Monthly Archives for January 2013

Legendary Cowsills to Come Home to Be Recognized By Their Own

Published January 25, 2013, Pawtucket Times

Bob Cowsill, of Rhode Island’s legendary Cowsills, has come full circle in his forty year musical career. Now living on the West Coast, the nationally-acclaimed musician and his band member siblings are planning a trip back to their childhood home. On Sunday, April 28th at the Hope Artiste Village complex in Pawtucket, they will be inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame (RIMHOF).

Beginning a Musical Journey

The Cowsills, who play pop and rock ‘n’ roll, are one of the most successful family musical acts of the 1960s. They grew up just an hour’s drive from Pawtucket, on Aquidneck Island where their names are still carved into a tree on the family homestead. The band was founded by four of the Cowsill brothers (Bob, Bill, Barry and John) in 1965. Within two years, it encompassed nearly the entire family with the additions of brother Paul, sister Susan, and their mother, Barbara (“Mini-Mom”). Their father, Bud, became their manager. (Bob’s twin brother Richard is the only sibling who never joined the band.) The Cowsills later became the creative inspiration for the 1970’s television show, The Partridge Family, still in syndication today.

The Cowsills were the first of the family rock groups, opening the door for others, says Bob, the eldest of the musical clan. Those following in their footsteps included The Jackson 5 and The Osmonds, who made the switch to rock following the Cowsills’ success.

“The family angle just evolved,” says Cowsill, stressing that it should not be considered “premeditated.” When it became difficult to interest musicians on Aquidneck Island to join the fledgling band, Cowsill notes that it became obvious that the younger siblings were the answer to filling the empty slots.

In the mid-sixties, the Cowsills were hired as a regular act on Bannister’s Wharf, playing weekly at Dorians, in Newport, “at that time a rough Navy town,” says Bob.

He notes that the group’s first big career break in 1964 came after playing in the basement disco of the MK Hotel, 38 Bellevue Ave., in Newport. From this performance came an invitation to play on the Today Show. Their 20 minute performance caught the attention of singer Johnny Nash and the group signed their first recording contract with his JODA Records label, releasing their first single, “All I Really Want To Be Is Me,” in 1965.

America’s Musical Family

Cowsill recalls how that first single was pitted against “The Sound of Silence” on a WPRO radio contest. When the votes were tabulated, the Newport band “won by a landside.” To this day, he still chuckles when remembering the Cowsills’ victory over America’s most recognizable musical duo, Simon and Garfunkel.

From the late ’60s into the early ’70s, the Cowsills appeared on many popular television shows, among them: The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, the Mike Douglas Show, and the Johnny Cash Show. They even hosted their own NBC TV special called “A Family Thing.”

“Bewilderment,” says Cowsill, thinking about his two performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. The group had contracted to appear ten times which would have put them on Sunday’s most popular show more times than The Beatles. But a fiasco over a microphone that was accidentally turned off between Sullivan’s son-in-law and Bud Cowsill resulted in the cancellation of the remaining eight shows, he said.

Before the young Cowsills had their first hit record, they were hired as one of the headliners, along with Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Byrds and The Beach Boys (all Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees) for Soundblast ’66 at Yankee Stadium in New York. “We were in pop wonderland. It was just unbelievable. Somehow, my father worked magic and got us to Yankee Stadium for this show. We were not famous at the time but apparently good enough to play for the crowd.”

Bringing Home the Gold

In 1967, the Cowsills first MGM release, “The Rain, The Park & Other Things,” sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record. This song would ultimately reach No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Cash Box and Record World.

One year later, the band scored another near million-selling hit with the song “Indian Lake,” reaching No. 10 on the charts and in 1968, the band hit No. 1 again with their version of “Hair,” a three-million seller which brought them a nomination for 16 Magazine’s Best Group of 1970. “Hair” was banned from Armed Forces radio in Viet Nam for being too controversial, noted Cowsill, stating that, “We were amused at the time because our brother, Richard, who was in Vietnam reported back that they were playing it everywhere!”

Baby boomers may remember the Cowsills taking on the role as spokespersons for the American Dairy Assn. with their “Milk Song” appearing in commercials and their images in print ads promoting milk. Cowsill also notes that his group has been referenced in trivia game questions and twice on David Letterman’s Top Ten List.

In 1969, The Cowsills became the first rock group to record a theme for a television show, “Love American Style.” Their melodic sound has also been featured in movies such as “The Impossible Years” and “Dumb and Dumber”, and other TV shows including “The Wonder Years” and “The Simpsons.”

A feature-length film, “Family Band – The Story of The Cowsills,” which documents the rise and fall of the group is coming to cable TV in March. “It will show what really happened in our family band,” says Cowsill.

The Cowsills disbanded in the early 1970s but most of them have never fully retired from the music business and various members have regrouped through the years.

Cowsill and his siblings John, Susan and Paul, plus two of the band member’s sons, continue to play concerts across the country at casinos, fairs and music festivals. Today, he’s come full circle in his career. For more than 27 years, the sixty-three year old musician has been playing at Pickwick’s Pub in Woodland Hills, California, every Friday night, once again performing the songs of the Beatles and The Byrds. During the day, Cowsill coordinates medical conferences across the country, provides medical coding services to emergency departments, and assists in developing and installing software for use in emergency rooms.

On April 28th, 2013, The Cowsills will be inducted into The Rhode Island Music Hall Of Fame along with Steve Smith & The Nakeds, Bobby Hackett, Paul Geremia, Jimmie Crane, Eddie Zack, Sissieretta Jones, George M. Cohan and Bill Flanagan.

Reflecting on this upcoming recognition, Bob says, “The fact that we are being inducted into RIMHOF and not the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is more special to us. There is a little bit more meaning to us because we are Rhode Islanders, to be recognized by our own. It is very cool to go to Pawtucket rather than Cleveland!”

For more information about the Cowsills, to leave a message on the group’s guestbook, or to sign a petition to get them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, visit: http://www.cowsill.com.

Tickets for the 2013 induction are $20 in advance or $25 at the door for the evening ceremonies and concert, and $10.00 in advance or at the door for the afternoon events. The Cowsills will perform in the evening. Tickets are available at http://www.rhodeislandmusichalloffame.com.

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues. He can be reached at: hweissri@aol.com. He also serves on RIMHOF’s Board of Directors.

Increasing Your Odds of Living to 100 and Beyond

Published January 18, 2013, Pawtucket Times

Just barely holding onto the record for being the nation’s oldest person for about two weeks, Mamie Rearden, of Edgefield, a 114-year-old South Carolina woman, died on Jan. 2, just three weeks after a fall broke her hip. The amazing thing though, is for how long she was so healthy and living independently. According to recently published research, most people who reach the age of 110 years and beyond, only spend, on average the last 5 years of their incredibly long lives with age-related diseases.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the Gerontology Research Group, an organization verifying age information for the Guinness World Records, noted that Rearden’s Sept. 7, 1898, birth was recorded and therefore verified in the 1900 U.S. Census, making her the nation’s oldest living person after last month’s passing of 115-year-old Dina Manfredini of Iowa. Before Rearden died, she was more than a year younger than the world’s oldest person, 115-year-old Jiroemon Kimura of Japan.

Rearden, married to her husband for 59 years until his death in 1979, raised 11 children, 10 of whom are alive. The former teacher and housewife first learned how to drive a car at age 65. At this time she worked for an Edgefield County program locating children whose parents were keeping them out of school, reported AP.

Studying the Nation’s Oldest Citizens

Dr. Thomas Perls, a geriatrician who heads the Boston University-based New England Centenarian Study (NECS), considers Rearden’s longevity to be a very rare occurrence. She was one of around 70 supercentenarians (people who have reached age 110) living in this country, he says.

Almost 20 years ago, when Perls’ longitudinal study began, about 1 per 10,000 people in the United States survived to age 100. However, he notes that they are now more common at a rate of 1 per 5,000.

“Now most people think that getting to your eighties is expected,” says Dr. Perls. Simply put, more Americans are now living longer today than in previous generations because the high childhood mortality rates in the early 1900s have been slashed due to hugely improved public health measures like clean water, vaccinations and a safe food supply combined with a more educated population and improved socioeconomic conditions, he noted.

Meanwhile, vaccinations for older people, effective antibiotics and medications for what have become chronic rather than acute lethal diseases, as well as curative surgeries are now markedly improving middle-age people’s chances of living to even older ages, adds Dr. Perls.

Finding the Secrets of Longevity

Dr. Perls says his passion for working with the nation’s oldest began when at 16 years old he worked as an orderly in a nursing home. In 1986, he received his medical degree from the University of Rochester, later a Masters from the Harvard School of Public Health. His specialization in geriatrics ultimately would propel him into a life-long interest in finding the secrets as to why people successfully age well and live for more than a century.

Born in Palo Alto, California, Dr. Perls later moved to Colorado and is now residing in Boston. A professor at Boston University School of Medicine, Dr. Perls, board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, has coauthored a book for the lay public, entitled, Living to 100, co-edited an academic book, and penned 106 juried articles. He is the author of the online Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator. It uses the most current and carefully research medical and scientific data to estimate how old you will live to be (www.livingto100.com) and provides some general advice according to your answers to about 40 questions that take about 7 minutes to complete.

Initially at Harvard University, the NECS later relocated to Boston University School of Medicine, giving his longevity initiative “room to grow,” says Perls, who is NECS’s founding director. Today this demographic initiative, now considered to be the world’s largest study of centenarians and supercentenarians, is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), private foundations and “cherished” individual donors, he says. Study participants and their families fill out health and family history questionnaires, and provide a blood sample for studying their genes.

Along with the NECS, Dr. Perls also directs the Boston-based study center of the multi-center and international Long Life Family Study (LLFS) which is a study of families that have multiple members living to extreme old age. Both initiatives are enabling researchers to find out how and why centenarians and their children, who are in their seventies and eighties, live the vast majority of their lives disability-free.

As to those who participate in his NECS and LLFS initiatives, the youngest is about 45 years old (a very young child of a centenarian) and the oldest ever enrolled was 119 years old, the second oldest person in the world, ever, states Perls. Since he begun the NECS, out of 2,200 participants, 1,200 were age 100 and over, he added. The remaining participants were children of centenarians or in the study’s control group. “Because of their ages, most of these folks have now passed away,” he said, adding that at any one time about 10% of the total centenarians in the study are alive.

Unraveling the Data

During his long career studying centenarians, the research findings indicate that it is common for centenarians to have brothers and sisters who also live to be very old. “Exceptional longevity runs strong in families,” he notes.

Dr. Perls’ research also debunked long-held beliefs that the longer you live, the sicker you get. But even if centenarians were afflicted by multiple age-related diseases in their nineties, on average 90 percent functioned independently at the average age of 93 years, he says. Centenarians living to age 100 were found to have avoided age-related disabilities as well as diseases until, on average, their last 5 years.

While a healthy life style is definitely important to living into ones’ eighties with much of that time spent in good health, Dr. Perls states that having the right genes becomes more and more crucial for living to a much older age.

Research indicates that living to your mid-eighties is 70-80% environmental and habits and 30-20% genes. Seventh Day Adventists were found to have the longest average life expectancy in the United States, that is 88 years. Most of that longevity was likely due to their healthy habits which include being vegetarian, regularly exercising, not smoking or drinking alcohol and also doing things that decrease the effect of stress.

However, many Americans do just the opposite, with unhealthy diets, not exercising and still, many people smoke, notes Dr. Perls. So it is not surprising that on average, Americans die 8-10 years earlier than Seventh Day Adventists, at the average age of about 80 years. (According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2010, the U.S. life expectancy was 75 years for males and 80 years for females.)

“We should take advantage of our genes and not fight them,” Perls says, by adopting healthier lifestyles.

Perls believes that DNA research on very old people should for now not focus on identifying genes that predict diseases. Rather the findings in the near future might just offer clues to how some genes slow the aging process and protect people from age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and heart attacks. Such discoveries could lead to the development of drugs that protect against multiple chronic diseases.

A Final Note…

Make working to create a healthier life style a top priority on your New Year’s resolution list. This effort might just ratchet up your life expectancy into the mid-eighties and if you have longevity in your family, even longer. Why not stop smoking, and watch your drinking, too. Even make exercise, weight training and keeping your mind active as part of your daily routine. Combine these lifestyle changes with better eating habits, meditating or yoga, or even doing low impact exercises like tai chi, and you’re on your way to increased longevity.

Ultimately, a healthier life style along with good genes may well help you increase the odds of living to 100 and beyond.

If you know anyone who is 105 years old or older, please mention the New England Centenarian Study to them and/or their family. The Study can be reached at (888) 333-6327 or you can go online http://www.bumc.bu.edu/centenarian for more information.

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

Keeping Your Pet Safe in Frigid Weather

Published January 11, 2013, Pawtucket Times

Regardless of the hot temperatures in summer, or the frigid weather in winter, dog owners take those daily walks outdoors with their beloved pets. At press time, New Englanders will see unprecedented warmth this winter with temperatures rising into the 40’s, but don’t get complacent – this year’s Farmer’s Almanac predicts that “Old Man Winter will return with a vengeance.” This annually published periodical, famous for its long-range weather predictions, wagers that the eastern half on the nation will see plenty of cold weather and snow before Spring approaches.

While those chilly air temperatures and blustery winds may make you shiver and bring on chills, it has the same effect on your pets, and in some cases, becomes deadly, cautions E.J. Finocchio, D.V.M, President of the East Providence-based Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA). This 141 year old nonprofit society that advocates for the welfare of all animals also promotes being responsible pet owners, as well as advocating pet overpopulation control.

Location, Location, Location

With Rhode Island being located in the nation’s “cold zone,” Dr. Finocchio says that the occurrence of hypothermia is not unusual, with the state’s below zero temperatures in winter. When the core temperature of the animal’s body begins to lose heat faster than it can produce it, that is when hypothermia can set in. “Dogs that are especially prone to hypothermia are puppies under 6 months old, elderly dogs, short hair breeds, small sized dogs, dogs with health issues (arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, etc.) and pets that are obese or underweight,” he says.

“Symptoms of hypothermia in animals is similar to that found in humans, as well as in all warm blooded animals,” notes Dr. Finocchio.

According to Dr. Finocchio, mild cases in dogs might include shivering, whining and the animal begins to act lethargic or tired. For moderate cases, he adds, the animal loses its ability to shiver and loses coordination and appears to be clumsy. At this point the dog may lose consciousness. If it gets to this point, the dog’s life is in serious jeopardy. Finally, he notes that for severe cases, at this point the animal will have collapsed, it will have difficulty in breathing, its pupils will become dilated. The dog will become unresponsive. If hypothermia gets to this point it is critical that the animal be warmed quickly and taken to an emergency vet center.
A rectal thermometer will enable you to gauge the temperature of the animal’s internal organs to confirm hypothermia, notes Dr. Finocchio. A normal temperature falls between 101 degrees to 102 degrees. If the temperature falls between 96 – 99 degrees it is considered a mild case; moderate falls between 90-95 degrees F and a body temperature of under 90 degrees F, is a sure sign of severe hypothermia.

Going to Court for Animal Cruelty

Finocchio says that if a pet’s death is determined to be caused by hypothermia, through a necropsy (autopsy performed on an animal) and a history of exposure, the pet’s owner would be charged with a misdemeanor for animal cruelty. If the city’s prosecuting officer determines that the investigative report submitted constitutes a valid case, the compliant is filed with District Court. If the defendant pleads nolo or is found guilty by the court, the judge can order that the defendant not be allowed to live with any animal for up to five years if charged with a misdemeanor or up to 15 years for a felony conviction, says Finocchio.

Last year, John Holmes, Pawtucket’s Animal Control Officer, notes that his office responded to 44 calls to investigate alleged cases of animal cruelty, some resulting from a person leaving a pet outside in frigid weather. Although a few of the cases were unfounded, Holmes and his staff found in other instances that the pet owners needed to be educated about responsible pet ownership practices, along with state laws and city ordinances involving animals.

Holmes asks that all concerned neighbors who notice dogs being left outside in inclement weather to call his office at the City of Pawtucket’s Animal Shelter. “Each and every call is taken very seriously and checked out,” he warns. After an investigation, if it is found that someone knowingly abused or neglected an animal, that person will be prosecuted and held accountable for their actions

“We don’t in general see hypothermia in stray or feral cats,” notes Finocchio, stating that that these animals can usually seek out small places to stay warm, specifically under cars, sheds or porches or under the hoods of vehicles. .“They can usually get themselves out of harms way.”

Livestock animals with thick fur, including cows, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs, are able to withstand severe frigid temperatures, especially if they are healthy. “We often times get complaints from concerned people about livestock, especially horses standing in a pasture with an inch of snow on its back,” Finocchio says, noting that the caller fears that the animal is going to freeze to death. “But larger animals can handle the cold environment more than our small domestic pets.”

Just Use a Little Common Sense

Finocchio advises pet owners to just use common sense when it comes to protecting their pets from the cold weather. Don’t take elderly, young or sick pets, especially small short haired breeds outdoors unprotected in below zero weather. Just let them go out in the back yard for a few minutes if necessary.

If hypothermia does occur, Finocchio one of the state’s most visible animal advocates, recommends that the pet be brought inside. Do not submerge the pet in hot water. To warm up a pet, wrap the ailing animal in a thermal blanket [warm by placing in a dryer for a couple of minutes], use a heating pad, or wrap a towel with a hot bottle, around areas with less hair, specifically in the groin or belly areas, or arm pits, Consider placing the animal by a radiant heat appliance or roaring fire place. You can even take your pet and place in the footwall of the car and turn on the vehicle’s heater.

If the dog will drink, give it warm water.

However, if the animal’s internal temperature falls into the severe hypothermia range, go immediately to a veterinary emergency clinic where emergency treatment will be provided, he urges.
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For dog owners who own large breed dogs (especially those with thick fur that can protect the animal from frigid weather), you can get permission from your veterinarian or animal control officer to keep the animal outside for over 10 hours and not violate state law.

So, why keep a small pet outside in extremely frigid temperatures that would result in hypothermia and lead to death? “It only takes common sense to protect your animal from hypothermia and keep it safe, nothing else,” say Finocchio.

If the weather is uncomfortable for you to be outside even when you are wearing layers of clothing, gloves and a hat, it becomes obvious that putting your pet outside as the temperature dips well into the teens, will be detrimental to the health and well-being of your pet.

For more information about hypothermia, contact the RISPCA call, Dr, E.J. Finocchio, D.V.M, at 401 438-8150. Or write 186 Amaral Street, East Providence, RI 02915. Web site: http://www.rispca.com.

To report a complaint about alleged animal cruelty:

City of Pawtucket, contact John Holmes, Animal Control Supervisor, at 401 722-4243. Or write Animal Control Division, 121 Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket, RI 0286. Web site: http://www.pawtucketanimalshelter.org.

City of Woonsocket, contact Animal Control Officer Glen Thuot, at 401 766-6571. Or write: Woonsocket Animal Shelter, 242 Clinton Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895. Website: http://www.ci.woonsocket.ri.us/adopt.

The RISPCA and the two City’s Animal Shelter gratefully accept donations.

Herb Weiss, LRI ’12, is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer that covers medical, aging and health care issues. He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.