These Articles Are Worth a Second Read

Published in the Woonsocket Call on January 5, 2020

As an ‘age beat’ journalist for over 40 years, I have penned more than 756 stories covering aging, health care and medical issues. These authored and coauthored pieces have appeared in national, state and local trade and association publications, daily, weekly and monthly newspapers and even news blogs. For the last decade 334 articles have appeared weekly in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call.

I provide you with a few of my favorite published articles that you may have enjoyed reading over the last decade. These articles in their entirety and even hundreds more can be viewed on herbweiss.blog.

Spumoni’s: “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,”: published in the Feb. 26, 2017 issue of the Woonsocket Call, and one day later in the Pawtucket Times.

Mark and Nancy Shorrock, of Attleboro, Massachusetts, now in their seventies and married for 52 years, began dining at Spumonis twice a week with their children in the 1980s, and remember being drawn to the Italian-style restaurant because of its reputation of serving “good food.” Over the years, as the Shorrock’s three children became more independent and “doing things on their own,” the couple began increasing their trips daily to the Pawtucket resident for dinner since it was so close by. Of course, their network of friends increased, too.

What the Shorrocks know innately, a 24-page report, “The Brain and Social Connectedness: GCBH Recommendations on Social Engagement and Brain Health, “released by the Global Council on Brain Health in February 14, 2017, tells us that larger social networks may positively impact your health, wellbeing, even your cognitive functioning. This report is available at http://www.GlobalCouncilOnBrainHealth.org.

“It’s not uncommon for our social networks to shrink in size as we get older,” said Marilyn Albert, Ph.D., GCBH Chair, Professor of Neurology and Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “This report provides many helpful suggestions about the things we can do to improve the quality of our relationships with family and friends, which may be beneficial in maintaining our mental abilities.”

The Brain and Social Connectedness report addresses the social benefits of having pets, the role that age-friendly communities play in fostering social ties, and how close relationships promote both physical health and psychological well-being. The report also covers how social media like Facebook and Skype helps older adults maintain their social connections.

“Rediscovering Pawtucket’s Red Pollard,” published in the published in the June 22, 2012 issue of the Pawtucket Times.

Red Pollard rode into American history, overcoming a physical disability of partial blindness, accepting intense physical pain caused by severe riding injuries that fractured his bones, while humbly accepting his role in racing history, as the man who rode Seabiscuit 30 times, accumulating 18 wins.

This article noted that America’s iconic jockey, John Pollard, whose moniker “Red” Pollard, known for his flaming red hair, relocated to the City of Pawtucket in his middle years with his wife, Agnes, raising their two children, Norah and John at 249 Vine Street in the City’s Darlington neighborhood. At the end of their lives, Red and Agnes would be buried a stone’s throw from their modest Vine St. home in Norte Dame Cemetery on Daggett Avenue.

It is no coincidence that near the former Narragansett Race Track in Pawtucket– now a Building 19 retail store – you will discover city streets named “War Admiral” and “Seabiscuit Place, for surprisingly many Pawtucket residents do not know that the real-life jockey whose story was told in Seabiscuit, a 2003 dramatic movie and a critically-acclaimed non-fiction book authored by Laura Hillenbrand.

According my interview with his daughter, Norah Christianson, Pollard traveled the race track circuit for months at a time. When in Pawtucket, her father would take her and her brother, John to Pinault’s Drug Store on Newport Avenue, enjoy a movie at the Darlington Theater, visit Kip’s Restaurant, or have ice cream at Pinault’s soda fountain. Many a day Pollard would stop at the Texaco Gas Station, located at Armistice Blvd. and York Avenue, to sit and talk for hours with his friends, she said.

Other interesting tidbits of Pollard’s time in Pawtucket can be found in this article.

The Greatest Generation’s Last Hurrah, published in the Nov. 15, 2014 issue of the Pawtucket Times.

On August 2, 1956, Albert Henry Woolson, 106, the last surviving member of the Union Army who served in the nation’s Civil War, passed away. Frank Woodruff Buckles, 110, gained the distinction of being the last surviving American military veteran of World War I. This article, published five years ago, takes a close look at the passing of the “Greatest Generation,” coined by acclaimed Journalist Tom Brokaw in a 1998 book that profiled this generation who fought in WWI and helped on the home front in the war’s effort.

According to the article, 16 million American soldiers who served in World War II, are now dying at a rate of 555 a day. There are only 1.34 million veterans remaining. The National World War II Museum predicts that by 2036 there will be no living veterans of this global war that took place from 1939 to 1945, to recount their own personal battle experiences.

We will again see another generation of soldiers passing away, like Woolson or Buckles. The article calls for the nation to cherish the “Greatest Generation,” urging readers to gather oral histories to share with the younger generations that follow in footsteps.

Tips on Aging Boldly

Taking Charge: Collected Stories on Aging Boldly, published in 2016, contains a collection of 79 of my weekly articles printed in this paper, many over the last decade. These articles cover a myriad of aging issues ranging f rom care giving, retirement planning to thoughts about spirituality and death. Through these articles you are empowered with practical tools to live a happy, engaged and empowered during the second half of your life. For more details, go to herbweiss.com.

Spumoni’s: “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”: Study Says Being Socially Active May Improve Cognitive Functioning

Published in Woonsocket Call on February 26, 2017

As George M. Cohan’s famous musical once lauded, “Just 45 Minutes from Broadway,” Mark and Nancy Shorrock, have discovered that their “home away from home” is a mere seven minutes away. While some people take to the internet, or some plug into television, the Shorrock’s discovered a long time ago that by staying socially engaged with a wide circle of friends and family was their secret to the fountain of youth. Like the fictional Boston bar featured in the television sitcom “Cheers” where ‘regulars’ would gather to share their daily life experiences at that fictional place where “everybody knows your name”, this couple found the same camaraderie at Spumoni’s Restaurant. The Shorrocks have been traveling over the Massachusetts state line to Rhode Island for 17 years to dine at the Pawtucket bar and join the ‘regulars at this well-known eatery. And not surprisingly, over the years their social network has drastically expanded, and not shrunk in size. Spumoni’s regulars and staff know their names and even the intimacies of their lives.

Good Food, Minutes from Home and Pac-Man

The Attleboro couple, now in their seventies and married for 52 years, began dining at Spumonis twice a week with their children in the 1980s, and remember being drawn to the Italian-style restaurant because of its reputation of serving “good food.” Over the years, as the Shorrock’s three children became more independent and “doing things on their own,” the couple began increasing their trips to Spumoni’s since it was so close by, says Nancy.

Nancy remembers her children playing Pac-Man at Spumonis, an iconic video game from the 1980s. “The just loved playing that game,” she says.
Coming regularly deepened our relationships with the people, and we met and our waitresses and staff,” she stated.

Prior to retirement, this couple maintained their own busy careers and raising a family. Nancy, a former nurse worked at special needs facilities and various hospitals for almost four decades, officially retired in 2000. That year, Mark who served as manager of materials and properties, retired from Raytheon after 37 years. Soon they began dining at Spumonis daily, seven days a week, if their schedules permitted.

Today, every night around 7:00 p.m., Nancy and Mark sit at the bar and order individual extra thin pizzas with peppers and onions – one light on cheese and the other four cheeses (in case you’re wondering, these pizzas are named after the couple). Pat Maziarz, a bartender from over 30 years, makes their drinks, “one wine and one martini.” And for now they are settled in and will catch up with their extended family of bar regulars that may last for hours. Mark even plays a little Keno, piling up his tickets on the bar counter.

Even family gatherings with their three children, three grandchildren and one great grandchildren are held at the restaurant. “We don’t sit at the bar for these events,” quips Nancy.

Richard Veroni, 51, a Pawtucket resident and Spumoni’s regular, says that after a long day working at the Massachusetts-based Shaw’s Corporate Headquarters, on his way home he will stop off at the restaurant on Newport Avenue if he sees Nancy and Mark’s 2005 Toyota Camry in the parking lot. Veroni observes, “They are not lonely, they know so many people here.”

Nancy agrees, noting that she and Mark have developed personal relationships with around 30 couples who frequent Spumoni’s bar. “Spumonis is sort of our Cheers and we know everybody’s name,” she says.

Life milestones are recognized at their favorite restaurant, too. The staff of Spumoni’s held a 50th wedding anniversary party for the Shorrocks. Their children provided enlarged photographs from their parents wedding and the restaurant even duplicated the couple’s wedding cake from a picture.

Dining at Spumoni’s is a “shared” activity, says Nancy. If she has to work late at her part-time job at a local funeral home, Mark won’t go alone.

Looking at the positive impact of having a regular hang out at Spumonis, “it’s our therapy and coming here makes us happy,” Nancy says. Mark totally agrees..

Hanging Out with Friends May Improve Cognitive Functioning

What the Shorrocks know innately, a 24 page report, “The Brain and Social Connectedness: GCBH Recommendations on Social Engagement and Brain Health,” released by the Global Council on Brain Health in February 14, 2017, tells us that larger social networks may positively impact your health, wellbeing, even your cognitive functioning. This report is available at http://www.GlobalCouncilOnBrainHealth.org.

“We know that loneliness and social isolation can increase physical health risks for older people,” said Sarah Lock, AARP Senior Vice President for Policy, and GCBH Executive Director. “The GCBH’s consensus that people who are socially engaged have a lower risk for cognitive decline shows us just how important social connections are to brain health.”

Strengthening Social Ties Through Volunteerism

“While there are many ways people get involved with AARP, the one thing shared by our volunteers is that their contribution to our mission gets them out and about,” said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. “Whether it’s a trip to the State House to support Age-Friendly legislation, staffing a table at a community event or working in support of our Livable Communities initiative, volunteers are active and engaged with others – both fellow volunteers, our community partners and the public we serve,” she says..

“It comes up in conversations as well as volunteer surveys that staying active is one of the added benefits that accompany advocacy and community service,” Connell says.

“Also, it is important to know that AARP does more than pay lip service to other organizations that help keep people active,” she adds, noting that AARP’s Create The Good web site (www.createthegood.org) is an online source to help people find volunteer work at a multitude of organizations and community groups looking for help. You enter your zip code and the distance you’re willing to travel, and dozens of various opportunities appear. Another great resource is AARP Staying Sharp (https://stayingsharp.aarp.org), which includes a brain-health that features advice and activities as well as an assessment tool that includes active living as an important factor.”