An Affront To Salamanders

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I’m sorry, but salamanders do not deserve to be associated with dirty politics. Granted, they’re slimy and they hang out in shady places, but they enhance shady places by controlling pests not electing them. One of my fondest childhood memories is turning over rocks with my best friend Gail to find red-backed salamanders. They’d stare up at us with their little, bulbous eyes and run off on their little, stumpy legs. Such fun!

Eldridge Gerry was a Founding Father. I’d never heard of him. He became governor of Massachusetts in 1810 and in 1812 signed a bill that created a bizarrely configured - salamanderesque - state senate map that enhanced his party’s control over state and national offices. This was not the first instance of tricksy districting, but the term “gerrymandering” originated here, with Eldridge Gerry and the ill-begotten district he signed into law in 1812.  

Pennsylvania is famous for gerrymandering, the subject of my most recent podcast on CK Unmuted. My guest, Ruth Yeiser, is Volunteer Coordinator for Fair Districts PA, a non-partisan, citizens group working to create a fair, transparent redistricting process. Allowing politicians to draw voting maps is a dangerous thing. It is an affront, not only to salamanders, but to people like you and me, who go to the polls believing the ballot we cast is an accurate reflection of who we voted for. 

Listen to my interview with Ruth and check out the resources she offers below. Let’s work together for fair districts in PA!

Interested in volunteering for Fair Districts PA?  https://fairdistrictspa.com/take-action/volunteers (There is a volunteer survey at the bottom of this page for prospective volunteers to fill out.)

Want a Fair Districts PA speaker to talk to your group?  https://fairdistrictspa.com/events/request-a-speaker 

Sign the Fair Districts PA on-line petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/join-fdpa-support-redistricting-reform-2/

Here is a general link to the Fair Districts PA “Take Action” page:  https://fairdistrictspa.com/take-action

Fair Districts PA has monthly Zoom Updates (first Monday of the month 7 PM). Anyone is welcome to attend. Here's a bit of information from their website calendar and it includes the registration link:  https://fairdistrictspa.com/events/2023/11/06/statewide-update-volunteer-virtual-meeting

Know some young voters who want to get involved? https://tinyurl.com/FDPA-HYVE

Here is a link to Ruth testifying on behalf of Fair Districts PA https://www.tiktok.com/@fairdistrictspa/video/7200728217815125291

Poll Workers For Democracy

Nancy Schaeffer, poll worker.

It’s one of the most under appreciated jobs in the world. The people who do it get paid practically nothing. They don’t do it for the money. They do it so you and I can vote.

But poll workers are thinking twice about working the polls these days. When the former president of the United States and his attorney falsely accuse poll workers of manipulating ballots, the effect is chilling. Ask Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss of Fulton County, Georgia. The threats and harassment just aren’t worth it.

I recently interviewed Nancy Schaeffer, a woman who’s worked the polls in my ward for over 30 years. She says it’s an honor to help the people in her community, regardless of their party affiliation, cast their ballots. Thank you, Nancy, for waking up early on election day to open the polls. Thank you for checking my name in the log. Thank you for giving me a ballot and directing me to a quiet place where I can participate in this quintessentially American privilege. Thank you for doing it all with a smile and a commitment to the highest standards of ethics and nonpartisanship. May your decades of poll work be rewarded with leaders who uphold the principles of democracy as you do. May you be shielded from those, posing as “patriots,” who know nothing of the concept and its requirements.

My husband and I will be working the polls next year with Nancy. Our system of government is on the line. We need everyone to work for democracy.

~CK

Dementia’s Toll

CK and friend, December, 2022

It happened so fast: the downhill mental slide; the loss of cognition. The last time we met, we celebrated the winter solstice in my backyard. It was just the two of us. I wanted to give her my full attention because her speech and memory were deteriorating. She walked the candlelit labyrinth unaided, then sat bundled up in her long coat as I took my turn. Suddenly I heard, “My friend Cynthia…she loves me.” It was halting and third person, but it was a beautiful declaration; an appreciation for the time and effort I’d made to pick her up, feed her and bring her to my home.

In December, my friend could still communicate, albeit with difficulty. As an interfaith minister, she presided over the signing of my son and his wife’s marriage license at a nearby tavern. I desperately wanted her to do it. It was a final vote of confidence; a recognition of her life’s work. Her text messages were garbled the week before the ceremony. I engaged a back-up officiant…just in case. At the crucial moment, around the table at the tavern, we handed her the papers and held our breath as she carefully, with supreme concentration, answered the questions on the documents and slowly scrawled her name on the signature line. The words were mostly legible, the sentences mostly complete. The paperwork was approved and delivered to the married couple a few weeks later. I felt relief, on so many levels.

These days, I call and leave messages. When, and if, she calls back, her words are confused, frustrated attempts to convey the logistics of where she’s living and how she’s doing. I’ve tried buzzing her apartment. I’ve called her former employer to ask her whereabouts, but confidentiality prevents the release of this kind of information. I realize, starkly, I may never see her again. We have no mutual friends. I do not know her family. How could it come to this? Should I have anticipated her decline, talked to her about it and asked how we might sustain our friendship once she was no longer fit to reach out?

Caring for people with dementia is a tricky tightrope. We balance high in the air, wobbling precariously between love and resentment, duty and exhaustion. In truth, maybe I didn’t want to see the severity of her condition and the rapidity of her decline. It takes time, energy and incredible emotional strength to care for people with memory loss. It compels us to imagine our own demise. Will we meet the same fate? Will we be taken care of? By whom, and at what cost, physically, emotionally and financially?

In this episode of CK Unmuted, my friend and neighbor, Ramona Salotti, talks about caring for her husband, who is in the early stages of dementia. Listen to the podcast with Mona and check out the resources she recommends below. There are amazing organizations, lead by amazing people who dedicate themselves to helping others on this journey. Following are Ramona’s recommendations for resources and organizations that help the care partners:

Books

Basting, Anne PhD. Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care. New York, HarperCollins, 2020.

Dunlop, John. Finding Grace in the Face Of Dementia. Wheaten, IL, Crossway, 2017.

Genova, Lisa. Still Alice. New York, Pocket Books, 2007.

Genova, Lisa. Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. New York, Harmony Books, 2021.

O’Brien, Greg. On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s. Expanded Edition. Brewster, MA, Codfish Press, 2018.

Richmond, Lewis. Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser. New York, Avery, 2013.

Non-Profit Organizations

ARTZ Philadelphia. Enhancing quality of life for persons with dementia and their care partners through arts and culture. www.artzphilly.org

Alzheimer’s Association. The leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. www.alz.org

Keeping Your Cool

Image by YuliiaKa on Freepik

I watched a movie the other day about a woman who inherited a house on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic. Like most coastal homes in Croatia, the thick walls were made of rock and stone to keep the house cool in summer. Windows were small and few, stingy with light.

The woman in the film, Zeynep, is enraged at her cheating, Turkish husband. The lack of light in the house on the cliff is driving her over the edge. She takes a mallet and smashes a big hole in the wall facing the sea. Light streams into the kitchen and Zeynep beams with satisfaction. Her Croatian, soon-to-be lover witnesses the demolition. “What are you doing?” he screams, then proceeds, more gently, to explain the virtues of small windows and thick, stone walls in hot climates. I remember being in Spain as a teenager in the summer. I remember the heavy persianas…the sound they made as I closed them each morning to shut out the light. It felt a bit like Dracula closing the lid of his coffin, but those persianas really worked! The tile floors stayed cool throughout the day and the dimness of the interior was a relief when returning home in the late afternoon. Small windows, louvered shutters and thick, stone walls were, and continue to be, an efficient way to keep the heat at bay… on the Adriatic, the Mediterranean or the Aegean.

In my interview with home energy consultant Zeta Cross, we talk about environmentally-friendly, efficient ways to heat and cool our homes in America. The Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) touts rebates for switching from fossil-fuel-powered heating and cooling systems to electric. Zeta is excited about induction stoves, electric lawn mowers and heat pumps. We should be too if all the claims are accurate!

Following are links to some great reading and resources on transforming your home to a more energy-efficient, cleaner home. There are also links to info on what you can expect from the IRA. I hope you will investigate. There are still lots of challenges and glitches to going electric, but the long-range benefits to your wallet, to the planet and to future generations is indisputable.

Thank you, Zeta, for sharing so much great info! You can listen to our interview here. I love to listen to great podcasts in the car and while I knit. Fill your mind with a good podcast! Thanks for listening. CK

1. Book: Electrify by Saul Griffith

2. Rewiring America: a new non-profit working to electrify homes, businesses and communities. Political leader Stacey Abrams is Senior Counsel for the group.

3. Links:

a ) How much can your household save? https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator  

b) PA IRA rebate link: https://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/Energy/Pages/Inflation-Reduction-Act.aspx

c) Springfield/Montco, PA Environmental Advisory Council (EAC):

https://www.springfieldmontco.org/government/advisory-boards-committees/environmental-advisory-commission/ 

Link to get emails from the Springfield Township EAC  https://www.springfieldmontco.org/my-account/my-notifications/

4. Zeta Cross: zeta@smartgreenrealty.com. Contact Zeta and she’ll send you a copy of the Wirecutter guide to home heat pumps for heating and cooling. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/heat-pump-buying-guide/

According to Zeta, there will be rebates for heat pumps, induction stoves, electrical work, heat pump dryers, heat pump hot water heaters, electric lawn equipment, air sealing and insulation. The DOE (Department of Energy) will release info on specific rebates and their amounts in mid-July of this year. Pennsylvania will announce their rebates in December or January, 2024.

Repurposing Our Lives

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I was proud of Philadelphia the other day when I attended the 2023 Preservation Achievement Awards on North Broad Street at Vie. My husband’s company, Kreilick Conservation, got an award for conserving the masonry on the exterior of the Athenaeum, a gorgeous, Italian Renaissance Revival brownstone, filled with books on the history of architecture and interior design.

I was immensely proud of my husband and his team for being recognized, but my overriding admiration went to HELP Philadelphia VI for transforming an old, Art Deco-era elementary school into apartments for homeless and low-income veterans, seniors and the differently abled. There were over-the-top upgrades and revitalizations to grand places like the Curtis Institute and Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, but knowing how desperately we need affordable housing in Philadelphia, it was no surprise that the audience clapped long and hard for the adaptive reuse of the old Reynolds School.

Repurposing is a gift of a second, third, fourth life to something - someone - who’s life seemed over.

I feel the same way about a country club that went bust near my house. Acres of overgrown greens and sand traps have been converted to meadows of ornamental grass, wild flowers and walking trails. It’s open to people of all ages, abilities and means. Visitors walk through covered bridges made of repurposed shipping containers; bat boxes and birdhouses sit high above the ground on decommissioned telephone poles.

Repurposing is transformative. I am repurposing myself these days, having retired from a 30-year career in education. I can’t be apartments for veterans or a park filled with birds, but I can envision a fresh purpose for myself. I can plunge into my own reconstruction and feel useful in a whole new way.

What - who - can be a given a brand new life? A thrilling new purpose? Look around and do some repurposing magic of your own.

The Heart Of a Volunteer

Springfield Township Rotarians assemble handwashing kits called Bubble Boxes® for preschoolers in Camden, NJ.

People who volunteer live longer, happier lives. So why are volunteers disappearing in America?

Time, says Mandy Helwig, President Elect of the Springfield Township Rotary Club in Montgomery County, PA. Young people with children are working full time, taking kids to sporting events or music lessons, doing the marketing, and keeping up with friends and family on social media. Time for good deeds is scarce.

In this episode of CK Unmuted, Mandy talks about what it means to have “the heart of a volunteer.” It means committing to improving the health and wellbeing of your community. Blocking out time in your schedule to volunteer, says Mandy, is like blocking out time to go to the gym. You see and feel huge benefits over time. Volunteering for groups like Rotary, she admits, means taking time away from family and work. Ideally, your employer and your family support you and participate from time to time in the volunteer activities you’re involved in. I’m so glad my husband joined the Springfield Township Rotary Club 20 years ago. I have felt the joy and love of his extended Rotary family for two decades.

Springfield Township Rotary Club - ALL SMILES!

The pandemic left a lot of people feeling isolated and lonely. Volunteering is a way to expand your horizons and feel connected. If you live in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, PA, and you’re interested in learning more about Rotary, listen to this episode of CK Unmuted and go to their website: http://www.springfieldrotary.org/WordPress/

To contact Mandy directly, complete the contact page here: http://www.springfieldrotary.org/WordPress/contact-our-rotary-club/

~CK

May, 2023

Embracing Women

I intended to interview women and men for my new podcast, CK Unmuted. A few shows in, however, I've decided to interview just women. There are SO MANY smart women… living just miles from my house in Southeastern Pennsylvania! They’re doing startling things. Because they have to. Guns. Abortion. Healthcare. You name it. We’re in a very scary place in America.

This podcast elevates women who work to build equity, intelligence and compassion in our world. Join me.

We’ll All Breathe Easier

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Imagine a world without co-pays, deductibles, premiums, Explanations of Benefits, pre-existing conditions, tiers, in-network and out-of-network providers.

I talked to two Capitalists the other day, one in favor of Medicare for all, one on the fence. I initially wanted to talk to small businesses in Philadelphia about Medicare For All and their challenges with our current healthcare system. Some ran off screaming. Some apologetically replied that they didn’t know enough about it. Many just flat out ignored my request. It’s clearly a delicate matter, fraught with agita and fear.

But COVID happened, and I watched how countries with national healthcare systems responded. Israel and New Zealand imposed swift, strict measures to contain the spread of the virus. Their leaders masked up and respected the admonition to socially distance. Their healthcare infrastructures, though strained, were better equipped to handle the flood of COVID victims. Their people didn’t worry that their healthcare system, driven by profit and plagued by inefficiencies, would bankrupt them.

Millions of Americans lost their jobs in 2020. When they lost their jobs, they lost their health insurance. The unemployed could choose among several bad options: go into hock to buy a plan, buy a crappy mini-med-type plan that’s pretty useless if you have a significant medical problem, or go without. 

Both Israel and New Zealand have public health systems with an option to supplement with private insurance. Their citizens do not lose their marbles   - or their lives - if they lose their jobs. 

I decided it was time to get educated about Medicare For All, also known as single payer. Over the past two months, I’ve studied it, done a TV show about it, interviewed labor people, insurance brokers and small business owners to get a pulse on how people feel about a single payer system for the United States.

“We can’t go on the way we are now,” says Susan Thomas, a retired Fortune 500 HR director, who lives in Philadelphia and currently consults. “We’re in a mess right now. It’s a disgrace the way things operate in this country. I’m a business person. I’m very much a Capitalist. I’m not a Socialist, but healthcare is a basic human need. Why shouldn’t we, as a nation, provide it less expensively? There’s a lot of waste in the system. Every doctor needs 90 clerical employees to handle the variety of plans. Certain things are better done in a centralized way. Medicare runs beautifully. There’s no reason you couldn’t extend it to the rest of the population.” When HR experts like Susan Thomas speak, people like me listen.

The other Capitalist, my friend Doug, is very uneasy about Medicare For All, even though, he admits, his experience with Medicare as a senior is great. “What I wouldn’t want to see,” he says “is removing private insurance companies from the mix. I don’t believe that the government and bureaucrats run things efficiently. Healthcare is better controlled with competition in the private sector.” Furthermore, says Doug, the countries that have a single payer system, have had years of experience implementing it. “It will take decades for us to figure out how to do it. This country doesn’t know how to do it. We will screw it up!”

I don’t buy Doug’s argument, simply because we already have a single payer system in the U.S. that’s working just fine. People over 65, including Doug, love it. It’s called Medicare. Just because it takes time to implement it, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.

My husband and I both run our own businesses. We pay $1,500/month for our policy. We wonder, painfully, resentfully, what we could do with $18,000/year. I rarely use my health insurance. When I do need medical attention, I go the alternative medicine route. Herbs, exercise, chiropractors and acupuncture usually do the trick. But, of course, they’re not covered. 

Businesses, especially small businesses, would get huge benefits from a single payer system. Susan Thomas explains: “Small businesses who cannot afford to, and aren’t required to, provide health coverage, wouldn’t have to worry about it. It’s not only that health insurance is very expensive, often 35% of a company’s budget, it’s also the fact that you need time to administer it…clerical support. It’s a lot of work!”

I ask Susan to address the strong resistance from the Medical-Industrial Complex (Big Pharma, hospital chains and private insurers), who send battalions of lobbyists to Washington to fight single payer: “Big Pharma could still do well because as a society you still need the same number of drugs. You just don’t have as many intermediaries. The big insurance companies would be contracted by the government because they have the expertise in claims administration.”

Ultimately, our taxes would go up, but our overall costs would go down. I’d opt for a model like the one in Canada or Spain. In both of these countries, citizens get a basic plan, provided by the single payer (the government), and people can buy additional coverage if they want additional kinds of care.  

I don’t want to move to Canada or Spain, though I’ve been tempted. I simply want a healthcare system that works.

Uncork it, Baby!

CK about to uncork a fine bottle of champagne in honor of her new podcast!

I’ve been waiting 63 years to do this. I’m gonna do it kindly. I’m gonna do it politely. But I’m gonna speak my mind. I’m gonna ask what I want to ask. I’m gonna go where I’ve never gone before.

Democrat or republican, gay or straight, white, black or brown, I wanna know what you think and why you think it. I don’t care if you don’t have all the answers. I don’t. The main thing is, let’s talk. Let’s listen. Let’s have a thoughtful conversation about what’s happening around us.

Send me suggestions for really smart women who engage listeners and set them in motion. We need to take action on so many fronts.

~CK