‘Spectacular’ aptly describes exhibits at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

At present, with extended walking both painful and difficult, I carefully weigh the effort involved in any activity against the anticipated gain. Although I came home exhausted after the trip, a recent visit and day spent at The Metropolitan Museum in New York provided enough beauty and excitement to make up for all the discomfort.


If you are planning a Christmas trip into the city, skip a few store windows and spend time with several current treasures, now on view at the museum. First, for lovers of breathtaking fabrics and textiles, “Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500–1800” is a feast for the eyes of fabrics, embroideries, textiles, woven, dyed and printed, from all over the world. From wall hangings to garments and quilts, tapestries and capes, kimonos and religious vestments, the collection is almost overwhelming in scope and beauty.


It is interesting to see how, as trade with the Far East evolved and wealthy Europeans sought out exotic fabrics for their homes and personal wardrobes, artisans in China, India and Japan adapted their skills to Western tastes. The exhibit runs through Jan. 5.


A second, much smaller, but also delightful exhibit, features objects from one of the world’s longest-running dynasties (57 B.C-.935 A.D.), dominating the Korean peninsula, “Silla”, Korea’s golden kingdom, is something most of us have never heard about; until now, there had been no major exhibit of this kingdom’s art in the West.


Excavated from royal tombs, glittering gold jewelry and pottery is dazzling. A queen’s crown in the form of a gold headband with attached, branch-like elements made of thin, gold sheets encrusted with small oval pieces of jade, is a stunner. Two remarkable bodhisattva are featured; one a 3-foot high sculpture in gilded bronze is serenely beautiful, the other toward the end of the exhibit, is in a room of its own, a massive cast-iron Buddha, that surprises you with its size and power.


The Silla exhibit is on view until Feb. 2. As I walked through the museum after lunch, I spied several workers on movable, electric conveyances, putting up the famous Christmas tree. I never knew that it comes in labeled sections, like a crossword puzzle. The tree features more than 200 elaborate Neapolitan creche figures.


After resting on one of the infrequent benches, I made a final stop before departing for Grand Central Station at a delightful exhibit of Venetian glass on the ground floor. Featuring more than 300 works by Carlo Scarpa, a young Venetian architect who created designs for the Venini Co., using innovative new techniques, the exhibit includes large colorful pieces as well as small works of cobweb-like delicacy.


There was not enough time to revisit the outstanding new, Islamic galleries (which I have previously visited twice). I can’t seem to get my fill of this beautiful collection; and if you have not previously seen these galleries, you absolutely must include them.


Arriving home after the lengthy train trip, I literally fell into bed, a worn out sightseer, but with enough beautiful memory pictures to keep me happy for some time.


Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

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Branford columnist remembers JFK’s death like it was yesterday

So much has been written, spoken and televised this past week about the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination and death, that I hesitate to attempt to add to the far more profound and able writers on the subject, and yet somehow I cannot allow the event to pass without making my own small observation.


It is only my senior age group that retains a vivid memory of that day. My sons were too small and have vague recollections while my daughter was not yet born.


The memory is as vivid as if it were yesterday; and yet 50 years ago, my life and the life of this country were so vastly different than they are today. We had just returned from living in Japan for an extended period and had barely settled into an apartment in Peter Cooper Village, a large complex in New York City.


I was on my way to pick up my boys from school and bring them home for lunch, and I had stopped first at the laundromat on First Avenue to drop off some small rugs. As I emerged from there, my eye caught a woman standing on the sidewalk, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Concerned, I went over and put my hand on her arm and asked if I could help her.


“Haven’t you heard?” she replied, “The president has been shot.” We hugged, and then I walked the remaining block to the school where they were dismissing all the children, for the day.


We went home to remain glued to the radio and the television and soon learned the unthinkable; our young, charismatic president, so vital, so full of promise, was dead. Returning to one’s country, after a period of living abroad, is always something of a cultural shock in that you see both its faults and strengths in a new light. I could not perceive of how the country had changed so that this horrific event could possibly take place; and in the days that followed with the additional killings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, I came to realize the change was a permanent one.


Later, we would learn of the cruel set of circumstances that conspired to make history that day: Oswald’s recent job at the Texas School Book Depository, the motorcade taking a route passing directly by and finally, the overcast Texas skies clearing so that a decision was made to remove the bubble over the presidential limo.


Television, still a relatively new medium, brought the sorrowful pageantry of the funeral into our homes. Who can forget the riderless horse, Jackie’s grief-stricken face behind her veil and little John-John’s goodbye salute as the casket went by?


Historians have now revealed many unflattering personal facts about President Kennedy as well as determined that his accomplishments were mediocre. Perhaps, it really doesn’t matter. What is gone for good is a certain innocence we all had at that time; a wonderful, if unrealistic belief in ourselves and our country; the vision of America as a Camelot, died along with President Kennedy.


Certainly, we have made tremendous progress in many areas: women and minorities holding positions of power, unthinkable 50 years ago, and that is much to be admired and commended, but just as small children lose a lovely naivete when they learn that there are no fairies or Santa Claus, so too, did Americans lose a certain vision of ourselves and our country that I fear will never return.


Jean Cherni writes a column for the Sunday Register. Contact her, a certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

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Sitting in on Yale’s Claude D. Pepper Center Symposium on aging

Every year the Yale School of Medicine hosts the Claude D. Pepper Center Symposium which features outstanding speakers who present on a variety of topics related to the latest research on aging.


It is indeed fitting that it is named after Claude Pepper, the former fiery, unabashed liberal senator from Florida who in a 60-year political career was an outspoken champion for the elderly. After a warm welcome from Dr. Thomas Gill, the director of the Pepper Center, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who can match Pepper in her fiery defense of issues affecting seniors, addressed the need for funds to continue the important research in issues affecting the elderly since indeed, it affects the social and economic well being of all of us.


Rosa, recently honored as an inductee into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, is herself a survivor of ovarian cancer, and she gave credit to the continuing research efforts in the cancer field.


All of the five experts who spoke on various subjects were extremely interesting presenters, but I found two of the topics particularly fascinating: “Why Humans Have Friends,” a look at the evolution of lifelong social interactions discussed with a delightful wit by Dr. Nicholas Christakis.


The extensive research on this subject, which included an isolated tribe which has remained unaffected by modern civilization, found that the patterns of forming friendships and the influence those friends exert on us, is the same in every group they studied. Even among animals, the need for social interaction is very strong. We are beginning to fully realize that the way our housing and transportation has developed (away from town centers and natural meeting places) is not at all ideal for an aging population.


Christakis compared our social circles to those of ant colonies and remarked that there is an emotional contagion that definitely occurs; that the, “when a kindness is done for you, pay it forward” theory, really does work. Our friends act as social magnifiers, and we humans need and form, long-term, nonreproductive alliances.


The other topic I found of special interest was Dr. Mary Tinetti’s “Multiple Chronic Conditions in Older Adults” and the need to be sure that the medicines prescribed under those complex circumstances are not causing harm, but are treating what matters most.


Now that we are living longer, more of us will develop multiple conditions, and we need to have a thorough discussion with our primary care physician who is aware of all our medications as to what the best combination of medicines is. Is, for example, our blood pressure medicine increasing the risk of our falling?


Sometimes, it is a trade-off between helping one condition and hurting another. The three important areas of interest to most of the elderly are:


n Remaining as functional as possible


n Being free of symptoms and pain


n Living as long as possible (survival)


Studies found that 42 percent of the participants choose maintaining function as the most important with 32 percent choosing relief from pain and 27 percent, surviving longer. However, since these choices can change with time, it is necessary for doctors and patients to continually talk about these choices.


As an example, I am hoping to find a solution to the hip and ankle pain I am experiencing, but I am not at present, willing to take any medication that might also affect my memory or energy level. All of this relates to an earlier column based on “e-Patient Dave,” who advised us to be fully engaged in our own health care; being a “e patient” meant being empowered, engaged and enabled.


Since the annual cost of Alzheimer’s disease to our country is now almost $215 billion, the next great project for America will be learning the language of the brain. We all need to speak out for additional funding for the National Institute on Aging to be able to continue its invaluable work for all of us.


Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

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When the wind blows, that old arthritis makes even walking a chore

Fall is, without a doubt, my very favorite season of the year. Since I wilt in hot weather, the crisp fall air fills me with new energy, and the colors here in Connecticut are truly breathtaking. But this year, there’s an additional unwelcome symptom, arthritis pain in the hips and in the left ankle I broke many years ago.

Instead of striding forth and being able to enjoy this invigorating weather, I find I am taking careful, mincing steps, holding onto trees, car fenders, chairs and occasionally, even other people; often to their complete surprise. Cortisone shots and Aleve no longer seem to work, so I am about to try advice from the Mayo Clinic, which I will share with any of my readers also experiencing “Fallthritis.”

The basics
Whatever your condition, you will have an easier time staying ahead of your pain if you talk to your doctor about your symptoms, arthritis related or not. Sometimes, seemingly unrelated problems are, in fact, connected.

Ask your doctor for a clear definition of the type of arthritis you have. Find out if any of your joints are already damaged.

While most medications for arthritis relief are relatively safe, no medication is free of side effects. Talk with your doctor to decide what would work best for you.

Everyday routines
Do some gentle exercise in the evening, and you won’t feel as stiff in the morning. When you are basically doing nothing, be sure to adjust position frequently. Change the position of your hands; bend and stretch your legs.

Take breaks so that you don’t overuse a joint.

Exercise
Gentle movement can decrease the pain, improve your range of motion, strengthen muscles and increase endurance. Low-impact aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling or water exercise. (For a number of years, I have been going to the Branford Y for an early morning water exercise class which I love). Of course, exercise along with diet should result in weight reduction which would alleviate stress on the joints. (On this point, I have had a spectacular lack of success.)

Avoid running, jumping, tennis, repetition of movement or complete inactivity.

Rest
Occasional pain may require nothing more than rest. Try application of heat or cold (whichever works best for you). There are even some sports-type rubs and roll-ons that may give quick, if not lasting, relief.

Depression
It is not surprising that depression is more common in people with arthritis. Pain has a negative effect on mood and if everyday activities are difficult, it is bound to be discouraging. If those feelings are constant and escalate, the doctor may recommend anti-depressants or cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce depression and the arthritis pain.

In summary, nothing earth-shattering in any of the above information, but even a small reduction in pain is encouraging. Hopefully, the drug companies are putting time and money into this major problem that affects so many of us as we age.

Meanwhile, if you spot an 80-something lady maneuvering unsteadily down the street, give her a big smile as you move out of the way; it might be me, out to enjoy this beautiful fall weather ... arthritis be dammed.

Contact Jean Cherni, certified senior adviser for Senior Living Solutions and Pearce Plus, a helpful, full-service program for seniors contemplating a move, at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 49 Rose St., Apt. 510, Branford, 06405.

I'm reading: When the wind blows, that old arthritis makes even walking a chore