Story by Darl DeVault, Contributing Editor

In a conversation with an early-career friend and actor Michael McGreevey, Kurt Russell, 71, provided detail about his long career in TV and movies before a standing-room-only audience the morning before he received a great honor. Many seniors with a lifelong appreciation for Western heritage and culture gathered to hear him speak.
He was in Oklahoma City on April 9 to be inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers along with his father, Bing Russell, later that night during the Western Heritage Awards at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Russell’s father, Neil Oliver “Bing” Russell, who died in 2003, acted in many Western TV and film productions, including Bonanza. For several years Bing played Deputy Clem Poster in the TV series Bonanza.
Russell treated the crowd of 440, of whom 100 stood for the hour-long conversation to candid, sometimes humorous and unrehearsed insights into his career. He took corrections from the audience several times to keep his stories moving forward.
Russell explained some of his early work. He described meeting Elvis Presley as a 10-year-old uncredited bit player in one of his films, “It Happened at the World’s Fair” in 1963.
Russell talked about his move from Hollywood to buy a ranch near Aspen, Colo., when he was 25.
He discussed how acting in the super successful 1979 ABC Movie of the Week “Elvis the Movie,” playing Presley at 27, earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination. Later a shorter, re-edited version of “Elvis” played in theatres throughout Europe and Australia. He said the highly-rated TV movie performance sparked his film career, and he has not done TV since. Russell’s father Bing co-starred in the biopic as Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley.
The discussion then turned to his roles in Westerns, where he starred as legendary lawman Wyatt Earp in the iconic 1993 film “Tombstone.” While some writers cite the movie as an absolute cult classic because it was a box office, purists realize it is one of the most iconic Westerns ever in depicting Western dialog.
Russell told the audience, “Tombstone” is getting what it deserves (continued acclaim). As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to dialogue, no Western stands up to “Tombstone.”
Oklahomans agree, as evidenced by the Oklahoma State University football program’s use of a scene from the film shown on their stadium’s big screen as the Cowboys run onto the field. They loudly play 10 seconds of the scene near the movie’s end where Earp screams, “the laws coming, you tell’em I’m coming and hells coming with me, you hear, hell’s coming with me.”
Although screenwriter Kevin Jarre (“Glory”) began directing his script for “Tombstone,” producers fired him after a month. Russell said, “After helping secure financing for the film, the director was fired. They wanted me to take over the movie. I called Sylvester Stallone, who recommended George Cosmatos, who had done Rambo II with him. When he arrived, I said to George, “I’m going to give you a shot list every night, and that’s what’s going to be.”
Russell revealed other fascinating bits of the behind-the-scenes drama on the movie’s set. He was forced to cut 22 pages from the script and yet still respect all the great actors he had helped gather for the production.
This extra effort on the film explains Russell’s understated role as Earp for most of the movie, whose character was supposed to be retired from gunplay to be a gambler. Instead, Val Kilmer played the majority of the scenes involving a feared killer, Doc Holliday, capable of instilling fear and dispatching his opponent without a hint of remorse. Some writers think Kilmer stole the many scenes he was in because of his edgy, extremely believable portrayal of all the physical tics of a person with tuberculosis living in a hot climate.
Not at the event in OKC, Kilmer confirmed much of this in a 2017 blog post (via The Hollywood Reporter), saying: “Russell’s totally correct about how hard he worked the day before for the next day’s shot list and the tremendous effort he and I both put into editing, as the studio [Hollywood Pictures] wouldn’t give us any extra time to make up for the whole month we lost with the first director. I watched Kurt sacrifice his role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only two days prep.” Kilmer continued in 2017: “I have such admiration for Kurt. He sacrificed lots of energy that would have gone into his role to save the film. Everyone cared, don’t get me wrong, but Kurt put his money where his mouth was, and not many stars extend themselves for the cast and crew. Not like he did.”
Russell also starred in 2015 Westerns “Bone Tomahawk” and “The Hateful Eight”. In 2019, “The Hateful Eight” was again released as a re-edited four-episode miniseries on Netflix with the subtitle Extended Version. Russell explained his role in “Bone Tomahawk”, cited as Western horror, was so powerful it will be discussed 20 to 30 years into the future.
He finished by taking five questions from the audience in an approachable manner, including a child’s request for his autograph. An audience member has posted a YouTube video of the event at Kurt Russell Full Panel Discussion with Michael McGreevey 04-09-2022 2022 Western Heritage Awards – YouTube
The Museum’s website says it best: Through its three Halls of Fame, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum honors and memorializes the men and women who have, through their exemplary lives, careers, and achievements, embodied and perpetuated the heritage of the American West. Every inductee, whether a real cowboy in the Hall of Great Westerners, a “reel” cowboy in the Hall of Great Western Performers, or a rodeo cowboy in the Rodeo Hall of Fame, perpetuates and enriches facets of this Western heritage. By honoring them, the Museum, in a sense, provides a generational continuity with the past, present and future and bears witness to an evolving American West.

After a major fall, metro senior credits physical therapy with helping her regain independence

Equine lovers can’t imagine life without horses. Carol Peake or Piedmont is one of them, but a fall in the stables meant she had to pull back the reins on riding and she worried she might never ride again.
Peak has ridden horses since childhood. After another of countless rides, she was putting her riding gear away when it happened. A saddle strap wasn’t properly secured, leaving the loop in line with her foot.
“When I turned around to walk off that loop was around my ankle,” Peake recalled. “It yanked my foot out from under me and I crashed to the ground right here on the concrete.”
Her husband was nearby and heard her holler. He rushed to her side and called for help. Peake was rushed to the hospital where they found she had broken the ball off her hip and fractured her femur. She required surgery to repair the damage. Weeks later, she was back home, in pain and barely able to bend at the hit. She wondered how she would be able to ride again. That was when Peake started working with Dr. Alex Maxwell, a physical therapist at Valir Physical Therapy in Piedmont.
“She came in, day one, and knew, ‘I want to get this pain under control,’ and then, right after that, ‘I want to get on a horse as soon as I possibly can,’” Maxwell said.
“Mostly I wanted my life back,” Peake explained, but she knew she had a long way to go.
“She was very unsteady, and she was pretty nervy about standing on one leg, which you have to be on one leg to get into a stirrup and swing your leg over the horse,” Maxwell said.
Peake was upfront with Dr. Maxwell, telling him on her first day about her determination to get back in the saddle.
Knowing her goals, Maxwell tailored her therapy in ways that would help her reach that goal of returning to riding. They focused on exercises that would target specific muscles, strengthening her body in ways that would help her someday get back on a horse again.
“We find those things they want to do, and we make sure we are addressing them through our modalities and treatments,” Maxwell said.
Peake was determined to get better. She pushed through day after day. With Maxwell’s help and encouragement, she began to see improvement — her pain became more manageable, and her strength increased. Nine months later, she reached her goal, climbing back in the saddle for the first time since her injury.
“It was exhilarating,” she said of that moment.
Peake continues to ride regularly. She does need a little help getting into the saddle, though she’s getting closer to doing it on her own. Meantime, she continues to work on strength and range of motion in her hip with the help of the team at Valir PT. She knows without them riding could easily have become a thing of the past.
“Being able to talk about something for weeks and weeks and train for it in here and then actually get to see her go and do it, it was an opportunity that I really appreciated her giving me,” Maxwell said.
Interestingly, Peake says the help she got through physical therapy brought other positives, helping her to enjoy time once again in her garden.

Story by Darl DeVault, Contributing Editor

Sometimes known as a Grand Activity, grandparents often help their grandkids explore new activities outdoors when they share leisure experiences.
Organizers say Oklahoma City RIVERSPORT provides such an opportunity in several locations, providing kayak lessons and rentals so grandkids and grandparents can share the healthy outdoors together.
The Oklahoma River in downtown Oklahoma City is a boon to recreational kayaking in the Boathouse District. Access these outdoor amenities at 725 S. Lincoln Blvd., located just south of Bricktown’s Bass Pro Shop. Organizers rent equipment and provide quick land-based lessons to instill confidence in newfound on-the-water kayaking skills to paddlers. Instruction is vital in steering these boats to a safe and fun adventure. This extends past those interested in kayaking to various paddle sports such as stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) and whitewater kayaking with more training.
Sitting in the boat on the water, it’s easy to feel how kayaking can rekindle a connection with Mother Nature. The craft glides across the river’s surface with each paddle stroke at your pace and effort rate. The retirement privileged will easily keep pace with the young’uns or your companions. Your efforts may entice you to become a senior kayaker and more avid outdoor enthusiast.
This popular water sport affords paddlers an up-close-and-personal view of the river and the wildlife along waterways – cranes, geese, ducks, and the fish in the river. Wide, lightweight plastic touring boats and flatwater kayaks (also called recreational kayaks) make this possible.
A new generation of wider constructed, safer flatwater kayaks featuring easy dynamic control is fueling a paddlesport explosion. These smaller boats’ control and balance make for the perfect outing with grandkids.
Paddleboarding is standing on a wide “surf” board. You use a long, angled paddle to move leisurely through the water. Ages 8+ can paddle solo, while ages 5+ can SUP with an adult. SUP is included in the RIVERSPORT day and season passes, or you can rent a board by the hour. All participants must wear a personal floatation device (lifejacket also called PFD), which is provided.
SUP is available in the Boathouse District and via RIVERSPORT Flat Tide at Lake Overholser and Lake Hefner.
Downtown in the Boathouse District, grandparents can rent kayaks and SUPs or purchase a RIVERSPORT day pass for a whole day of fun and adventure.
“The Lake Overholser Boathouse and the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge are hidden treasures in Oklahoma City,” said Elizabeth Laurent, spokesperson for RIVERSPORT. “It’s a great place for grandparents and grandkids to spend time away from digital distractions and get back to nature.”
RIVERSPORT’s Lake Overholser Boathouse is located on the east shore of Lake Overholser, 12 miles west, and offers hourly kayak and SUP rentals. It features the North Canadian River, which winds through the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge north of the lake. The Refuge is one of the best places to kayak in central Oklahoma. Quiet waterways are a great place to learn the basics.
Grandparents can easily share some fun time on the water with their grandkids as they enjoy kayaking by renting one for a few hours. RIVERSPORT Flat Tide puts you on the water in kayaks and paddleboards at the northeast corner of Lake Overholser near the Route 66 Bridge on the weekends. This Spring, the Oklahoma City Water Trust upgraded the parking lot near the Route 66 Bridge with a new gravel surface. This widening and replacing of the earthen surface make it available to about 60 cars.
Kayaker Michael Jones from Edmond left this five-star review of the Stinchcomb portion on the alltrials.com website on March 19, 2022. You can track his paddle excursion: Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge: East Trail – Oklahoma | AllTrails: Beautiful day to kayak. The water was fairly calm. Busy on the river but not overly so. Went from the boathouse north, under bridges then up the west channel to the river. Not a lot of wildlife but heavier boat traffic is probably why. Went north on the river to near the turnpike. The water got shallow, so I headed back. Nice 3-hour workout.
Once a grandparent uses the on-the-water activities for a bonding session with their grandkids, the kids are sure to look around and see all the other opportunities RIVERSPORT has to offer. RIVERSPORT in the Boathouse District offers a wide variety of land-based activities, including a six-story adventure course, high-speed slides, climbing, bicycling, whitewater rafting, tubing, surfing and indoor skiing. RIVERSPORT also offers coached rowing and canoe/kayak programs for youth through high school age and masters (adult) athletes.
To learn more about RIVERSPORT, visit www.riversportokc.org online or email [email protected].

By Nick Thomas

Actors Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth were married in 1974. Or was it 1976? Actually, it was both! The pair tied the knot when their “Days of Our Lives” characters (Doug and Julie) married two years after the couple wed in real life.
Some 50 years and a collective 5,000 episodes later, the Emmy Award-winning stars of the perennial NBC daytime soap opera are still together both on-screen and off. They recently produced a website, Secrets of Soap Opera Lovers, explaining how the two have lived, loved, and worked together for five decades (see www.soapoperasecrets.com).
“Our grandson, David Samuel, came up with the idea,” explained Bill from the couple’s home in Los Angeles. “He had been divorced and wanted to know the secrets for our long and happy marriage.”
“So we wrote them down for him and he suggested we share them with others on the Internet,” added Susan.
Their secrets, a collection of personal tips for building a successful long-term relationship, include singing and dancing together, saying I love you every day, keeping promises, and supporting your partner’s dreams. Another involves kissing, an activity their TV characters frequently embrace. The couple’s first kiss – on-screen and in real life – was in a premarital episode airing on July 23, 1970.
“That’s our number one secret,” noted Bill. “Give your lover a kiss first thing in the morning and the last thing at night.”
“We have love scenes on the screen, so naturally we have to rehearse them at home,” added Susan as Bill laughed in the background. “We need to practice a lot – we have to perfect them!”
On the website, Bill and Susan explain their secrets in a series of short videos filmed in the couple’s living room, each reinforced by an illustrative clip of their characters from the show.
“We chose scenes from ‘Days of Our Lives’ that demonstrate the point we make in each video,” said Susan.
Bill, who is 96, and Susan, 78, expect their characters to continue displaying on-screen affection through 2022 and beyond.
“The show is produced five days a week and they used to shoot day-for-day, but now they shoot eight episodes in five days,” explained Susan. “Bill and I have been working about four to seven times a month which is plenty right now.”
In addition to their daytime soap duties, both Bill and Susan have each appeared (separately) in a dozen feature films, as well as numerous TV movies, series, and theatrical productions throughout their careers. Bill even enjoyed a smash hit in the 50s singing “The Ballard of Davy Crockett,” outselling versions by Fess Parker and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
“We recorded it on the first take in one day,” recalled Bill. “I still get a royalty check each year for about $3,000. So someone must still be buying it!”
Long-time fans of “Days of Our Lives” are still buying the love that Bill and Susan’s characters share on-screen.
“It’s not Shakespeare, but the writers continue to make Doug and Julie fresh as the times change and as we age,” said Susan. “We haven’t even thought about stopping. Old actors don’t retire, they just lose their agents!” This iconic daytime TV couple, however, can expect to retain their management for quite some time.
“It’s been hard work for many years, but we still love it,” she adds. “We’re proud to be producing a quality product as the matriarch and patriarch of the show.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, in Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers. See www.tinseltowntalks.com.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn [email protected]

Due to health limitations, I do not travel as much as I used to, but enjoy the travel I have had. I still enjoy looking back at my travel experiences, and sharing the best with you.
Love is defined as any of a number of emotions related to a sense of strong affection and attachment.
If this is true, then I think I’m in love – in love with a cruise ship and its crew! Regent’s Voyager of the Seas is worthy of love. On a Baltic Cruise I was delighted with the services provided and the expert delivery on those services. (www.rssc.com)
This state of the art ship is only half the story. With every cabin comes with a comfortable balcony and large picture window with a cozy balcony enabling you to soak up like an appetizer the exotic ports of call – or a calming day at sea. Breakfast room service is must for those not so early bird people when you have an 8:30 am shore excursion. Room service for any meal request is available 24 hours!
Seven Seas Voyager is the world’s second all-suite, all-balcony ship and the second to feature a restaurant operated by Le Cordon Bleu of Paris, following sister ship Seven Seas Mariner. The service at “Signature,” recalls the days of exquisite, formal yet friendly service in a fine Paris restaurant complete with synchronized Silver Bell service for your entree. It’s a real travel adventure in itself when you order a traditional French appetizer of sweet breads, and find it surprisingly savory. There are four other main dining venues for less formal dining,
You enjoy impeccable service thanks to some of the highest space and service ratios at sea. This is exemplified not only in the food and beverage services but in the shore excursions, housekeeping, Internet services, boutique requests and the friendly cruise social staff. I say that the Voyager of the Seas is large enough to serve you, yet small enough to know you. After alerting Ginalyn, my housekeeping stewardess, that I liked my ice bucket always filled, it was done without fail each day with her daily service and found in the mini fridge. It’s the small comfort touches that keep Voyager at the top of cruise ship ratings.
At 4 PM high tea is offered followed by a 4:30 trivia contest where passengers can team up together to win on board points, exchanged near the end of the cruise for souvenir items. After dinner entertainment is eagerly anticipated as it may be a song and dance performance by the Regent Entertainers, specialty acts, a champion ballroom dance team, a magician, virtuoso musical spotlights or a very special all crew talent show.
Late night, for me was always up in the Observation lounge where Pedro my favorite mixologist could prepare his one of a kind Crush Martini, to accompany the relaxing virtuoso musical talents of European Charming pianist Vlado. And should all this entertainment not be sufficient there are 150 free movies available in your suite to lull you, with the gentle ships sway off, to slumber land.
I believe that the ease of cruising gets you the biggest bang for your travel buck. You get what you pay for in cruising with the Regent Line, and more. And there’s much more to tell than space here can accommodate, so please feel free to ask.
I thoroughly agree with the quote printed on one of the chocolates left during turn down service. “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc For your travel fulfillment visit Regent at www.rssc.com.
I hope to someday cruise again, as it is the best travel invested money, and travel memories, you can have.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
https://realtraveladventures.com/?s=terry+zinn
https://realtraveladventures.com/?s=zinn
http://new.okveterannews.com/?s=TERRY+ZINN
www.martinitravels.com

Five grants totaling $1.5 million have provided new cage-cleaning and sterilization equipment for the more than 20,000 mice that call the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation home.
Offices in the animal facility, known as the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Genetic Research, also are being renovated, thanks to grants from the Hearst Foundation, J.A. Chapman and Leta M. Chapman Charitable Trust, National Institutes of Health, Presbyterian Health Foundation, and Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation.
Researchers rely heavily on lab mice, which share more than 95% of their genomes with humans. These mice help deepen scientists’ understanding of diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s to multiple sclerosis and often play a crucial role in developing new treatments.
Mice receive a new cage every one to two weeks. Research technicians wash, sterilize and provide new bedding for nearly 1,000 cages per day. After 20 years, the highly specialized equipment was breaking down regularly: In 2020, OMRF’s contracted technician made 38 visits for repairs.
“What kept us up at night was the prospect of our repair technician getting ill or that the equipment would have a catastrophic failure,” said Jennie Criley, D.V.M., OMRF’s director of Comparative Medicine.
A catastrophic failure, Criley said, could have meant a six-month wait for new, custom-made equipment. This would have caused sweeping delays in research operations, including experiments involving a select group of “germ-free” mice for OMRF researchers like Matlock Jeffries, M.D. These mice have no detectable microbes, and everything that enters their environment must be sterile.
“Our lab studies the relationship between osteoarthritis and microbiomes in the gut,” Jeffries said. “The germ-free facility allows us to give mice a precise microbiome and examine the effects on knee cartilage when we perturb the microbiome. It’s critical that their environment is kept reliably sterile. These grants provide that assurance.” The grants replaced seven pieces of equipment utilized by researchers at OMRF, the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Oklahoma.
The new equipment provides not only reliability, but also energy savings, resulting in more efficient use of foundation funds.
“These facility updates will provide decades of support for OMRF researchers to garner new insights and treatment strategies for diseases that impact people everywhere,” said OMRF President Andrew S. Weyrich, Ph.D.
NIH funds for the renovation are from National Institute of General Medical Sciences Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence program grant No. P20GM139763-01.

In a year of full returns in-person and across theaters, deadCenter Film and Norman Music Festival are proud to partner on Thursday, April 28, at Sooner Theatre in announcing finalists for the inaugural Oklahoma Music Video Award in advance of the 22nd annual deadCenter Film Festival, taking place June 9 – 12. The award finalists will be presented at 7 p.m. during opening night of the music festival, which will run through Saturday, April 30 in Norman and precede an evening of programming merging music and movies.
The 22nd annual deadCenter Film Festival will take place June 9 – 12 in venues across downtown Oklahoma City. This inaugural partnership merges the schedule kick-off of the deadCenter Film Festival, in its first full in-theater run since 2019, with NMF, returning to full three-day operations after being one of the first metro area festivals to cancel in 2020, subsequently canceling the event again in 2021 due to the pandemic.
“One of my favorite things about Oklahoma is the way organizations work together to bring unique experiences to our state,” said deadCenter Film’s director of festival and operations, Miranda Patton. “Our partnership with the Norman Music Festival is undeniably one of those great partnerships. I am beyond excited about our upcoming event, the Music Video award, and future opportunities to celebrate music and film together.”
Immediately following the announcement of music video finalists, deadCenter Film will offer a screening of the documentary feature “Skating Polly: Ugly Pop” about the Oklahoma-bred, now West Coastbased, band Skating Polly, which was winner of the film festival’s Audience Award in 2021. The evening will feature a Q&A with director Henry Mortensen after the screening and a performance by Skating Polly, a trio of siblings known for memorable, genre-shattering versatility for more than a decade.
“We are just thrilled to be able to partner with a tremendous organization like deadCenter Film Festival on the inaugural Oklahoma Video Music award. Being able to overlap our brands and extend our message to broader audiences on each other’s behalf is the kind of collaboration that benefits our state, undoubtedly,” Shari Jackson, Norman Music Festival’s executive director said. “Being able to make this presentation with Skating Polly in attendance is the cherry on the top. On behalf of our board of directors, I can certainly say that we look forward to future collaborations with deadCenter Film Festival.” For more information visit: https://www.deadcenterfilm.org/

by Greg Schwem

“I am currently on the “adjective” diet, meaning I will swallow anything that describes how I want my body to look.
It’s not the first time I have tried to obtain a better shape via attractive sounding nutritional titles. I strode into a vitamin store recently and walked out with something called “Serious Mass.” It’s a product that, judging by the physiques of other guys buying it, would make my neck the size of my thighs.
Perhaps the product worked for them. For me, it should have been titled “No Mass. Seriously.”
Next up was “Joint Mobility,” a supplement that, according to its manufacturer’s website, prevents inflammation that can result in “unwanted pain, stiffness, cracking, or even popping joints.”
Sadly, those cracks and pops persisted although I felt very mobile when making my way to the couch.
Have I learned my lesson? No, as evidenced by an initial trip to a local smoothie store, where a whole new batch of enticing and promising verbiage awaited me.
I have never been a fan of smoothies, particularly as a substitute for actual food. If I am going to drink my lunch, I want to feel as full as if I had just exited McDonald’s after polishing off a double quarter pounder with cheese and large fries. This has never happened. One time it didn’t happen because I spit out the entire contents after seeing my receipt. Who knew something called “Acai” would require a second trip to the ATM?
Nevertheless, smoothie stores and juice bars now occupy most of the retail space not already acquired by Starbucks. A relative recently purchased a “faith based” juice franchise.
“So, if Jesus ever wanted a smoothie, this is where he would go?” I texted her shortly after the grand opening.
I still have not received a response. Hey, I thought it was funny.
I decided to give a recently opened smoothie bar near my home a chance. I had just left the gym after a particularly spirited workout and wanted to retain that good health feeling for as long as possible, meaning until 5 p.m. when I planned to join a friend for beer and wings.
Striding up to the counter, I ordered something called “Island Green,” containing spinach, kale, mango, pineapple and banana. It sounded inviting, never mind that it was the color of Augusta National.
“Would you like any supplements?” asked the “smoothierista,” or whatever you call the person tasked with grinding kale into a liquid.
“Such as?” I responded.
I was shown a list of powders including collagen, vitamin B12 and whey protein. But my eyes immediately went to another one: “Fat Burner.”
Excuse me? A scoop, or several, of sand-colored powder could burn unsightly fat from my frame? Why was this even in stock? I mean, who is ordering a smoothie and saying, “No, no, I don’t want to remove fat. In fact, I want just the opposite. Can I have a scoop of flab? Do you have any plump? And while you’re at it, gimme two scoops of low self-esteem!”
I didn’t ask what exactly was in Fat Burner; for all I know it’s the color of sand because it actually IS sand. It was also an extra dollar. I ordered it.
The only burn I felt was the one in my stomach, which disappeared after 20 chicken wings.
A friend recently introduced me to the term “SUPERFOODS,” which sounds like, if eaten, would give me the ability to fly. I have tried most of them; I can report there is nothing “super” about chia seeds and lentils.
As of today, I vow not to base my daily food intake around descriptive titles. Instead, I will continue hitting the gym, drinking copious amounts of water and limiting my ice cream intake.
Unless that ice cream is SLOW CHURNED. That’s healthy, right?
(Greg Schwem is a corporate stand-up comedian and author of two books: “Text Me If You’re Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad” and the recently released “The Road To Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS From a Corporate Comedian,” available at Amazon.com. Visit Greg on the web at www.gregschwem.com.
You’ve enjoyed reading, and laughing at, Greg Schwem’s monthly humor columns in Senior Living News. But did you know Greg is also a nationally touring stand-up comedian? And he loves to make audiences laugh about the joys, and frustrations, of growing older. Watch the clip and, if you’d like Greg to perform at your senior center or senior event, contact him through his website at www.gregschwem.com)

Oklahoma Trails is home for new female river otter, Hazel.

Guests visiting the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden will have an opportunity to see its newest animal family member, Hazel, a female North American river otter. Hazel, 1, recently arrived at the OKC Zoo from Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan, and can be seen at the Zoo’s river otter habitat in the Big Rivers building at Oklahoma Trails. The recommendation for Hazel to relocate to the OKC Zoo came from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan® (SSP) for North American river otters. AZA’s SSP programs are cooperatively managed programs created to oversee species populations within AZA accredited zoos and aquariums.
“It’s always exciting to connect guests to a new member of our animal family,” said Tyler Boyd, the Oklahoma City Zoo’s curator of carnivores. “Hazel is settling in nicely and becoming familiar with her new habitat space. At this time, she is our only river otter but we are working with the AZA’s SSP program for river otters to find her a companion.”
Located throughout North America and Canada, river otters are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as stable, meaning that their population in the wild is not in immediate danger of decline. River otters are just one of 13 different otter species found globally. River otters are known for their long slender bodies with short legs and their excellent swimming abilities. Adult otters can vary greatly in size, growing to about 2.5 to 5 feet and weighing between 10 and 30 pounds. A carnivorous species, river otters eat fish, frogs, crayfish, turtles and even some small mammals. They hunt either alone or in pairs but can also forage on land for insects and small mammals.
You “otter” make your way to the OKC Zoo to see Hazel! The Oklahoma City Zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with the last entry no later than 4 p.m. Purchase advance tickets for general admission at www.okczoo.org/tickets. Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, Oklahoma City’s Adventure District and an Adventure Road partner. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free.
Stay connected with the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linktree and TikTok, and by visiting our blog stories. To learn more about Zoo happenings, call (405) 424-3344 or visit okczoo.org.

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can you recommend any businesses or services that specialize in helping seniors downsize and relocate? I need to find some help moving my mother from her four-bedroom home – where she’s lived for nearly 50 years – to an apartment near me. Overwhelmed Daughter

Overwhelmed Daughter Solo Ager

Dear Overwhelmed,
The process of downsizing and moving to a new home is a big job for anyone, but it can be especially overwhelming for seniors who are moving from a long-time residence filled with decade’s worth of stuff and a lifetime of memories. Fortunately, there’s a specialized service available today that can help make your mom’s move a lot easier for her, and for you.
Senior Move Manager
To help your mom get packed up and moved into her new home, you should consider hiring a “senior move manager.” These are trained organizers (they are not moving companies) who assist older people with the challenges of relocating and can minimize the stress of this major transition by doing most of the work for you.
A senior move manager can help your mom pare down her belongings, decide what to take and what to dispose of, recommend charities for donations and help sell her unwanted items. They can even create a customized floor plan of her new home so your mom can visualize where her belongings will fit.
Senior move managers can also get estimates from moving companies, oversee the movers, arrange the move date, supervise the packing and unpacking and help set up her new home, have the house cleaned and just about anything you need related to her move.
If you want to do some of the work yourself, you can pick and choose only the services you want. For example, you may only want a move manager’s help with downsizing and selling excess furniture and unwanted belongings but plan on doing the actual packing and moving yourself.
The cost of working with a senior move manager will vary depending on where you live, the services you want and size of the move, but you can expect to pay somewhere between $60 and $125 per hour or more, not including the cost of movers.
How to Find One
To locate a senior move manager in your area, visit the National Association of Senior Move Managers website at NASMM.org or call 877-606-2766. The NASMM is a trade association with an accreditation program that requires its members to abide by a strict code of ethics that ensures integrity. They currently have around 1,000 members across the U.S.
You can also search at Caring Transitions (CaringTransitions.com), which is the largest senior relocation and transition services franchised company in the U.S. They currently have nearly 200 franchises throughout the country.
But, before you hire one, be sure you ask for references from previous clients and check them, and check with the Better Business Bureau too. Also find out how many moves they have actually managed and get a written list of services and fees. And make sure they’re insured and bonded.
If you can’t find a senior move manager in your area, another option is to hire a certified professional organizer who specializes in downsizing and relocating. To find one, check the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals, which has a searchable database on its website at NAPO.net.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.