Praising volunteers of all ages
Janice and George Vanisko were “sort of embarrassed” to be heralded a few months ago by the County Council and the Volunteer Center of Howard County with the Dynamic Duo Award, one of several awards honoring county volunteers. After all, they say, shouldn’t we all spend hours each week helping those in need? Janice, a 76-year-old retired nurse, and her husband George, 82, a retired ... READ MORE
Country music is his passion
Mark Brine found his professional calling early on. Today, the 68-year-old writer and singer continues his long career in country music, saying simply (as country singers are apt to), “It’s my life.”Though Brine may not be a household name among casual listeners, country music aficionados know his longstanding reputation in the industry.For example, Pete Smith of Country ... READ MORE
Startups focus on better aging
Can you imagine a pair of glasses that can brighten and enlarge whatever you happen to be reading or looking at, responding to your voice commands? Or can you imagine a phone app that summons a trained driver in a wheelchair-accessible van to take you to a doctor’s appointment? Or can you visualize the difference it would make to an Alzheimer’s patient if his caregivers had instant... READ MORE
Russian Revolution memoirs
While Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly playing down the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Ellicott City resident Vladimir Marinich is marking the occasion with the publication of his grandparents’ memoirs of that historic event. Marinich, who is 80 and a retired Howard Community College history professor, has spent the last 10 years translating the... READ MORE
Doing good helps body and soul
Ever experienced a “helper’s high?”The term was coined by psychologist Allan Luks, who discovered that the act of helping others releases endorphins (feel-good chemicals in our brain) the same way that vigorous exercise or meditation does.Also, as with exercise and medication, Luks concluded that this biochemical reaction from volunteering results in stress relief, which... READ MORE
Shades of gray keeps it rockin’
Ken Hunter got hooked on playing guitar back in the fourth grade, when he and a classmate went on their first “tour” — to other classrooms to play and sing in Everly Brothers-type harmony. By age 10, they played on Falls Church-based WFAX radio. And even though as a kid Hunter was rejected from “Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour,” the Woodbridge, Va. resident is still playing... READ MORE
His job is preventing dementia
“We have to start in our 40s, at least, if we want to have any hope of lowering the overall personal risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”That is the advice of Dr. William Mansbach, a geriatric neuropsychologist who lives and works in Columbia. Mansbach has a national reputation in the fight against the disease, and is a member of the Governor’s... READ MORE
They are hardly the retiring types
“I don’t feel like someone who shouldn’t be working.” said Mike Gimbel, a 65-year-old resident of Timonium. “Retirement hasn’t even been a thought.” Gimbel is a substance abuse consultant. He says, “Work keeps me going, physically and emotionally. I like being active, as well as being a contributing member of society. There will always be people [for me] to... READ MORE
Helping immigrants feel at home
When Vivien Hsueh arrived in Pennsylvania from Hong Kong with a full scholarship to Harcum Junior College in the early 1960s, she found herself one of the only Asians there, and 8,000 miles from anyone she knew. As she went on to study the nascent field of computer science, her choice was rarer still — a woman in a field nearly completely occupied by men. So Hsueh (pronounced... READ MORE
A global mission to help others
Ellicott City resident Sean Callahan has spent half his life — 28 of his 56 years — working in countries throughout the world for Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services (CRS). What accounts for his commitment to this organization? “Once you have had the opportunity to work with people — to offer them ways for respect and dignity in their lives — you feel something deep... READ MORE
Cover Stories 2024
