The Newsletter of the Fairfield Senior CenterVolume 23, Number 7 July, 2013

fairfieldsenior timesservices and support for fairfield’s older adults

Home Energy Program Can Save Big Bucks

“Swipe” Stations to Go Live in JulyState-of-the-Art Management Info System is Up and Running

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Are you throwing energy and money out the window? Chances are pretty good that you are.

Then come and hear Ms. Misty Beyer talk about the rising energy costs that impact all of us in the state of Con-necticut, which has one of the high-est energy costs in the nation—just in case you didn’t know. This infor-mative and money-saving program is set for July 15th at 10:30 a.m. in the Multi-Media Room.

United Illuminating and Connecticut Light and Power both have programs that can help reduce the amount of en-ergy you use, which, in turn, reduces your operating costs.

Energy efficiency and conservation are very important to our state and our nation: taking advantage of these money-saving programs benefits our entire community.

New England Smart Energy Group will talk about the Home Energy As-sessment Program that’s available to all UI and CL&P customers. This program is subsidized by Connecti-cut Energy Efficiency (funded by rate payers with a charge on their utility bills) and administered by CL&P and UI. The program will focus on the benefits of:

If you’re a center “regular,” you’ve doubtless noticed the touchscreen monitors strategically placed in our front lobby and gym entrance. You may even have been tempted to touch one (go ahead; they don’t bite). Start-ing this month, the center’s new man-agement information system, called MySeniorCenter®, will go live, and registered members (nearly 750 as of this writing) can begin signing in for the day’s activities.

During July, the center will begin distributing key fobs to all registered members. The fob has your member-ship num-ber on it in barcode form and is similar to those given out by many re ta i lers . You can begin using it immediately: just swipe the barcode side of the fob in front of the scanner. Your first name will appear in the upper left hand corner of the touchscreen. Press the button for each activity you want to attend; then press finish and you’re done. The whole process takes only a few sec-onds.

When you use this new system, you’re

helping us accumulate valuable infor-mation about how the center is used. The management reports produced by the system will help us justify pro-posals to the town, foundations and individual donors. They will also be used to monitor program attendance, schedule events, develop mailing lists, account for fee-based programs, manage assets, volunteer hours and food service, schedule transportation services, and document social service case work. Here are few frequently asked questions:

How do I get a fob? Easy. Just fill out a registration form at the front desk.

Suppose I forget my fob? You can sign in using your first name and telephone number.

What if I lose my fob? Inform the front office. We’ll issue you a new one.

What if I bring a guest? No problem. Your friend can sign in as a guest.

What if I have a problem? We’ll have a volunteer at each swipe station to help you.

Is my personal information safe? Yes. The system has multiple levels of se-curity and all data is stored off site. Your personal information will never be disclosed or sold to others and our reports contain no personally identifi-able data.

Page 2 July, 2013

AT THE MOVIESIN July

Every Friday at 12:15

Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough— An affirming and suspenseful story about a young woman’s struggle to love again, Safe Haven is based on the novel from Nicholas Sparks, the best-selling author behind the hit films The Notebook and Dear John. When a mysterious young woman arrives in a small North Carolina town, her reluctance to join the tight knit community raises questions about her past. Slowly, she begins putting down roots, and gains the courage to start a relationship with Alex, a widowed store owner with two young children. But dark secrets intrude on her new life with such terror that she is forced to redis-cover the meaning of sacrifice and rely on the power of love in this romantic thriller. 115 minutes.

July 26th — Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

July 12th — Safe Haven (2013) ½

Energy Savings From page 1

July 19th — The Guilt Trip (2010) Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen — Andy Brewster is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, and who better to accompany him than his overbearing mother Joyce. After deciding to start his adventure with a quick visit at mom’s, Andy is nagged into bringing her along for the ride. Across 3,000 miles of ever-changing landscape, he is constantly aggravated by her antics, but over time he comes to realize that their lives have more in common than he originally thought. His mother’s advice might end up being exactly what he needs. “Streisand has lost little of her gawky, pesky touch in comedy, while Rogen knows just how to be the charmingly daft slob.” 96 minutes.

Social Isolation Bad for SeniorsOlder people who are socially isolated may be at greater risk of early death, British researchers report.

Lack of social contact might be an even bigger risk factor than loneli-ness, they added. Why, however, iso-lation is such a powerful predictor of death isn't clear.

"Social contact is a fundamental as-pect of human existence. The scien-tific evidence is that being socially isolated is probably bad for your health, and may lead to the develop-ment of serious illness and a reduced life span," said lead researcher An-drew Steptoe, director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care at University College London.

"Social isolation indicates a lack of contact with friends, relatives and or-ganizations. We need to keep an eye on the social connections of older people, since maintaining social con-tacts among seniors and reducing isolation may be particularly impor-tant for their future survival,” Steptoe concluded.

All of America’s 15,000 senior cen-ters, including ours, offer programs that exercise mind and body and pro-mote socialization for better health.

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro — A man (Bradley Coo-per) is ordered to live with his mother after being treated for depression in this much acclaimed comedy from David O. Russell. Jennifer Lawence plays the love interest, with Robert DeNiro and Chris Tucker filling out the rest of the very capable cast. “Silver Linings Playbook is crazy good—a jagged romance that finds a path ever upward from the darkest, loneliest corners of one’s mind.” Awards: AFI Movie of the Year (2013); Oscar, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Jennifer Lawrence (2013). 122 minutes.

Editor’s Note: There is no movie scheduled for July 5th due to the holiday.

•Air sealing•Duct sealing•Insulation evaluation •Appliance inspections•Heating and cooling system evalu-

ations•Hot water saving measures•Lighting measures (up to 40 re-

placement CFL bulbs, and a new LED bulb program)

•Accessing rebates, tax credits, and low interest rates

We hope you'll join us in our quest to save you money on your energy bills!

Why does the screen show an ad? By allowing ad sponsors we were able to purchase the system at a big discount.

The system was donated to the cen-ter by Bigelow Tea. Cindy Bigelow has been a long-time supporter of the Fairfield Senior Center and we are most grateful to her and her company

for their generous support. The system was installed, set up and is maintained entirely by a team of volunteers.

We recognize that it’s not always easy to adapt to new ways of doing things. But your help in making this system work will reap rich dividends and make the center better for all of us. We appreciate your cooperation and value your membership.

Swipe Stations Go Live this Month

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Page 3July, 2013

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

1 2 3 4 5

All Beef Long Dog Grape Juice BBQ Pork Ribs Pineapple Juice

Macaroni Salad Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce Baked Lasagna

Corn on the Cob Chicken Quarter Red Beans and Rice Romaine Salad

Ketchup and Mustard Succotash w/ Pimento Spinach Italian Dressing

Capri Blend Veggies

Long Dog Roll Oatmeal Bread Corn Muffin Italian Bread

Lemon Italian Ice Chocolate Pudding Applesauce Tangerine

8 9 10 11 12

Orange Juice Roast Turkey Chicken Scampi Apple Juice Minestrone Soup

White Fish with Turkey Gravy Sloppy Joe Unsalted Crackers

Dill Sauce Cranberry Stuffing Broccoli w/ Red Pepper Mashed Potatoes Cheese Quiche

Black Beans and Corn Peas Green Beans Buttered Beets

Scandinavian Vegetables Cranberry Sauce

100% W.W. Bread Dinner Roll 12 Grain Bread Hamburger Bun Pumpernickel Bread

Chocolate Chip Cookies Fruited Yogurt Mandarin Oranges Birthday Cake Fresh Orange

15 16 17 18 19

Yankee Bean Soup Canadian Ham Slice Cranberry Juice

Unsalted Crackers with Pineapple Sauce Lemony Fish Beef Stew

Sweet Potato Rice Pilaf Egg Noodles

California Blend Veggies Meat Sauce Carrots Geneva Blend Veggies Garden Salad

Whipped Potatoes Ranch Dressing

Italian Blend Veggies

Rye Bread 12 Grain Bread Oat Bread Biscuit

Melon Fresh Peach Fruit Cocktail Grapes Rice Pudding

22 23 24 25 26

Grilled Orange Chicken Cranberry Juice Asian Beef Strips Hearty Vegetable Soup Pulled Pork with

Orange Sauce Turkey Noodle with Ginger Sauce Unsalted Crackers BBQ Sauce

Mashed Potatoes Casserole w/Turkey, Brown Rice Macaroni and Cheese Cornbread Stuffing

Winter Blend Veggies Noodles, Mushrooms, Oriental Blend Veggies Scandinavian Veggies Capri Blend Veggies

Carrots and Peas

Tuscany Blend Veggies

Whole Wheat Bread W.W. Dinner Roll Pumpernickel Bread 12 Grain Bread Sub Roll

Pears Boston Cream Pie Pineapple Chunks Fudge Brownie Watermelon

29 30 31

Eye of the Round Orange Juice

Mushroom Gravy Pier 17 Fish Cabbage

Baby Red Potatoes Sweet Potato Fries Tuscany Blend Veggies

Carrots Versailles Veggies

Tartar Sauce

Rye Bread 12 Grain Bread Rye Bread

Pineapple Chunks Ice Cream Sandwich Peach Cobbler

Linguini

Unbreaded Veal Cutlet Steamed, Unbreaded

Picatta Sauce

Eggplant Rolatini Herbed Stuffing

Multigrain Bread

Lazyman Stuffed

July Menu

― Louis D. Brandeis

Oregano Offers Some Health PerksThink of dried oregano leaves as miniature salad greens. One teaspoon contains not only six micrograms of bone-building vitamin K but also the same amount of antioxi-dants as three cups of spinach. And preliminary research indicates that oregano can help fend off stomach flu. Bacteria often hitch a ride on the food we eat, and oregano may keep them from multiplying and making us sick. Give canned soup a flavor up-grade by stirring in one-half teaspoon of oregano.

Senior Community CafeOpen Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch service begins at 11:45 a.m. Make reservations three

days in advance: call 203.256.3118 between 10:00 and 11:15 a.m. A $2.00 donation is suggested. 1% or skim milk is pro-

vided. Margarine is served with all meals. Menu items subject to change. *High in sugar content. **High Salt Content.

+High fat/cholesterol.

"Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty."

Page 4 July, 2013

July, 2013Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

19:30 Blood Pressure Screening

2 311:00 Senior Literary Society

512:15 No Movie Scheduled

8

99:00 AARP Driving Class

1010:15 Town Handyman Program

11 12 12:15 Movie: Safe Haven

159:30 Blood Pressure Screening 10:30 Home Energy Program

169:30 Silver Belles Shop Consignment Day

1710:00 Fall Prevention Webinar1:00 Genealogy

18 10:30 Meditation Program led by Fran Palumbo

1912:15 Movie: The Guilt Trip

229:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp

23 9:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp

24 9:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp

25 9:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp

269:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp 12:15 Movie: Silver Linings Play- book

299:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp

309:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp 1:00 Bunco

319:30 Flying Aces Summer Camp

Every Monday Every Tuesday Every Wednesday Every Thursday Every Friday

Calendar of Events

9:00 Woodcarving9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Table Pool9:10 Coed Exercise9:30 Bocce10:00 Senior Exercise11:00 Flex & Stretch1:00 Open Bridge1:00 Dance Aerobics2:00 Pickleball

8:30 Pacers-Walking Group

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Woodcarving9:00 Table Pool9:00 Zumba Gold ($5)10:00 Senior Exercise10:00 Open Painting11:00 Flex & Stretch11:30 Arthritis Exercise1:00 Model Airplane

Club1:00 Chess Club1:00 Mah-Jongg

8:30 Pacers-Walking Group

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Woodcarving9:00 Pokeno9:00 Table Pool9:10 Coed Exercise9:30 Crafts9:30 Computer Help (by

appointment)10:00 Senior Exercise11:00 Flex & Stretch12:30 Open Bridge1:00 Tai Chi2:15 Strength Training

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Pokeno9:00 Zumba Gold ($5)9:00 Quilters9:00 Table Pool10:00 Senior Exercise11:00 Flex & Stretch11:30 Arthritis Exercise12:15 Movies1:00 Scrabble1:00 Pickleball

8:30 Pacers-Walking Group

9:00 Table Tennis9:00 Table Pool9:30 - 11:00 and 1:00 - 3:00 Open Com-

puter Lab*9:00 Pokeno9:30 Sewing Bee10:00 Senior Exercise11:00 Flex & Stretch11:30 Arthritis Exercise12:30 Bingo1:00 Open Bridge1:00 Tai Chi

NOTE: The center is closed July 4th. No Tai Chi classes on July 1st and July 4th.

Mark Barnhart, Director of the Town of Fairfield Office of Community and Economic Development, will give a talk on Wednesday, July 10 at 10:15 a.m., describing a town program which pays the labor costs for various handyman services like minor plumbing, electrical, roof-ing, masonry, gutter and carpentry repairs. Applicants must meet certain income restrictions and pay for materials. The department also manages the Single Family Rehabilitation Program for larger projects and higher income limits apply. Call 203-256-3120 for information.

Page 5July, 2013

The Fairfield Senior Times is published monthly by the Fairfield

Senior Center,100 Mona TerraceFairfield, CT 06824

Hours: Weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

DirectorTeresa Giegengack, 203.256.3169

Town HallHuman Services

Commission

Senior Times StaffEditor: Ron Atwater

fsteditor@hotmail.com

Editorial Assistant: M.A. Atwater

© 2013. All rights reserved.Printed in USA by Community

Publications, Cromwell, CT 06416

Information: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 203.256.3166.Transportation: M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203.256.3168.Lunch (three days notice required): M-F, 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Call 203.256.3118 after 10:00 a.m.Coffee Shop: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.Gift Shop: M-F, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Social Worker: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 203.256.3125.Blood Pressure Screening: 203.256.3166Notary Public: M-F, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 203.256.3166.

Senior Center Services

Legal counseling; long term care; medigap and Medicare counseling. Services Below by Appointment Only. Call 203.256.3166

Visit the Senior Times online at www.fairfieldct.org/senior.htm

Reminders & Other Stuff The center will host a meditation program on Thursday, July 18th at 10:30 a.m.

In these often stressful times, each of us is searching to have more bal-ance and peace, whether at work or in our personal lives. Meditation teaches skills to adapt fluidly to life’s changes and challenges. To help you on your journey, we’re offering a program on the basics of medita-tion, as well as specific techniques you can use to reduce stress, stay balanced in spite of stressful situa-tions, maintain a positive attitude, and ultimately develop a sense of inner peace.

Fran M. Palumbo, our facilita-tor for this session, will provide us with ways to deal with wandering thoughts and give practical tools for applying meditation to our daily lives. We’ll conclude with a practice meditation session. Everyone is in-vited.

Please call the office at 203-256-3166 to pre-register. The class is free of charge.

The Jewish Home’s Rehabilita-tion Department will give a webinar about fall prevention techniques, to be viewed here at the Fairfield Senior Center, Wednesday, July 17th, at 10:00 a.m.

Terry Giegengack, Center Director, said, “This is the very first webinar to take place at the Fairfield Senior Center and we are very excited about this form of instruction. A we-binar allows a professional at a re-mote location to give a live program here on our big screen TV.”

Stephanie Coffey, PT, MPH, Direc-tor of Rehabilitation Services, will discuss the importance of fall pre-vention, risk factors for falls, why people fall, how to prevent a fall from occurring and what to do if one does fall.

Stephanie has a diverse background in rehabilitation services. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from New York Medical College, where she was a clinical faculty ad-junct from 1996 to 2005. Her work has been published in the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association. Stephanie began her career at the Burke Rehabilitation Center in New York.

Everyone is invited to attend this in-formative free program.

Chinatown Trip Set for SeptemberManhattan’s Chinatown is home to the largest enclave of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere. It bor-ders the Lower East Side to its east and Little Italy to its north. And it’s a fascinating place. So why not join us for a day trip to this exotic locale on Thursday, September 12th? The cost is $83 per person, all inclu-sive. The price includes round trip motorcoach, a special dim sum lunch at the Golden Unicorn, shopping on Mott Street with an escort, a stop at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for a few scoops, a visit to a Buddhist Temple and the Chinese Emporium, and finally you’ll attend a very el-egant tea ceremony at Ten Ren Tea. The bus will leave the center at 9:00 a.m. and return to Fairfield around 6:00 p.m. Please call the office at 203.256.3166 for reservations. Other trips coming in the fall include an Oktoberfest and fall foliage train ride scheduled for October 8th, and Christmas in Newport, set for Decem-ber 5th. We’ll have more details about these great trips in our next issue.

There’s still time to register children age 11 and up for the Flying Aces Summer Camp. Campers will learn to build and fly rubber-powered planes during the two-week ses-sion from July 22nd to August 2nd. The cost is $175, which includes all plane kits, two lunches and instruc-tion. Registration closes July 15th.

Page 6 July, 2013

Photo Gallery On Thursday, June 6, a swarm of young folks from Timothy Dwight School descended on the cafeteria to interview our members about their life experiences. This annual event is part of the center’s inter-generational programming.

More goings on in and around the center—from wine tasting to a father’s day song to medical supplies for Honduras.

Above: Hank Steffens, the center’s bus dispatcher, drew a good crowd. Below: so did woodcarver Chris Lussen.

Top left: Linda Kraus and friends. Above: Frank Rice fields questions from Timothy Dwight scholars.

Above: A group of very accomplished five-year old choristers from our neighbor, A Child’s Garden, sang during our ice cream social honoring fathers on June 13. They got a rousing round of applause.

Top left: Len Guliano (standing) from Harry’s Wine and Liquors explains the finer points of wine tasting during the center’s last Boomer Night held on June 12.Bottom left: Pacers Bill Cornell, Jerry Hemenway, Bob Stilson and Bill Clabby pack medical supplies for shipment to Honduras.