Young@Heart Chorus: Forever Young

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Young@Heart Chorus: Forever Young

109-Year-Old Veteran and His Secrets to Life Will Make You Smile

Meet Richard Overton, America's oldest veteran. In this lively short film by Matt Cooper and Rocky Conly, hear the whiskey-drinking, cigar-smoking supercentenarian reveal his secrets to a long life.


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93-Year Old Gets Tired of Boredom and Opens His Own Boozy Bakery

Retirement is usually a time to take it easy… slow down… and maybe take up a relaxing hobby. But Ray Boutwell – accomplished carpenter, portrait-painter, World War II veteran, and grandfather of two – got bored. And so at 93, he decided to embark on what he felt would delay the obituary and ensure longevity of life – he was going to make cupcakes.

When his wife died in 2012, Ray tried to stay busy, but he knew he needed to stay active. “I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to do something more physical, or I’m going to pass.’”

And now Boutwell has dusted off the cobwebs of retirement to make cupcakes. But these aren’t ordinary cupcakes! Ray’s Boozy Cupcakes were inspired by liquor-laced sweets he read in a magazine in his cardiologist’s office.


“I’ve got about 20 flavors, some for vanilla cupcakes and some for chocolate. I do one with tequila, I call it a ‘sunrise,’ another I call ‘sherry cherry,’ some with blueberry vodka, and one with a hazelnut filling and Angelica liqueur.”

It is evident that the business may contribute to longevity of life, as Boutwell intended. Each day he gets up at 4 o’clock, and his staff can hardly keep up.“Now I work eight, nine, sometimes 10 hours a day in the new place, and I really feel great.”

Sales are good and Boutwell is paying off his mortgage. “We ran out of everything,” he said. “They started out buying like one or two — now they buy ’em by the dozen.”

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93-Year Old Gets Tired of Boredom and Opens His Own Boozy Bakery

Secrets of ‘SuperAgers’ Who Possess Brains as Sharp as People 20 to 30 Years Younger

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Despite volunteering and working out at the gym several days each week, socializing frequently with friends and family, reading all manner of books and doing daily crossword puzzles, 85-year-old Carol Siegler is restless.

“I’m bored. I feel like a Corvette being used as a grocery cart,” said Siegler, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Palatine.

Siegler is a cognitive “SuperAger,” possessing a brain as sharp as people 20 to 30 years younger. She is part of an elite group enrolled in the Northwestern SuperAging Research Program, which has been studying the elderly with superior memories for 14 years. The program is part of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“I’ve auditioned twice for ‘Jeopardy!’ and did well enough on it to be invited to the live auditions. Then Covid hit,” said Siegler.

What is a SuperAger?

To be a SuperAger, a term coined by the Northwestern researchers, a person must be over 80 and undergo extensive cognitive testing. Acceptance in the study only occurs if the person’s memory is as good or better than cognitively normal people in their 50s and 60s.

“SuperAgers are required to have outstanding episodic memory — the ability to recall everyday events and past personal experiences — but then SuperAgers just need to have at least average performance on the other cognitive tests,” said cognitive neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Only about 10% of people who apply to the program meet those criteria, said Rogalski, who developed the SuperAger project.

“It’s important to point out when we compare the SuperAgers to the average agers, they have similar levels of IQ, so the differences we’re seeing are not just due to intelligence,” she said.

Once accepted, colorful 3D scans are taken of the brain and cognitive testing and brain scans are repeated every year or so. Analysis of the data over the years have yielded fascinating results.

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Secrets of ‘SuperAgers’ Who Possess Brains as Sharp as People 20 to 30 Years Younger

Young@Heart Chorus: "Fix You"

Fred Knittle (RIP) of Young@Heart Chorus performs "Fix You" by Coldplay in a scene from the film. "Young@Heart"

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YouTube: Young@Heart Chorus: "Fix You"

Buffalo woman saves a man from freezing to death in blizzard

Christmas Eve during the Blizzard of 2022 will be remembered for more than snow. It's the day one woman saved a stranger's life.

 

Author: Claudine Ewing

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sha'Kyra Aughtry was on her couch inside her Thatcher Avenue home when she heard someone outside scream for help.

A man she did not know was literally freezing. 

"The winds were sweeping him away.  I seen his body and then I didn't see his body. He was stumbling and falling," she said.

Aughtry didn't know the man and was hesitant about opening her door, but she saw he needed help.

"I told my boyfriend Trent, hey, there is a guy outside we gotta bring him in," but she said he wasn't on board right away.

He went outside and had a hard time bringing him indoors because the man was nearly frozen, "Ice balls was on his hands. He was like frozen, his pants were frozen, his shoes were frozen."

She managed to cut a frozen bag off his hands, and get a ring off of his finger as she noticed he was losing circulation.

Aughtry called a family member out of state who is a nurse to get assistance on how to proceed with frostbite and poor circulation due to the cold.

Credit: Aughtry

She asked the man his name and he gave her the number of his sister. It's when she made the call and learned that the man Joe White, known as Joey was from a group home in the area. He was trying to go to work at the North Park Theatre.

Joey ended up staying with the family for two days. She was trying to get help through 911, and the National Guard to get him to a hospital in the blizzard.

Frustrated with no response, she made a plea on social media for help to get him to a hospital. Good Samaritans responded, including former football player Doug Worthington.

Two other men arrived in a truck after seeing the outcry for help and transported Joey to ECMC. He remains hospitalized.

"He said to me in the car and it touched me he said I'm scared. I said I'm scared too and he said am I gonna die. I said we're not talking about dying." Comforted with her by his side, she said Joey then, "looked at me and said I love you and I said I love you too Joey."

Her lifesaving effort has not gone unnoticed. Her name along with her boyfriend's name is now on a marquee at the North Park Theatre on Hertel Avenue in Buffalo. 

A worker there started a gofundme to show her appreciation.

"I appreciate it and my family appreciates it. I was just paying it forward like we all should do," Aughtry said in an interview with Two On Your Side's Claudine Ewing.

Credit: Aughtry

The mother of three owns Heartfelt Cleaning LLC and works for Global Industrial Services Inc. as a janitorial manager.

Christmas morning, Joey wanted pancakes and she made them for him and they watched football.

"He will forever be a part of my family, no matter the color of our skin," she said, "we have to work together."

She saved Joey, tonight at 11 hear from the Buffalo woman who gives us a reason to feel hopeful about humanity during the blizzard @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/lJkFC9QUbY

— Claudine Ewing (@ClaudineWgrz) December 28, 2022

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Buffalo woman saves a man from freezing to death in blizzard

Stories of survival and rescue emerge from ‘war with mother nature’ in Buffalo

Amid a deadly winter storm, heart-warming tales spring forth of neighbors assisting stranded tourists and helping deliver babies

Buffalo’s city hall during a snowstorm in November. Photograph: Lindsay Dedario/Reuters

By Victoria Bekiempis  

As the US reels from a winter storm that has killed nearly 50 people nationwide, stories of hope and resilience have nonetheless emerged from America’s hardest-hit region, western New York state.

This storm, which has resulted in 27 deaths around the city of Buffalo, brought hurricane-force winds and nearly four feet of snow in parts of the region, thwarting first responders’ emergency response and rescue efforts. “This is a war with mother nature, and she has been hitting us with everything she has,” New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul said.

But amid the tragedy and deadly conditions, stories of endurance, survival and rescue have emerged. Good Samaritans took stranded travelers into their homes; strangers worked together to help a snow-trapped expectant mother through home birth.

A South Korean tour group, which was headed for Niagara Falls, found their van stuck in the snow outside Buffalo. Two members of the group knocked on the door of a nearby house, and asked for shovels.

The homeowners, Alexander and Andrea Campagna, invited the nine travelers and their tour van driver into their home; the group stayed there over the weekend, departing Sunday, according to the New York Times.

“It was kind of like fate,” said Pyeongtaek resident Yoseb Choi, who was with his wife, Claire, on the tour, and describing the Campagnas as “the kindest people I have ever met”.

The Times quoted Alexander Campagna as saying: “We have enjoyed this so much … we will never forget this.”

A family of six from Williamsville, near Buffalo, tried to get to a hotel on Friday night after losing power, but soon found themselves stranded in the snow. Buffalo airport firefighters rescued the parents Demetrice and Danielle, as well as their four children, who ranged in age from nine months to eight years, CNN reported.

Demetrice and Danielle were the only people among the more than three dozen rescued near Buffalo’s airport who were traveling with small children, so the family got to spend the evening and Christmas Eve at the fire station, per CNN. The firefighters worked quickly to find presents to “make sure Santa paid a visit”, the outlet said.

Births during the blizzard have also shown neighbors’ heroic efforts to help one another. Mark Poloncarz, Erie county executive, said that a snowplow paved the way to bring a woman with a complicated pregnancy to the hospital, where she had a successful birth, Syracuse.com reported.

Some women who didn’t make it to the hospital were guided through births with calls to midwives and doulas. Erica and Davon Thomas experienced this firsthand.

Erica, whose baby was due on Christmas, started to feel contractions on Friday night, as the blizzard peaked, according to the Buffalo News. While Erica and Davon lived just five miles from the birthing hospital, they were snowed in.

Davon sought help from 911, but was told that first responders couldn’t get to them because of the weather. Late Saturday morning, Erica’s contractions were a mere three minutes apart.

His friend logged onto a Buffalo blizzard Facebook group for assistance; a doula was offering to help. The couple and the doula, Raymonda Reynolds, got on a video chat. Reynolds guided Erica and then brought her friend, doula and nurse Iva Michelle Blackburn, on to the chat, according to the newspaper.

Around 3.30pm, with the doulas’ long-distance guidance, Erica gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Devynn Brielle Thomas. “She just looked at both of us … She just gave us a look like, ‘Well, I’m here,’” Davon told the outlet.

Early the next day, a woman called Davon to tell them that her husband, Angel Lugo, would drive them to the hospital in his truck. While Lugo couldn’t drive down their snow-covered street, he reportedly walked to the Thomases’ home, guided them to the truck several blocks away, and brought them to the hospital. “Buffalo is called the City of Good Neighbors for a good reason,” Davon told the newspaper.

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Stories of survival and rescue emerge from ‘war with mother nature’ in Buffalo

State working through backlog of care facility investigations

By Brian Tabick

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals said it was making up for the lost time when it comes to inspecting care facilities.

The DIA said it was not allowed to conduct surveys during the 2020 pandemic so care facilities could learn to navigate COVID-19. The DIA interacts with and investigates care facilities in several different ways. A surveyor can show up unannounced to investigate, or people can fill out a complaint for the state to investigate.

“It’s not uncommon to see these problems,” said Marcia Southwick, a Director with the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse.

She hears complaints about the DIA year-round but said that number went up since the 2020 pandemic.

“We’re all going to get old; you have to think about what you want for your elders,” she said.

The DIA said it had followed the state’s guidance to start catching back up, but the state’s Long Term Care Ombudsman, Angela Van Pelt, said it had dire consequences.

“We had some sad stories,” she said. “Staffing issues got to a point where sometimes a complaint would come in, and four months later the same administrator wasn’t there.”

Van Pelt said they were seeing more than double the complaints this year as in years prior. She said that was because of a lack of state inspectors, nursing facilities not being able to hire and train staff but also many care facilities closing.

“The system is overwhelmed,” she said. “Because of the closures, there were complaints of people not responding to requests for assistance, maybe that’s call lights, and also personal hygiene issues.”

Van Pelt said they were seeing 2-4 facilities closing each month. A total of 55-closed this year. She said she hopes families do research on nursing facilities before making it their home.

“Look at what kind of facility, she said. Is it privately owned that’s been there for 20 years,” said Van Pelt. Or, is it owned by a corporation?”

Van Pelt said people can file complaints on the state’s website and can use the Medicaid Nursing facilities.

https://dia.iowa.gov/health-facilities

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State working through backlog of care facility investigations

Sheriff: Woman accused of hitting 92-year-old mother with wrench, told her to kill herself

by Kennedy McKinney

Susan Delaney was arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older, abuse of an elderly or disabled person, neglect of elderly person, and domestic battery. (PBSO)

BOCA RATON, Fla. (CBS12) — A woman is in jail after her mother told deputies she abused her.

On Dec. 1 around 8 p.m., deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office went to Boca Raton in reference to a domestic battery.

Deputies met with the 92-year-old victim who told them that her daughter Susan Delaney, 65, abuses her and that is has worsened in the past year.

The victim told deputies that when she doesn't follow the rules, Delaney hits her. 

The deputy asked the victim for an example. She told deputies that earlier that same day, she went to the kitchen to wash dishes. However, her daughter was unhappy with the result of the dishes and and began to yell and strike her. Delaney then told her mother to leave the house, kicked her out, and locked the doors. The victim fled to the neighbors house.

In the arrest report, the victim continues to tell deputies about the abuse and how when Delaney is upset, she'll grab her arms and hands and shake her. She also said Delaney kicks her on her legs when she gets upset.

The victim told deputies that Delaney got mad at her and used a wrench to strike her several times on the head. She also said that in the past Delaney tried to suffocate her with a pillow.

Deputies observed multiple bruises from her forehead to her chin and a laceration on the victim's forehead. There were also bruises under and around her eyes and on her neck and upper torso. She also had large bruises on both arms between the shoulder and elbow, showing indication that she was grabbed. On her left leg there was a large bruise on the font between the knee and ankle.

The deputy wrote in the arrest report that the bruises had various shades showing that some were new while others were healing.

Delaney allegedly took away the victim's glasses so that she couldn't see very well and coerced her into signing paperwork that gave Delaney power of attorney over her finances and real estate.

There is also alleged verbal abuse. The victim told deputies that Delaney curses at her and tells her to kill herself.

When deputies mentioned the possibility of bringing her back to her home, the victim said that she did not want to go because she feared Delaney would hit and kill her.

The neighbor, whose house the victim went to, said they heard screaming and shouting coming from the victim's house over the past months. The neighbor also told deputies they heard Delaney tell the victim to kill herself.

Delaney was arrested and charged with aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older, abuse of an elderly or disabled person, neglect of elderly person, and domestic battery.

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Sheriff: Woman accused of hitting 92-year-old mother with wrench, told her to kill herself