Achoo, achoo, achoo, and please pass the tissues

This past week, I was laid low by one of the worst colds I’ve had in years, and after trying to work despite constant sneezing, runny eyes and nose, no energy and, in general, looking, as my mother used to say, “like something the cat dragged in,” I belatedly started to do some research on how to stay healthy this winter.

I also was able to arrange a telephone interview with Carolyn Harrington, a certified holistic health practitioner and founder of Maty’s Health Products, a line of all-natural products.

Carolyn developed her now-successful product line when, in 1966, her third child, Maty, was born with severe heart defects and had no spleen. By age 5, Maty had undergone three complex surgeries, correcting her heart problem, but leaving her with difficult medical issues and a weakened immune system.

Desperate to help her little girl, Carolyn devoted her time and considerable energy to finding natural remedies to help Maty become healthy.

Several of her line of all-natural products are especially for children, but there is also a vapor rub and natural nighttime nasal ointment and cough syrup, good for all ages.

Now, well-known and popular, her gluten-free, all-natural products are carried by Big Y, Stop & Shop, Rite Aid and online at www.matyshp.com.

Carolyn is from Rochester, N.Y., where winters are long and hard, and here’s her advice on staying healthy when temperatures drop: Take an extra vitamin D3 supplement; most of us need 5,000 units a day and don’t get nearly enough. It can also act as an anti-depressant. Stay away from sugar, soft drinks and chocolate.

Use sugar substitutes such as stevia. Herbal teas are excellent, especially peppermint and ginger. If you can stand the taste, drink some apple cider vinegar (add honey, to sweeten) for its anti-bacterial properties.

Although Carolyn is not a vegetarian, she does try to eat something raw every day and adds garlic, oregano and turmeric to many of her dishes.

Some additional tips from other medical sources suggest:

Get to bed earlier. Even if you just rest, it gives your body an extra immune boost.

Drink plenty of water. Central heating is very dehydrating. Our bodies need 8 ounces every two hours and double that upon arising and going to bed.

Eat hot foods; hot cereals like oatmeal; soups and stews, instead of sandwiches and salads. Especially good veggies are carrots, beets and squash. Homemade chicken soup is still a favorite with everyone.

Bundle up, but get outside and exercise.

Wash hands often and carry antiseptic wipes with you.

Use a humidifier or vaporizer at night.

Some experts feel the verdict is out on herbal remedies, so check with your physician first. Some herbal remedies can interfere with medicines you are already taking.

I’m going to start doing all of those things tomorrow. Right now, I’m taking my favorite pillow, putting on my warmest cuddly robe, and with my box of Kleenex, nose spray, cough syrup, lemon and honey hot tea, I’m getting under my fluffy winter comforter to watch a good movie.

None of the experts mentioned it, but Liam Neeson or George Clooney always seem to make me feel better.

- Article by Jean Cherni, founder of the retirement advisory service, Senior Living Solutions. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.

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This is not your garden-variety volunteer opportunity

Some of the most important but little-heralded volunteer work is done by those who work with the Connecticut Department of Corrections and serve in a variety of programs which help prison inmates.

As a result of their efforts, the number of inmates in our prisons has dropped by several thousand, despite the slow economic times.

Like most of us, I hadn’t really known or even thought much about what happens to those who are incarcerated until I happened to chat with Fran Acquarulo, a gentle, soft-spoken senior in my exercise swim class.

When I inquired what she enjoyed doing in her spare time, she began to tell me about her volunteer work in the prisons. I became so intrigued that I made an appointment with Doug Kulmacz, director of Volunteer and Recreation Services.

Their sprawling complex in Wethersfield resembles the Pentagon in Washington, but after being buzzed through several doors and checked by security, I found the inside offices light and cheerful, and Mr. Kulmacz himself, bubbling over with energy and enthusiasm.

The many different programs they have developed teach inmates skills that they hope will create a “pro-social” product that someday will result in a successful re-entry into society.

“In a sense, we are building people,” explains Kulmacz. “We need to work to reduce recidivism” (a return to prison).

Currently, 10,000 inmates, approximately half the state’s inmate population, participate on a monthly basis in recovery, rehabilitation or pre-release services provided by volunteers. The programs are only available to those inmates who follow the rules and who want to do something with their lives.

Volunteers may participate in many ways. They may facilitate alcoholics-, narcotics- or gamblers-anonymous meetings; teach drama or music classes; provide clerical assistance; coordinate recreational activities; or act as religious mentors.

Those who speak, read or write a language other than English are especially needed, and all volunteers can serve in a wide variety of locations. Volunteers can help prison inmates learn to make important and constructive changes in their lives. Continued...


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They are a special link between the inmate and the community, and they bring a sense of “normalcy” to the correctional setting.

The contribution of the volunteer places a responsibility on the offender to become focused and motivated, and it also can provide him or her with a sense of hope for the future.

Volunteers help prepare inmates for the general equivalency diploma exam, organize sports and recreational activities and support the families and children who are dealing with the problems of having a loved one confined.

There is a training and orientation program as well as a 5-hour, in-service, refresher course each year.

Volunteers are also instructed about the importance of confidentiality and discretion. I was able to view some fascinating inmate art work, a result of the artists-in-residence program.

There are also opportunities in the community working with parole officers, halfway houses and other facilities which help those returning to community life.

While there is a wide variety of opportunities, this kind of volunteer work is not for the impatient or the easily discouraged.

It takes a strong commitment and a belief in the eventual power of love and caring. In the front of the volunteer handbook, there is a quote of Winston Churchill: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

To find out more about volunteer opportunities, call Doug Kulmacz at 860-692-7580

- Article by Jean Cherni, founder of the retirement advisory service, Senior Living Solutions. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.

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Retiree Joanne Byrne shares her thoughts on life after work

When, toward the end of 2010, I learned that Joanne Byrne, senior services coordinator for the Town of Orange, was about to retire, I asked if she would take some notes on her feelings as her retirement progressed and share her thoughts with me ... and by extension to my readers, after some time elapsed.

I was particularly interested in Joanne’s views, because not only had she worked for the senior center for six years, she had been one of the most dynamic leaders I had ever encountered, challenging herself and the Orange community to rethink what a senior center could offer, and what meaningful contributions its participants could make.

I was not sure how Joanne would adjust to a retirement motivated by her husband’s sale of his dental practice and his desire to spend the entire winter at their Florida home.

I caught up with Joanne recently at lunch at one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Orange, and as usual when we see each other, the conversation was upbeat and lively, each of us feeding on the other’s ideas and energy.

Here’s what Joanne had to say.

“Retirement, at first, felt like knocking on a closed door and not knowing what I would discover on the other side. It was both scary and exciting at the same time, but what I have found so far has been good.

“I guess the adjustment from a fulfilling work life can be challenging for many people if they don’t make plans for how they will use all the newfound time they will have on their hands. For me, it was an easy transition because we put our large house in Orange up for sale, and bought a smaller Connecticut residence at Oronoque Village.

“Additionally, we spent time in Florida, painting and decorating our place in a 55-plus, gated community. We also went biking, played tennis, made new friends and explored the area.

“Despite being busy with moving, however, I find I still need to have a real sense of accomplishment, and I make a ‘to do’ list on a daily basis.

“Admittedly, it is shorter and more mundane than when I was working. Now it includes such things as do the laundry, go to the post office, etc. I did sign up for yoga and tai chi classes and am learning to play mah-jongg.” Continued...


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Joanne and I share a love of travel, and she continues to coordinate some longer trips for small groups of people for a travel company with which she became associated. Recently, there was a trip to Sicily and Southern Italy with her husband and 16 other participants.

She also headed a group trip to the Rose Bowl Parade, and a Rhine River boat cruise is in the works for October. Even with a busy travel schedule, Joanne says she always needs a project to be working on.

“It can be making a quilt, painting a room, even reading a book or organizing recipes.

“However,” she adds with a smile, “I always got many rewards and much satisfaction at work when members told me how I had improved the senior center and how much they enjoyed coming there.

“I missed that feedback, and I have told my husband that he needs to compliment me each day on my wonderful meals, or how neatly the laundry is folded, or how good the garden looks without all the weeds.

“We all need to be recognized for what we are contributing to make life better.”

Joanne wisely concluded that the transition to retirement was not always so simple for everyone ... that financial or health issues can interfere with happiness in this new phase of life.

She also recognizes that she is so fortunate to have someone she loves with whom she can share her life.

We ended our lunch with plans to talk again next year. I’m willing to bet a big order of sushi that Joanne will have discovered new, exciting challenges that will make this phase of her life the most rewarding yet.

- Article by Jean Cherni, founder of the retirement advisory service, Senior Living Solutions. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.

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A Should old acquaintance be forgot, just check your iPhone

The celebration of the new year on Jan. 1 is a relatively new phenomenon; it was celebrated in 2000 B.C. in mid-March, and the Egyptians and Persians began their year with the fall equinox.

The first time it was celebrated on Jan. 1 was in Rome in 153 B.C.; and in 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar, which synchronized the calendar with our planet’s journey back toward the sun.

The month of January was named for the god of all beginnings, the two-headed god, Janus.

One head looks forward, the other back, enabling him to see both the past and the future. Like Janus, at the new year, we often reminisce about the past year while at the same time resolving to try to do better in the future.

The Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah (sundown, Sept. 16) is a holy time when people reflect on wrongs in the past and make a promise to do better in the future.

When we lived in Japan, at Oshogatsu or New Year’s, neighbors felt it was very important to do everything as perfectly as possible on Jan 1, from having a spotless home to paying off all debts.

They feel that whatever you do on the first day sets the tone for the rest of the year.

I’ve always liked that idea; instead of making impossible-to-keep New Year’s resolutions, just try to get off to a good start.

My year has always started with two calendars — a large one that remains on the desk and a smaller version, which I carry with me and which, hopefully, I have kept updated with appointments from the desk version.

My daughter feels this system is positively medieval, and I agree that it is nowhere as efficient or impressive as her iPhone. Continued...


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Put Marianne down in the middle of any strange city, and the iPhone not only will have given her the directions by which she has arrived, but it will also find the best Chinese, Italian or French restaurant within any pre-determined radius and make reservations as well.

Additionally, she will have, the address, phone number and birthday of everyone she has known since she was 3 years old.

I mean, it is a truly impressive gadget and I see its many advantages; but in addition to the cost, the main reason I haven’t as yet, succumbed, is I think I lack the amount of time and stamina necessary just to master the basics of what it can do.

However, I recently read that the newest version will be voice-activated, and if I could just speak commands to it, I might be willing to give up my current system, although I think I might miss flipping through former calendar books to see what I was doing on, say, March 20th of any given year.

Which reminds me that “Auld Lang Syne,” the Scottish song sung at the stoke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world, literally means “old long ago” or “the good old days,” so if I’m not always quite up to the minute or in step with the times, just chalk it up to the fact that I think there’s a lot to be said for a few old-fashioned ways and “the good old days.”

A toast to the past and hopes for a bright, peaceful tomorrow.

- Article by Jean Cherni, founder of the retirement advisory service, Senior Living Solutions. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds at Hotchkiss Grove, Branford 06405.

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