By Carolyn Shockey
This is the month traditionally set aside to give thanks, but think how different life would be if giving thanks was a daily practice. Why does it seem so much easier to focus on all the negativity? Gratitude is an attitude and an acceptance; that is just as easy to do, but we need to think in a more positive way for it to work. Certainly, life is not easy. No matter who we are, we get our share of heartbreak and bad luck. Often, they are unavoidable. Yet if we look at those situations as learning or self-improvement lessons and pay attention, we may be able to see something positive as we look back. That has been the case with the black clouds in my life. I’ve been able to see the good that came from those experiences, although I couldn’t see it at the time. I am now more able to see my disasters as experiences lead-ing to good somewhere down the line. It is much easier to except the downs knowing that this too shall pass, and it always does. 
 Being grateful multiplies. The more we are grateful, the more we have to be thankful for. That I can still put my feet on the floor in the morning, even 


http://www.getsva.com/
​http://www.svatampabay.com/
​http://www.SeniorVoiceAmerica.org/

As the TV matriarch of the Cunningham clan in the sitcom “Happy Days,” Marion Ross appeared in over 250 episodes during the hit series 11-season run from 1974 to 1984. But one episode has special significance for the actress this time of year.
In ‘The First Thanksgiving,’ broadcast two days before the November holiday 40 years ago this year, Ross’s character (also named Marion) leads the cast in a departure from the show’s usual Milwaukee-based set-ting. She narrates a flashback story set in the Plymouth Colony with the cast doubling as historical characters to remind her family that sharing and giving thanks are the traditions be-hind the annual festivities.
  “Tom (Bosley) and I were dressed up as pilgrims and I had on a lovely outfit with a white bonnet,” recalled Ross from her home in Woodland Hills, California. “Then Fonzie (Hen-ry Winkler) comes in wearing traditional clothes, but with his leather jacket over them!”
  It was classic ‘Happy Days’ humor: Fonzie on a wooden motorbike; later, when he invites Indians into the pilgrims’ compound, he’s pun-shed and restrained in the stocks but breaks free with a characteristic Fonzie move (“He broke the stock – hey, a first stockbroker!” quips Anson Williams’ Potsie character).
  Ross’s own family roots trace back to Minnesota, where she remembers Thanksgivings as being “rather brisk.”
  “I was a middle child and the rambunctious one,” she recalled. “I would run out and shovel the snow off the walkway.” 
  Thanksgiving included a large ex-tended family seated at tables stretching into the living room. “I remember by the time I was about ten having the traditional meal of turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pies, and also rutaba-gas. Guests would say ‘Rutabagas? We feed those to the pigs!’ But we liked them mashed with salt and pepper.”
  Ross says it was more than just the harsh Minnesota climate that toughened her for a career in the brutal entertainment business. “I was raised not only with that ‘You can do anything’ attitude, but also “You must do it.’ So I was always determined to get into acting.”
  Marion was 16 when the family headed west to settle in San Diego.
  Now a seasoned Californian, family Thanksgiving traditions include playing bocce ball with a few friends. And in the spirit of the season, the family often invites a guest who might otherwise be alone – somewhat akin to the “Happy Days” Thanksgiving episode where Fonzie convinces the pilgrims to welcome the local Indians.
  “In the end, they join our family for the meal,” explained Ross, who turned 90 in October, and published her autobiography “My Days: Happy and Otherwise” in March.
  The pilgrim episode concludes with the cast returning to then present-day Milwaukee. Marion serves the meal to her attentive family, adding: “This is a day to count your blessings – everyone has something to be thankful for.”

http://www.getsva.com/
​http://www.svatampabay.com/
​http://www.SeniorVoiceAmerica.org/
​http://www.boomerzusa.com/
​http://www.tampabayboomerz.com/
​​Office 813-693-5511 Kevin Leonard 

                Over 70 million Baby Boomers grew up playing board games and watching game shows together—and they still love doing both.
A new pop culture trivia game is taking Boomers on a nostalgic road trip back to the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Designed to be played by two teams, Boom Again features thousands of questions drawing upon Boomer’s memories of advertising slogans and jingles, politics and social movements, movies, music, television, and more. \
Groups of Baby Boomers are laughing their way through memories on a wide variety of their experiences: from The Twist to Disco; American Bandstand to Soul Train; Doris Day all the way to Janis Joplin, and on to Steve Martin; Hula Hoops to The Pill; and poodle skirts to mini-skirts. And they are singing their way through all the music of their youth, too.
This game is clearly not an S.A.T. test with questions like:
• Name three of the most popular episodes of “I Love Lucy.”
• Name the original main courses from Swanson’s TV Dinners.
• What did Silly Putty have to do with the Sunday comic strips?
The wide array of material is organized into easily remembered categories: 
Things We Heard—Music, jingles, famous speeches, lyrics, catchphrases 
Things We Saw—TV shows, movies, commercials, magazines, sporting events 
Things We Learned in School—The “3 R’s,” clubs, dances, school yard games 
In The News—Politics, sports, world events, Sunday comics, murder, war 
Stuff We Learned On the Street—Toys, Fashion, Cars, Social Movements, Dances, etc.
A Box Full of Memories
The game comes packaged in a “cigar box” familiar to Baby Boomers who stashed their stuff in those as kids. It has two boxes of cards with 2,244 questions, and Boomer era tokens including a Metal Skate Key, a “Students For Kennedy” Button, a center insert for a 45-RPM Record, and more. 
There’s even a “Boomers’ Little Helper” magnifier in case someone forgets their readers. 
An Antidote to Pandemic Isolation
Apparently nothing can keep a social Baby Boomer from hanging out with their friends. Party games have always brought people together. Now, even when friends and families haven’t been together in person, they have been playing Boom Again together on Zoom. It’s become known as a Boom Zoom!

http://www.getsva.com/
​http://www.svatampabay.com/
​http://www.SeniorVoiceAmerica.org/
​http://www.boomerzusa.com/
​http://www.tampabayboomerz.com/
​​Office 813-693-5511 Kevin Leonard 

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. While medications can help slow the decline of memory, more research is needed to combat this debilitating condition. 
 “Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging, though the majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older,” explained Kelli K. Maw, MD, MPH, principal investigator at Meridien Research in Brooksville, Florida. “Although current Alzheimer’s treatments cannot stop Alzheimer’s from progressing, they may temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers.”

Researchers are working to uncover as many aspects of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as possible. Studies conducted at research sites like Meridien Research have played a key role in this progress.  the “Many of research studies we have open in our clinic are focused on memory loss, mild cognitive impairment and 
Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Maw said. “Florida is an ideal place to find participants for our studies because of the large senior population.”
By participating in an Alzheimer’s disease research study or clinical trial, people may:
• Receive access to investigational medications that are only available in clinical studies
• Receive study-related medical care from physicians with specific experience in Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss
• Contribute to medical research: clinical studies help unlock new answers about Alzheimer’s disease and are an essential part of finding new treatments
​ New investigational medications (including new investigational medications for Alzheimer’s disease) must successfully complete a three-phase process in clinical trials before being approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They must perform well enough in each phase to be allowed to progress on to the next one. 
Research participants at Meridien Research undergo careful evaluation by board certified study physicians and are closely followed by the medical staff.  There is no cost to participate and health insurance is not required. 
 “Before anyone can enroll in a clinical research study, they must be screened to be sure they are right for the study and that the study is right for them,” ex-plained Angela Brooke, site director for Meridien Research. “We are fortunate to have multiple Alzheimer’s disease studies going on simultaneously, so there is a good chance seniors living with the memory impairment will qualify for one!”
 By specializing in innovative Alzheimer’s and dementia studies, Meridien Research’s  Brooksville location offers complimentary memory screenings and evaluations, providing patients with knowledge about their personal memory health and the platform to talk with their Primary Care Providers about additional evaluations. 
​http://seniorvoiceamerica.org/
​http://www.svatampabay.com/
http://www.getsva.com/
​813-693-5511