . . . . . . . .11Manor Care Health

Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Theatres/Entertainment

Hollywood Casino . . . . . . . . .32Radio Flea Market . . . . . . . . . .25

Tour & TravelEyre Bus, Tour & Travel . . . . .23

VolunteersBaltimore City RSVP . . . . . . .25

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE

32 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com M A R C H 2 0 1 5 — B A L T I M O R E B E A C O N

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