Eight reminders for travelers
AARP offers some general tips when flying.
• Take a photo of the contents of your bag as you pack it. If it’s lost, you’ll have an easier time filing a claim for your goods.
• Carry all eyewear and medications with you. Make sure they are properly identified.
• Pack coats and jackets in your luggage, if possible.
• All shoes must be screened. Wear shoes that are easy to step in and out of.
• Print out your boarding pass ahead of time.
• Don’t be on time — be early.
• When traveling with grandchildren, get authorization from parents for emergency care and keep necessary medicines on hand.
• Take snacks, games, puzzles and books to occupy restless travelers. — copley news service
Pilots may fly until age 65
After nearly five decades of being forced into retirement at age 60, U.S. commercial airline pilots may soon be able to fly until age 65, according to an AARP Bulletin article.
The International Civil Aviation Organization cites a lack of evidence that healthy older pilots are riskier than their younger peers. The ICAP recently ruled that a pilot can fly until age 65 as long as another pilot younger than 60 is in the cockpit.
Only the United States, France, Pakistan and Columbia don’t automatically recognize the ruling. But it is believed that the United States will go along with the ruling, according to the article. — copley news service
JFCS establishes delivery service
The Jewish Family and Children’s Services has started a new grocery shopping program in San Rafael called Special Delivery.
Community members unable to shop for themselves can sign up for the service through the JFCS. Shopping will be done at the Terra Linda Safeway in San Rafael.
The JFCS is looking for volunteers to be a part of the program. They need to be available Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and will be responsible for shopping for and delivering the groceries.
Those interested in volunteering should contact Lorraine Harris at (415) 419-3635 or email her at [email protected]. Those interested in signing up for the service should call (415) 507-0564.
East Bay singles group disbands
The Jewish East Bay Singles 55+ group has stopped meeting because of waning attendance.
“To everything there is a season, and our season has come to call it quits,” said group co-coordinator Carolyn Vollmner, who joined the organization about 10 years ago.
In its heyday the group would attract as many as 125 people to its events, such as Fourth of July picnics, trips to Napa Valley and Chanukah parties.
Francis Makower founded the group about 15 years ago.
For information about other singles groups, please go to Resource: Guide for Jewish Life in the Bay Area (www.sfjcf.org/resources/guide) and refer to the weekly calendar in j. (www.jweekly.com).
Israeli seniors receive aid for heat bills
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has renewed a program that helps poor seniors in Israel pay their heating bills in the winter.
Operation Ray of Light will assist about 48,000 elderly Israelis, about 40 percent of whom are Holocaust survivors, according to a fellowship statement. The program is in its second year.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the group’s founder and president, said Operation Ray of Light will cost $3 million this year.
The aid doubles the heating stipend provided by Israel’s National Insurance Institute to elderly residents. It also reaches thousands of seniors currently not eligible for state assistance.
“We decided to renew and expand the program this year in order to heat the homes and hearts of Israel’s senior population,” Eckstein said. “We have already received thousands of replies and thank- you notes from last year’s recipients, expressing how our support helped them make it through the day during cold winter months.”
Seniors pile up debt
From 1992 to 2004, the percentage of households 55 and older with overall debt grew faster than the rate of the overall population, according to a recent AARP Bulletin story.
“Those 75 and older packed it on most quickly: The average load for those households with debt shot up 160 percent to an average of $20,234 during this time, according to research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a nonpartisan group that studies economic security,” the story reported.
Among households 65 and older, the average amount of credit card debt more than doubled from 1992 to 2004. Seniors approaching retirement are carrying “debt loads that their parents would not have considered,” according to Sally Hurme of AARP. — copley news service
Four tips on fighting fatigue
If you are feeling more tired and run-down as you get older, a CNN.com health article offers several recommendations to boost your energy.
• Eating five or six small meals a day can give you the constant fuel you need. Taking vitamin B also can give you a boost.
• Drinking lots of water and low-sugar drinks helps ensure that nutrients get where they need to go in your body.
• Getting at least seven hours of sleep at the same time every night will keep you rested and alert. Researchers have found that naps can enhance learning.
• Try to eliminate stress. Some quiet meditation every day can reduce stress and provide energy-boosting benefits.
— copley news service