Author: seew1222

BRAIN UPS
Now, we do sit ups and push ups when we want to exercise our bodies, so here is a Brain Up to exercise our brains.
*** Memorize the number of your favorite credit card plus the expiry date and “magic” 4 or 3 digit number. Yes… you can do it and you will not believe how handy it is. No more digging through your purse when you are online with Amazon. It is also a way to impress folks at a cocktail party. If you misplace (lose) your card, it is helpful to contact the company to report the loss. Whenever you use it online, however, do not save it, no matter how lazy you feel.

Are you hooked on your devices?

We are slaves to our smart phones. All of us! We have to put them away to focus on our spouse or hide them between our legs at meetings to focus. (Warning: hazard if you set your phone to vibrate!)

Are we robots? Can we still think? Our grandchildren are hooked to Xbox, and we are rummaging around our devices to find phone numbers, steps, activity stats and to make notes on conversations lest we forget what people are telling us!

Some of the big events in our changing lives circled around the telephone answering machine! Just 35 years ago, we never even thought that we could retrieve messages remotely. When my husband got his first car phone we almost needed a forklift to get it into the car it was so bulky and heavy. But we were modern and connected!

What a status symbol! A car phone and the antenna sticking up from the coupe roof! Chatting on the phone while driving was worth the bill. And it was expensive. Now we can get unlimited data for $45 a month! (Until you go over the data allowance which is written in italics in the fine print).

My father’s big luxury was a generator that looked like a extra large Electrolux sitting in our garage which turned on the lights during hurricane Hazel!!

So now we have the Fitbit, a wonderful device to register our steps and our capability to challenge ourself. Competition seems to be endemic to our generation. The Silent Generation and Baby Boomers who realized autonomy with the pill and women’s lib have the wonderful ability to show how fit we are.. Now we are competing daily to get those 10,000 steps or more each day! If we don’t we, take the cat for a walk after dinner to get another 1000 in there. So we wear the Fitbit around our neck or arm or even we can clip it to our underwear. (That’s where I lost mine, another story).

Then we who have apple smartphones have a heart app built in to make sure that all our pertinent info is logged into the phone should something happen to us. It takes at least an hour for me to enter all the meds, the Drs numbers and passwords to the hospital websites in the app. Wow, what a relief that that is done! As if anyone will look at it…..maybe after one is gone!

But wait! there’s another bunch of devices that we can use to monitor the robots that we are. A Lifeline will call emergency services when we fall accidentally or collapse. It can be worn around the neck as a pendant or as a bracelet. They say these work. Fortunately, we have not tried them! The cheapest one is $29.95 a month. Get your kids to pay for it.
You can find a list of Medical Guardians 800-317-5100. Just google Fitbit and you will get a medical alert comparison and the costs. It can even be paired with your ADT security system! That is, if you can remember to wear it! Write a message on your mirror in lipstick.

And, now there is a device that will track our wellness and mindfulness. Mindfulness! That means how many times a day that we relax, have a cocktail, or sleep. (What’s that?) It is almost able to smell alcohol. You wear it on your belt. It tracks breathing, stress, fights and general problems. Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmm……………

It should send a signal to your brain to remove all devices and take a nap!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
By Connie Bischoff

I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Japan. The highlight of my journey was my mission to find the site of the house where we used to live when our Dad was stationed at Johnson Air Force Base aka JAB in Iruma, NW of Tokyo from 1955 to 1958. Thanks to Akio Osono of Johnson Town, his family, my brothers and the Johnson Air Base Facebook Group, my dream came true.

Our family arrived in Japan in December 1955. Our Dad was a USAF Captain who flew a B-57B. Instead of living in the Officers Housing in Hyde Park, our Dad and his B-57B buddies decided to have houses for their families built off base and closer to the town. The construction of the housing was supervised by my Dad. I guess that the USAF paid for the construction since the housing on base was tight. He had also shipped over his Cadillac convertible to enjoy during his assignment at JAB and sell later in Japan. After we moved into our new house, our Mom got pregnant (isn’t it funny how that happens!).

On September 13, 1956, our Dad and his Navigator, Lt. Jimmie D. Martin, took off on a routine flight. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane lost a portion of the hydraulic system… a serious problem. It appeared that they would not be able to return to Johnson Air Base and they were told to eject from the aircraft after making sure that, as the plane descended, it would land in the Pacific Ocean and not endanger anyone. Dad told Jimmie to eject first but Jimmie’s ejection seat mechanism did not work. Dad popped the canopy. Jimmie crawled out wearing his parachute. The odds were against Jimmie surviving as the wind would probably slam him back against the vertical stabilizer. Dad did not know what happened to Jimmie when he ejected himself expecting an easy parachute ride down. Instead, the winds blew him against a mountain causing several injuries. His chute got caught in a tree. Back at home, all we could do was worry as they both were missing. I can still picture our pregnant Mom sitting in a chair in our courtyard… just waiting.

Dad and Lt. Martin seemed to be missing forever. The news, when it came, was good. A Japanese wood hauling crew had heard our Dad yelling and helped him down the side of the mountain. They took him in a cart to a farmer’s house, the same one that Lt. Martin had just walked to a few minutes before! Both pilots were flown in the same helicopter back to Johnson Air Base. After a few days in the hospital, Dad came home although the injuries to his head and right elbow never completely healed. When he returned home, he insisted upon walking up the stairs by himself from his Caddy parked below. We were certainly glad to see him!!

Dad continued to fly although I doubt that the B-57B was his favorite aircraft. A Japanese farmer later returned his helmet.

We continued to live in the house until mid-1958 and thoroughly enjoyed Japan. When our baby brother John was born, Daddy posted a big sign listing all our names. It was placed right next to the entrance stairs. Sometimes we would hear the chatter of children in front of the house. We discovered that the combination of the American car and American house with the unusual chimney made us an attractive location for school drawing classes. On weekends, we would take our Caddy and go on field trips. The people in many of the small towns were curious to see people with blond hair and blue eyes and they loved the car. As our Mom had taught us some Japanese, everyone was friendly and welcoming.

Now, on this special trip in 2017, it was my chance to play detective. In order to travel to Iruma, the location of JAB, I took 3 trains from Tokyo. It was a great experience as train travel in Japan is so efficient, clean and quiet. I disembarked and walked to the Kenei Sayama Inariyama Park, a beautiful park located on the property formerly occupied by Hyde Park Officers Housing. There were kids playing soccer, toddlers in a playground and food trucks. I continued walking to the perimeter where my brother Ron and I thought our small group of houses were located.

I had five clues. Clue 1 – Our Dad, a Colorado native insisted that our house, the one on the northernmost edge of the property, have a fireplace and a chimney which made it stand out. Clue 2 – Our houses were built up from the street where our Dad parked his Caddy requiring stairs for access. Clue 3 – We looked across the street at a Shinto Park with stairs going up to the entrance under a red Tori gate. Clue 4 – Inside the park was an unusual “overlook” with a bench for sitting and a great view of the town. Clue 5 – I brought with me several photos of our house, one which showed our house and the sign listing our names. I kept walking around the area. I found several Shinto temples and a Shinto park with an overlook but the entrance was on the other side. There was no red Tori at the top of the steps and no houses which matched my photos. In fact, one area had no houses at all.

I walked back to the train station to meet Akio’s lovely sister Kikuko who was picking me up to join them for lunch. The other American guests were Tom McGrain and his family. In 1960, Tom was a middle school teacher at JAB who lived with his wife in one of the houses which makes up today’s Johnson Town. Also present were Akio and Kikuko’s charming father Tatsuo. We went to an Italian restaurant…what fun! During the luncheon, Akio told me that they had a surprise for me. I crossed my fingers. We knew that after the US departed from Johnson, they gave the airbase to the Japanese National Guard and Hyde Park to the city. I gathered that the other off base housing property was sold off to private developers. Apparently, Akio’s Dad bought the one bedroom houses which became Johnson Town. He then built more in the same style and there now are over 60. They are all rentals and some are used as coffee shops, art studios and galleries and others are homes. Johnson Town is also a tourist attraction as the houses are so American. There is a big Chevrolet sign in one yard, a Disney dwarf character from Snow White in another and many other American symbols.

I did not know what happened to the other off base houses but here is the amazing news: Tatsuo held up the photo I had sent of our house with the sign. He pointed out something on the sign I had not noticed…it was a house number 2084. He told me that he used to own that house along with the others next to it. He even pointed out that the house had a chimney. He then invited me to go for a ride after lunch along with Akio and a photographer to find where the former location of the house.

After lunch, we got in the car and drove off. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was. We passed Hyde Park and arrived at the same street I had found earlier with the stairs but without the red Tori gate. We got out of the car and hiked up to the empty lots across the street from the stairs. Tatsuo walked to the northernmost empty lot and announced, ”This is 2084.” I cried! Several of the foundation walls were still standing. One had a tiny grate in a hole in the wall which matched the photo showing the front foundation of the house. We even found remnants of a cement brick grill and bathroom tiles in the yard. There were several walls made of round stones along the side of the property which my brothers and I had noticed in some old photos. Akio dug down into the bushes and other greenery and located the stairs which used to be on the side of the house! I could now really picture my Dad walking up to the house after being released from the hospital. Once the bushes were removed we could see the area where the sign originally stood. The photographer said that the house 2 houses away had been there as recently as 2014 (he had photographed it) but all the others had been removed long before. All that was left was empty lots. Mr. Isono no longer owns the property.

We walked down the street. I wanted to find the exact street name to make it easier for my brothers to find it on Google Earth. I noticed a couple working in their yard. Somewhere in my brain, a phrase my Mom has taught me, “A No Ney”, burbled up. It means “Hey There”. I called it out to them and they smiled and came to the fence. We spoke to them and found that they had lived there for 30 years. They remembered our house as it was the only one with a chimney. They also mentioned that the Tori gate at the top of the stairs had been removed a few years ago when the entrance was relocated to the other side of the overlook. All of the clues were solved. We definitely knew where the house had been. Mission Accomplished thanks to Akio and his lovely family. Arigato to all!

I spent that night at a hotel in Iruma but unfortunately did not have time to visit the Military or Bonsai Museums. I returned to Tokyo the next morning where I spent a fabulous day before joining my Tour Group. That night, at my Tokyo hotel restaurant, there was a singer who performed “Sentimental Journey”, our parents’ favorite song. This was just another sign that our folks were looking down on me and smiling that our house numbered 2084 in Iruma had never been lost…just hiding.

There are many ways to challenge your brain which only take a second. Here are two of them.

One is Time and Direction… what time is it and what direction are you facing/going? When you in your car waiting at a long traffic light, do not look at the dashboard. Ask yourself, what time is it and am I going East, West, North, etc. Then you can check your accuracy with the clock and compass on your dashboard. It is not only fun to find out how accurate you are but these skills come in handy when you are traveling or may not have a watch or smart phone handy! And maybe, if you are part Native American like Connie wishes she were, you are already pretty good at this.

Another is the clock on your smart phone. Make your brain work..after all, it gets a free lunch doesn’t it. Change your phone to 24 Hour Clock. Then every time you look at the time in the PM, you have to mentally subtract 12 hours. Go to Settings, Date & Time and switch it to 24. While some of you might get used to it easily, especially if you are former military, it is another way to challenge your brain 24/7!!!

DON’T HAVE A HOBBY, GET A PASSION INSTEAD!

When you are in your twenties and thirties, usually you are very busy with work and kids. You barely have time for yourself. Once your house empties out, it is time to check out possible passions. Do it sooner than later. They can involve working with your hands, brain or physical sports or all of the above. Check out your older friends… the ones who laugh a lot rather than complain. Find out what they do.

One way to think about it is to ask yourself “what would I do I if I had the time?”   In your 70s, do you want to spend your time on your Lazy Boy watching TV or do something which uses your brain and muscles and keeps both of them sharper. One group of people who seem to have more of a challenge keeping busy after retirement are doctors. They have been so very busy that the day they retire, they feel like they have stepped off a cliff. Some of them are so desperate for something to occupy their days that they end up going back to work part time. Is that you?

Whether it is creative hobbies (woodworking, tax preparation, jewelry design, needlepoint, mountain climbing, sky diving, wind surfing, or painting) projects (like keeping your Model A Ford going, writing a book or getting really involved in local activities) or sports (golf or tennis or sailboat racing) or volunteer (check out the website VolunteerMatch), they will keep a smile on your face and fill up your calendar.

Do not be bored…or you will end up flat as a board (in bed and always grumpy).

www.volunteermatch.org

We have  BFF (best friends forever) and another acronym too.  FFF  which stands for Favorite Focus Foto.

What? What is that? I already am taking photos with my smart phone and my expensive camera. Focus?  Us?

This is different.  It’s a type of meditation-don’t worry, we are not going to go all touchy feely on you . So FOCUS!! This is a photo which you print on your memory and keep easy to recall.  You should have at least three FFFs. They are  visual memories of favorite places or scenes which you can recall to de-stress.

For example: Robert Redford riding his great horse in Butch Cassidy, your first child asleep in their bassinette, or the view of the sunset near Key Largo.

Your stressful situations might be waiting nervously for a long time in your doctor’s waiting room, or in the hospital waiting to be rolled into surgery. A super long TSA line can trigger anxiety, or a rude person in the supermarket ( Hey Buddy Joke in the next blog). We all have our buttons which get pushed frequently, especially now that we are older and have MUCH less patience. Can you  not get to sleep?  Did your next door neighbor feed the peacocks so they howl all night??  Stress is no FUN. So pick up some tools and use your FFFs.

Calming thoughts can really help. We wish we had known this when we were biting nails and chewing lips when our kids were competing!!

Connie’s FFFs are (1) King Philip’s Seat in Bristol, RI, (2) the view of Machu Picchu with Wayna Picchu in the background, and (3) walking down the Champs-Elysées at Christmas time enjoying all of the sparkling holiday lights.

Sally’s FFFs include (1) a beautiful cottage in the Keys at sunset, (2) a cool bed with soft sheets, and (3) a great massage.

Be sure and use your FFFs frequently… then the term becomes Favorite Frequent Focus Fotos! They come in handy and you will smile more often. Your heart will thank you.

“NO MORE MULTI TASKING!!”, says our dear husbands, who loved this about us in the 80s.

When I was young…younger than today… we used to brag about our multi-tasking skills. While it definitely helped us work and volunteer while raising three children each and partnering with  two sailor/professional husbands, it took so much effort. Now that we are getting older, we still think we can manage!! Ha!! The challenge is not brainpower but energy!  We  look for our keys and then see something  which belongs in another room, then notice some old towels which we will need to wash the cat that day. Then, we go into the garage to get the cat shampoo, and see the dirty litter box . Ackkk!!   Getting the newspapers to put on the bottom of the litter box we see  an article which we set aside to read later. We put down everything to read the wayward article and somehow find ourselves at Starbucks drinking a grande latte.  At least the keys are  in hand!!

Back home we  recall that we need to chill wine for that evening’s party. The wine goes into the fridge but we can’t find our phone or charger which was left in the car. We realize the dry cleaning wasn’t dropped off and the library books need to be returned which are sitting on the front seat. By this time, the phone needs to be charged and it’s lunchtime!! What has been accomplished??  Not much!!

What happens is that we are easily distracted, running in circles, thinking of too much and then fail to finish the projects because the 60 year old body can’t keep up with the 40 year old brain.

What can we do about this?

First of all, add a To Do list in your smart phone Notes. We find  this is better than using post-its which seem to multiply in the dark. It is easy to add items and delete them. The trick is to remember to charge your phone! If you are a paper person, then write a list during breakfast and photograph it with your smart phone.

Secondly, do things in threes. It is easy to remember that you need to buy cat food, empty the recycling and mail the bills. Even at the grocery store, if you have forgotten your list, you have a photograph of the important items you wrote down at breakfast. And no one needs more than three things for dinner-wine, spinach and meat.

When you are working in your house, finish one room at a time. Put the items which belong somewhere else in a bag at the door.

When you are running errands, make a mental map (mine are usually counterclockwise!) of places you need to visit. Where are you going first? The most important place ( Crown Liquors)! Stick to it. At least you will have accomplished the first most important item on the list.

Calendar…put it on a wall or by the phone with pen attached so it is easy to access. Every morning look at your bag and transfer loose notes which might have dates and reminders to your calendar or phone. then train yourself to check the calendar and phone before going out the door. Connie even adds the day when she needs to mail those Valentine cards!

And most importantly … schedule time for yourself!! Whether it is for reading,  a power nap, exercise or a great massage,  put it on your day’s calendar.

You might be so efficient that folks think you are multitasking!!