Graceful Aging

The Best Place to Start: Area Agency on Aging

Gregory Bator — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:36:55 +0000

Suddenly, your parent or loved one needs help. Where do you turn? Who do you call? What do you need to know? Crisis moments like these affect us all. Families frequently get overwhelmed. Amidst the serious concern for a loved one, you must prevent your own life from unraveling.

“The Best Place to Start: Area Agency on Aging” is an important Graceful Aging episode. “We’ve designed this show to help every family wherever they live. Our show identifies a single nationwide phone number and a comprehensive website as every family’s starting point,” says host Gregory Bator. “Our guests are Lynn Kellogg, the President of the nationwide Area Agency on Aging program. A second special guest is an informative CEO of a regional Area Agency on Aging, Tina Abbate Marzolf.”

Area Agencies on Aging are funded by our tax dollars. The staff is highly experienced and totally objective. Callers receive answers, direction, referrals, and guidance on the most perplexing problems confronting their immediate worlds. “This show is like a ‘refrigerator magnet’ identifying the most useful resource anywhere in America. Families facing crisis elder care moments need to know about their Area Agency on Aging,” says Lynn Kellogg a veteran elder care specialist.

Suddenly, reliable assistance is within a single phone call to a tax payer funded experienced and objective resource. Graceful Aging is pleased to highlight Area Agencies on Aging.

In The Bathroom – Part 1

Gregory Bator — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:41:23 +0000

Bathroom perils are bedeviling. We get so used to our bathroom set up that we ignore the dangers of throw rugs, the lack of safety bars, and the many devices plugged in near water. Our toilet seats are older and lower, our showers are too high to be reached, and our homemade accommodations defy good sense. It is no wonder that bathroom accidents occur so frequently as we age. Having our lives go down the proverbial toilet is a consequence everyone wants to avoid.

Our expert guests confront this topic with host Gregory Bator. “We are honored to have Professor Susan Murphy from the University of Michigan open our eyes to these perils, ” says Gregory. “Professor Murphy studied how older people use their bathrooms and the dangers lurking inside.”

Our second guest on this show Is Certified Aging in Place Specialist Brad Wert from the Wright Filippis Company. Our reporter Colette Farris had Brad show us the devices everyone should consider installing and using to increase safety in the bathroom. We brought Brad in to the studio to explore these assistive aids with us.

In Part 1 we focus on showers, grab bars, and shower chairs. In Part 2, we cover even more.

Is your bathroom properly equipped to avoid injury? Would you like greater comfort and security in your own bathroom as you age? Take a tour of the good and bad with us in this show. It will change your life or the life of someone you know.

TimeBanks Get Great Returns!

Gregory Bator — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 22:52:56 +0000

Imagine if you could bank your time! And imagine if later you could withdraw your time with interest! We learn about an exciting and simple community concept growing across America called Timebanks. Our guests show us the value and how to organize a Timebank in our own community.

Everyone has something to offer. Every skill, talent, and interest has value in a Timebank. When you donate an hour sewing buttons, you can call on someone else to rake your leaves. Give an hour reading stories, get an hour having your curtains hung. Neighbor helping neighbor is a simply powerful concept that is changing our aging towns into caring communities.

“You’ll find this concept intriguing,” says host Gregory Bator, “our guests are passionate about how all of us can ready our own communities in simple economical ways. This is a smile good program.” Graceful Aging is pleased to share a movement that is changing America neighborhood by neighborhood. Would you like yours to be next? Find out how in this episode.

AARP’s Tom Nelson Trumpets “CreatetheGood”

Gregory Bator — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:46:32 +0000

Tom Nelson, AARP’s Chief Operating Officer, sat down with Graceful Aging Host Gregory Bator in Chicago at the Aging in America Conference. Tom Nelson is passionate on how all of can take 5 minutes or hours or days and improve our community with AARP’s new website createthegood.org.

Staying Behind the Wheel with CARFIT

Gregory Bator — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 19:04:06 +0000

Staying behind the wheel of your car safely is a goal for any age. Simply because we age does not mean our driver’s license comes into jeopardy. At any age we must be smart about driving. This is Graceful Aging’s third show in the series designed to assist older drivers and their families to stay on the road safely and smartly.

CARFIT is a national program that custom fits an older person’s car through a simple 20 minute check and adjustment. In this episode, CARFIT expert Rachel Wilson of the American Automobile Association conducts a full check and adjustment on our volunteer driver Virginia. Follow these simple steps in your own car or sign up for a CARFIT in your town.

How far from the steering wheel should you sit? Just how much above the steering wheel should you be able to see? Have you adjusted your mirrors to maximize your vision and minimize the blind spots? Can you find and operate all your car’s essential buttons and pedals? These and many more vital driving questions are answered in this hands on show.

Do you want the older adult in your life to be as safe and secure as possible on the road? Do you want your town’s drivers alert and responsible? Who doesn’t! “This is the kind of useful and practical show you’ve come to expect from Graceful Aging,” says Colette Farris Graceful Aging’s Production Coordinator. Do your loved ones, your family, and your town a favor. Encourage everyone to take personal responsibility behind the wheel.

How America’s Aging Network Works: At the Federal Level

Gregory Bator — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:49:31 +0000

Graceful Aging interviewed Kathy Greenlee, the Assistant Secretary of Aging at the recent Aging In America Conference held in Chicago, Illinois. Secretary Greenlee is the person in charge of the Administration on Aging.

“Most Americans have no idea how prepared our Federal Government is trying to be for older adults,” says host Gregory Bator. It was an honor and a privilege to have Secretary Greenlee explain how America’s Aging network Works at the federal level.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how clearly Kathy Greenlee explained how things work and why she urges you to talk about your needs. Secretary Greenlee explains in this delightful interview what opinions she seeks about what people like, don’t like, and most importantly, what people find missing in our current system.

“You do not have to know anything about the law, to provide useful and vital information,” says Greenlee, “we will hear you when you speak and work to find a solution for you.”

America’s Aging Network works. Find out how.

Strengthen Driving Skills

Gregory Bator — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:47:08 +0000

Staying Behind the Wheel for all of us, especially older adults, requires strengthening driving techniques. In this episode Rachel Wilson of the American Automobile Association highlights the lessons provided in the AAA acclaimed Driver Improvement Program.

Do you know the modern method of adjusting your mirrors? “I put this technique into use immediately after the show for myself,” said Host Gregory Bator. “I am amazed how well this method works to reduce blind spots! Learning this tip is reason alone to watch this episode.”

“Strengthening Your Driving Skills” takes viewers on a short drive through the twists and turns of today’s busy traffic settings. Drivers of all ages will appreciate the useful practices and tips to avoid dangers. If you are looking for a vehicle to travel on the highway of safety as you age, step on your brakes and watch this show.

So, You’re in Your 80s!

Gregory Bator — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:01:56 +0000

So, You’re 80! What does it feel like to be in your 80s? “I never think of myself as old.” says Graceful Aging guest Frances Taber, “It surprises me, but it’s true.” Physically active, still working part time and married for 63 years, Frances embodies Graceful Aging.

Join us as Frances reflects on her commitment to her career and the importance of having fun in her marriage. Frances proudly brings 88 years of upbeat life perspective to her workplace, the tennis courts, the swimming pool, and to the local restaurants and theater.

“Frances is full of life. She gives viewers a double bonus in this episode,” says Host Gregory Bator, “Frances enjoys a distinguished career in the assisted living field. Residents, families, workers, and others are treated to Frances’ professional care-giving skills.”

“So, You’re 80” gives viewers Frances’ wise counsel on what to look for when choosing a care giving facility for a loved one. Exuding warmth and contentment for a full life, Frances is a beautiful example of life in your 80s. Watch this episode and ignite your own life with purpose and joy.

Dating Again! It Never Grows Old!

Gregory Bator — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:20:05 +0000

Dating Again! Older adults can enjoy the thrills of romance and relationship as much as anyone. Do you need a little boost in the confidence and protocol department? On this show the Love Doctor, Professor Terri Orbuch, energetically shows viewers practical steps on how to re-enter the dating market. Once in the marketplace of romance, Professor Orbuch shows a wide selection of choices and great guidance to finding the happiness department. Find confidence and safely take chances to celebrate life.

“Interestingly, our young male camera operator for this show remarked that he loved the show and plans to put the tips learned to full use in his own life,” says Host Gregory Bator. You will too!

Enjoy the vibrant optimistic words of the Love Doctor on this show of Graceful Aging! Where can you go to meet people? What about online dating? Where do older adults go on a date? Should your friends accompany you? Are blind dates a good idea? Find out the answers from the expert!

So, You’re 50!

Gregory Bator — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:12:39 +0000

A former major league baseball player named Chili Davis had a way with the bat and balls and words. He once said “Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.”

In our age obsessed world, aging gracefully is seemingly never so important. Turning 50 for most people is a sobering experience. Is it the beginning of the end or simply the end of the beginning?

Or is it as writer Margaret Atwood describes: “(a time) when we thought we were running away from the grownups, and now we are the grownups.”

Aging brings us many crossroads in life. One of the biggest is entering the decade of the 50s. Our 50 plus year old guest Wayne Miller is witty and thought provoking. Wayne is a homegrown humorist, successful attorney, capable father of young children, and an attentive husband. On this show, you’ll enjoy watching Wayne’s upbeat and optimistic life perspective.