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riada
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Geriatric News...
« on: Feb 20th, 2011, 10:09pm » |
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Stop or we'll schuss: Wyoming uphill skier busted
JACKSON, Wyo., Sat Feb 19, 06:47 PM
A 78-year-old retired doctor was handcuffed and hauled away on a toboggan for skiing uphill in Wyoming, but he won't face charges.
Roland Fleck of Jackson was arrested the morning of Feb. 5 after refusing ski patrollers' orders to stop. Jackson Hole Resort officials say avalanche danger and the presence of grooming machines made it unsafe.
Skiers can get uphill with snow-gripping "skins" on their skis, among other methods.
The Jackson Hole News & Guide says Fleck was jailed on charges of trespass, interference, unsafe skiing and theft of services.
Resort officials say they won't press charges because Fleck's removal resolved their complaint. Sheriff Jim Whalen says he sees no need for prosecution.
Fleck's son, attorney Dan Fleck, says his father did nothing wrong and the resort should change policies.
Man, 84, found alive in Ariz. desert after 5 days
PHOENIX, Wed Feb 16, 11:07 AM
Henry Morello prayed to Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things. But as the 84-year-old spent a fifth night stuck in a ditch in the Arizona desert, he started to lose hope.
"My phone went dead, my battery went dead, and I went dead," Morello said.
But Morello lived to tell his tale Tuesday at a Phoenix hospital, where the diabetic man was admitted in good condition despite drinking windshield wiper fluid to stay hydrated.
He didn't have water, Morello said, so he broke open the wiper fluid container with a rock and filtered it with napkin to try to make it safe.
Morello said he made a wrong turn while driving home Feb. 7 from the Phoenix suburb of Cave Creek and ended up stuck in the desert north of the city, near the state's major north-south road for Grand Canyon-bound travelers.
Morello said he became stranded when - realizing he took a wrong turn - he made a U-turn and wound up in a ditch. He tried to crawl out of the car, but did not get far and returned.
He ripped a chrome piece from his car and put it on the roof, hoping someone would see the reflection.
A pack of hikers found him Saturday morning. He heard a knock on a window from a hiker, and suddenly his long, painful ordeal was over.
"I just kissed him," Morello said of the hiker. "He looked like an angel to me."
The unidentified hikers were not part of the 100 volunteers who passed out fliers and searched for Morello since Wednesday, but they knew he was missing, said Jim Sheehan, a friend who helped organize a search team.
"Nobody ever gave up," said Sheehan, who was on a search plane when he got a call saying Morello had been found.
Morello said he used car mats to stay warm and even read a car manual from cover to cover to pass time. Nights were hardest because he would get scared, he said.
Overnight temperatures the week he was missing were in the upper 30s to the mid-40s, the National Weather Service said. His car and cell phone battery went dead early in the ordeal.
Doctors at John C. Lincoln Hospital said he arrived in good condition considering what he had been through. Morello will remain there for a few days while he is treated for kidney damage.
Dr. Kevin Veale said initial reports were that Morello had consumed some antifreeze, which would have been much worse than wiper fluid.
Morello's nephew, Carl Morello, said his family in Chicago was overjoyed to hear that his uncle was found alive. "Miracles still do happen," Carl said.
Morello lives on his own but a caregiver visits daily. He won't be driving by himself for a long time, said Sheehan.
Morello said he learned another lesson from his adventure: "I'll never drive without water."
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #1 on: Feb 21st, 2011, 11:35pm » |
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Man, 89, comes clean, returns book after76 years
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich., Wed Dec 22, 01:53 PM
Mark McKee can finally rest easy after returning a library book that he borrowed 76 years ago.
In 1934, then aged 13, McKee checked out "A Dog of Flanders" by English author Marie Louise de la Ramee from the public library in Mount Clemens, about 25 miles northeast of Detroit.
The Macomb Daily's 89-year-old former publisher says he recently discovered the book among his possessions and mailed it back to the library.
McKee says he "was entranced by the book" but had always intended to return it.
Library Director Donald Worrell Jr. says he was thrilled to receive the book and a letter from his friend, McKee, and says he plans to put both on display.
Worrell says he's waiving any fines.
RIADAS RETORT: The man said he was "was entranced by the book" ? It was apparently so engrossing that he forgot about it for the rest of his life!
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #2 on: Jul 26th, 2011, 10:57pm » |
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Ala. to crown new nursing home beauty queen
HOOVER, Ala., Sun Jul 24, 02:31 PM
When Alabama's newest beauty queen is crowned this week, she might have more silver hair than your average beauty pageant contestant.
The Ms. Alabama Nursing Home pageant comes to a close Monday at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. The top 10 finalists from nursing homes across the state will compete for the crown.
Contestants will have 15-minute interviews with a panel of judges and then answer a question on stage. The event will be co-hosted by Courtney Porter, who is Miss Alabama.
There were 75 contestants vying for the pageant. The finalists were named in April.
The judges include the commissioner of the state's Medicaid agency and Ms. Senior Alabama Frankie Cashion.
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #3 on: Jul 27th, 2011, 11:10pm » |
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Broom, then pepper spray subdue Outback kangaroo
CANBERRA, Australia, Tue Jul 26, 11:51 AM
A 94-year-old woman struck an attacking kangaroo with a broom and managed to crawl to safety in her house in the Australian Outback before police subdued the animal with pepper spray.
Phyllis Johnson said the kangaroo attacked her while she was hanging her laundry in her yard Sunday in the Queensland state town of Charleville.
"I thought it was going to kill me," Johnson told The Courier Mail from a hospital bed. "It was taller than me, and it just plowed through the clothes on the washing line straight for me."
She said she saw a blur of red fur before the kangaroo knocked her down and kicked her prone body. Johnson told Australian media she managed to get to her feet and grab the broom to hit the animal enough times to daze it and escape.
"She fought it off herself with a bit of help from the family dog," her son said Tuesday. Rob Johnson said the kangaroo had "a bit of a go" at him when he arrived home from church, then he called police.
He said his mother has a large gash on her leg and is recovering from the attack.
Senior-Sgt. Stephen Perkins, head of police in Charleville, said the first officer to reach the backyard was forced to spray the kangaroo to avoid being injured.
"The animal jumped away, then saw another officer at the back of the police car and went for that officer, and he also had to deploy his capsicum spray - so the roo had to get sprayed twice," Perkins told The Associated Press. "After that, it hopped away from the scene, but police could still monitor its location - it didn't go too far."
Wildlife rangers trapped the kangaroo. It is a male red kangaroo, the world's largest marsupial. They can stand as tall as a man and weigh around 200 pounds (90 kilograms).
The kangaroo will be examined by a vet before a decision is made about its future, government official Mike Devery said. Initial observations found some muscle deterioration in one of its hind legs, he said.
Kangaroos rarely attack humans, and Perkins said he had never before heard of police using pepper spray against one.
"It did subdue the animal and drew its attention away for the officers, so it worked," he said.
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #4 on: Jul 28th, 2011, 10:20pm » |
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Pa. bishop gets own bobblehead for 75th birthday
ERIE, Pa., Wed Jul 27, 09:21 AM
As a priest, he's probably not going to get a big head over it.
Donald Trautman, the Roman Catholic bishop in Erie, Pa., received a special gift in honor of his 75th birthday: a bobblehead in his likeness.
The Erie Times-News reports Trautman was presented with the swaying-headed statue last month at a gathering of priests from 13-county diocese.
Trautman calls the likeness "pretty close."
An Erie priest came up with the idea for the dolls, which were also distributed to all the priests in the diocese.
Trautman has sent his resignation letter to Pope Benedict XVI, as canon law requires for priests turning 75. No replacement has been named.
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How red the rose leaves fall—
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Black-mossed and dark with stain,
Crumbles in sun and rain.
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #5 on: Aug 15th, 2011, 12:23am » |
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Ohioan, 94, wakes up to blimp that landed in yard
WORTHINGTON, Ohio, Sun Aug 14, 04:34 PM
A 94-year-old Ohio woman who woke up to discover that a breakaway blimp from a nearby airport had landed in her backyard said she heard a bang during stormy weather but didn't realize what happened until police knocked on her door about seven hours later.
The 128-foot-long blimp broke free of its moorings at a Columbus airport during strong winds early Sunday, then drifted to the sky, headed eastward and landed in Lillian Bernhagen's backyard in Worthington, less than two miles from Ohio State University's Don Scott airfield. No one was aboard and no injuries were reported.
The remnants of a battered blimp were draped over Bernhagen's picnic table and birdfeeders, covering half her backyard.
"I looked out the window and I said, `Wow!'" she said.
Storms had limited the options authorities had to find the blimp until it was spotted in Bernhagen's yard. The Federal Aviation Administration tried to locate it via radar, while its owners tried to see it from the ground, said state police spokesman Lt. Rudy Zupanc.
As crews dismantled and inspected the blimp Sunday morning, Bernhagen snapped photos to share with relatives and talked about the surprise that forced her to miss her church service.
"It really is quite an occasion to have a blimp land in your yard," she said.
Bernhagen said it appeared the blimp, which was removed by mid-afternoon, had toppled a small tree and slightly bent a corner awning along her roof but didn't do any major damage to her home.
"I didn't expect to see one on the ground," she said. "I've only ever seen one in the air."
The blimp advertises Hangar 1 Vodka and is on a tour of about 20 cities under the direction of an Orlando, Fla.-based airship advertiser called The Lightship Group, said Toby Page, the group's marketing director. The blimp won't make its next planned stop in Detroit on Thursday.
"TLG will investigate what happened, but at this time there's nothing to indicate that it was anything more than a freak thunderstorm," Page said Sunday afternoon, noting he had no concerns about how the blimp was tethered at the airport.
Asked whether she might try the vodka, Bernhagen joked that she might need a drink after such a ruckus.
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How red the rose leaves fall—
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #6 on: Aug 29th, 2011, 10:34pm » |
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It was a tough decision to make on where this post belonged, "Food Tomfoolery" or "Geriatrics", but since this guy is 65, here it is:
Pa. man charged again for putting ribs in pants
CARLISLE, Pa., Mon Aug 29, 11:13 AM
A central Pennsylvania man has been charged for a second time with trying to steal a rack of ribs by shoving them down his pants.
Carlisle police tell The Sentinel newspaper (http://bit.ly/rhCtxV) that 65-year-old Donald Noone tried to hide about $20 worth of ribs in his pants on Sunday. Police say he attempted to pull the same stunt on May 22 at a supermarket and pleaded guilty to retail theft and public drunkenness.
Police say that since this is a second offense, the theft charge will be considered a more serious second-degree misdemeanor.
There was not a listed telephone number for Donald Noone in Carlisle.
Riadas Retort: I think I know why there wasnt a listed number, I think he gave them a clever alias...Donald NOone...get it? No One... Sorry, I couldnt resist that! 
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How red the rose leaves fall—
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Crumbles in sun and rain.
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #7 on: Sep 15th, 2011, 11:53pm » |
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3 hurt when driver, 86, smashes car through store
MISSION VIEJO, Calif., Thu Sep 15, 04:31 PM
Veteran bicyclist John Bain says he's had scrapes and narrow escapes while riding in traffic, but nothing matched nearly being run down by a speeding Cadillac that plowed through a bike store.
"This is the craziest thing that's ever happened," Bain, 34, said Thursday from the Rock N' Road Cyclery, where he is manager.
Three people suffered minor injuries when an 86-year-old driver barreled completely through the store at about 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The woman, who was not cited or immediately identified, told authorities she was parking in a handicapped space in front of the store when she accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.
Bain said three customers and five employees were in the store when the 2001 Cadillac Deville and smashed through the glass front door. He estimated the car was doing 30 to 40 mph.
"It was weird, it was like blur," he said. "It was so loud. ... The squeal of her tires. She actually burned out when she took off. It was like someone catapulted her."
Bain said he was about five feet away but other staff barely escaped with their lives.
"My head sales guy and assistant manager almost walked right into her as she came within the store," he said. "If they even backed away from the counter like even three inches, they would have been dead."
Store surveillance video posted on YouTube shows a man and a woman on crutches frantically jumping back against a counter a second or two before the car zooms past them, scattering merchandise and narrowly missing them.
The car continued some 100 feet or more through the store, plowing through a concrete wall into a newly built studio and slammed into the back wall with the back wheels still spinning.
When store employees reached the woman, she still was pushing the gas pedal to the floor. The car was leaking some kind of fluid and the spinning tires had melted a hole in the floor, filling the store with smoke.
"I literally thought someone blew the store up," Bain said.
The woman at first did not want to leave the car because she could not find her purse but eventually she was persuaded, Bain said.
Her adult granddaughter also was in the car.
They both seemed stunned after the crash, Bain said.
They were "completely stone-faced, didn't say a word," he said. "No crying, no tears, no apology."
"The car was so wedged into the back of the store they had to get a winch and pull it out," Bain added.
Two male customers and a woman customer had minor injuries.
One person suffered a swollen left ankle, another had a bruised left calf muscle and a third reinjured a knee, Amormino said.
Bain said the woman on the crutches was wearing a leg brace because she had undergone surgery on a knee ligament two days earlier.
"The car grazed her," he said. "She's OK. She actually came in the store the next day to watch the video."
The store had reopened this week after a $300,000 remodeling, Bain said.
The car destroyed about $30,000 worth of merchandise and caused about $20,000 to $30,000 damage to the store, he estimated.
"We opened the next day," he added.
Riadas Retort: This easily could have fit into "OMG'...My other thought...time to revoke that drivers license...
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How red the rose leaves fall—
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #8 on: Dec 8th, 2011, 11:38pm » |
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Man killed by Nevada deputy near own burial plot
GARDNERVILLE, Nev., Thu Dec 08, 08:01 PM
A man whose wife had recently died was only a few feet away from his own tombstone in a family burial plot when he pointed a loaded gun at a deputy and was fatally shot, authorities said Thursday.
David Pendleton, 77, died Wednesday at the Gardnerville Cemetery after summoning police with an anonymous report of a dead body outside a white truck, police Sgt. Jim Halsey said in a statement.
Pendleton's cellphone was found at the scene. Halsey said a log showed the call to dispatchers was made from that cellphone just minutes before the shooting.
Halsey said Pendleton's wife, who recently died, was buried in the family plot. Nearby was a tombstone engraved with Pendleton's name and date of birth. Investigators have not yet determined when Pendleton's grave marker was installed.
When deputies arrived, Pendleton was standing near the truck holding a shotgun. Halsey said he refused to put down the gun and aimed it at an officer. Sheriff's Deputy Richard Koontz Jr. then fired at Pendleton, who died at the scene.
"We don't know ultimately what his intent was, whether it was to shoot himself or be shot by the deputy," Halsey told The Associated Press. Pendleton's shotgun was "fully loaded and ready to be fired," he said, adding that the incident unfolded quickly and before other officers arrived.
Pendleton had threatened to use weapons against people, including officers, in the past, the sheriff's office said. Halsey said because of his past violent behavior and threats, Pendleton's name was flagged with an "officer safety warning" in the agency's database.
The original caller had refused to identify himself, so Koontz "had no way of knowing the suspect waiting in the cemetery was David Pendleton," Halsey said.
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How red the rose leaves fall—
Fall and like blood remain
Upon the dial's disc, whose pedestal,
Black-mossed and dark with stain,
Crumbles in sun and rain.
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #9 on: Jan 23rd, 2012, 10:44pm » |
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Alaska woman, 85, uses shovel to fend off moose
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Mon Jan 23, 05:17 PM
An 85-year-old Alaska woman used a grain shovel to fend off an agitated moose that was stomping her husband.
George Murphy says his wife saved his life.
The Anchorage Daily News (http://bit.ly/yahDtF) says the 82-year-old pilot, who flew for three decades for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, was hiking with his golden retrievers near the Willow airport Friday. He saw the moose and dove in the snow, but the moose started stomping him.
His wife, Dorothea, who is 5 feet tall and weighs 97 pounds, grabbed a big shovel and hit the moose in the body and head.
She ran for help, and Murphy was rushed by medical helicopter to an Anchorage hospital. He was in good condition Monday with a gash to his head.
Riadas Retort: That Gals' got Pluck!! 
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How red the rose leaves fall—
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CreepyOldGuy
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #10 on: Jan 26th, 2012, 8:21am » |
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Wow, my Mom's 69 and I don't think she can even LIFT up a shovel! 
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"Stand and fight, live by your heart
Always one more try, I'm not afraid to die!
Stand and fight, say what you feel
Born with a heart of steel!"
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Manowar - Heart of Steel 1988
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #11 on: Mar 4th, 2012, 10:38pm » |
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Volunteer spends 105th birthday at work
A Florida hospital volunteer celebrates her 105th birthday while on the job.
Dorrie Aber Noyek briskly maneuvers the halls of Hollywood, FL Memorial Regional Hospital picking up and delivering mail.
There are no signs of slowing down, despite the fact it's her 105th birthday.
"Volunteering has been important to me as long as I can remember. I feel I want to give back," she said. "I think I'm very fortunate, very lucky, very blessed."
She has never driven. Walking is her preferred mode of transportation.
"From when I was quite young, all my life in England, anyway, we never had a car, not at all," Noyek said. "And I've always walked. I've always walked miles."
The hospital, where Noyek been volunteering for 38 years, celebrated this latest milestone.
Her daughter Audrey Steinhauer, 77, came from Toronto and marvels at her mother.
"When people hear how old she is they're shocked, because nobody has seen a person of that age who is able to get around the way she does and who has the mental abilities she has. She lives completely on her own in a regular condo," Steinhauer said.
On this special occasion, her mother indulged in a piece of cake.
She says she usually eats small meals and has never been overweight.
"Not too much fat, too much sweets," she said. "Although to this day I eat cookies every day."
Her favorite kind is chocolate chip.
Noyek only uses glasses to read, reads the entire newspaper every day, and does the crossword puzzle.
A colon cancer survivor, she has outlived two husbands and seven siblings.
"And all my friends are younger. I've never had older friends," she said, admitting that it would be hard to find an older friend at her age.
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How red the rose leaves fall—
Fall and like blood remain
Upon the dial's disc, whose pedestal,
Black-mossed and dark with stain,
Crumbles in sun and rain.
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CreepyOldGuy
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #12 on: Mar 5th, 2012, 7:50am » |
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We outta start cloning this gal!
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"Stand and fight, live by your heart
Always one more try, I'm not afraid to die!
Stand and fight, say what you feel
Born with a heart of steel!"
*********************
Manowar - Heart of Steel 1988
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riada
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #13 on: Mar 7th, 2012, 10:29pm » |
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Twin sisters, 73, found dead together in CA home
Wed Mar 07, 06:33 AM
This undated copy of a photo provided by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office shows twin sisters Patricia and Joan Miller....
When they were young, Patricia and Joan Miller sang and danced for Bing Crosby, troops and their friends.
But as the identical twins grew older, they became less interested in socializing. When people called, the sisters came up with excuses to get off the phone. Without explanation, they stopped sending birthday cards to a childhood friend. And on the rare occasion when they left their home, the two women didn't chat up the neighbors.
Never married and without children or pets, the Miller sisters withdrew into their four-bedroom home in California's South Lake Tahoe, where they were found dead last week at the age of 73. One was in a downstairs bedroom and the other was in the hallway just outside.
It was as if the two sisters, long each other's only companion, could not live without each other, said Detective Matt Harwood with the El Dorado County sheriff's office.
"My perception is one died and the other couldn't handle it," said Harwood, who has been unable to identify any close friends or family members to inform of the sisters' deaths. "It appears purely natural, but we are still trying to piece it all together."
Police don't usually release the names of the dead without first informing their relatives, but the sisters' shrouded lives made that impossible, Harwood said.
"The circumstance surrounding their death is somewhat of an enigma," he said. "These two only ever had each other, and we would like, at least for their sake, to notify their family."
The deaths have confused some residents in the resort town of South Lake Tahoe, where homeowners tend to be close-knit and the sisters' reclusiveness had long inspired questions and concern. Police and neighbors alike are struggling to understand why or how two beautiful women with show business experience shut themselves up in the same home for nearly 40 years and then seemingly died within hours of each other.
In the past year, there were hints that something was amiss at the Miller home. A neighbor spotted an ambulance at the house a year ago and assumed they had fallen ill. Someone asked police to check regularly on the house. When someone arrived Feb. 25 for a routine check, no one answered the door. The next day, police forced their way in and found the bodies.
There was no blood, no signs of struggle. Nothing indicated that the women had persistent health troubles. Their longtime home was not disheveled or unkempt, potential signs of mental or physical illness. Autopsy reports were pending.
Harwood said he called a nearby senior center to see if the sisters were visitors, but no one there had heard of them. He checked with Meals on Wheels volunteers, but it didn't seem that the sisters had received their services. The only relative he found in his preliminary searches was the sisters' deceased mother.
As news of the deaths spread, former South Lake Tahoe residents called police to report that they had lived near the sisters for decades in some cases, and had hardly seen them. One sent in a postcard that claimed the sisters were the only remaining members of their family after their mother's death and their brother died at war.
Calls Tuesday to several longtime residents and social groups in the area turned up little, as many community leaders said they had never heard of the sisters.
Joan Miller was a senior accounting clerk in the payroll department at the Lake Tahoe Unified School District from 1979 to 1984. Patricia Miller, who drove a white convertible with red upholstery, worked in the El Dorado County's social services office during that same time.
"I never heard of anyone else being in either of their lives," said Betty Mitchell, 89, who supervised Patricia Miller in the social services office and saw the twins around town. "They were inseparable and really identical."
The sisters were friendly and often told stories of their singing adventures. They told Mitchell they had performed at Yosemite National Park and when their mother came to visit from Oregon, they all dined at Mitchell's home.
But the sisters were also guarded. When Mitchell urged them to join a community choir, they declined. They never discussed their social lives.
"They kept things to themselves," Mitchell said. "I don't even know if they had siblings."
The sisters grew up in Portland, Ore., before moving to the San Francisco area, where Joan Miller attended college, Harwood learned. The women briefly appeared on a 1950s television show called the "The Hoffman Hayride" and posed for a picture with Crosby as children. The twins also entertained troops at military bases, a childhood friend told Harwood.
The sisters never seemed interested in dating or expanding their social spheres. They listed each other as their next of kin, Harwood said.
"All they had was each other and that's actually the way they wanted it," he said.
Joyce Peterson of the International Twins Association, a social group based in Oklahoma, said she once heard of 100-year-old twins who died within days of each other.
"As a twin, you've got this bond, you're close - almost like a married couple," said Peterson, of Minnesota, who serves as co-vice president of the group with her identical sister. "It's a bond no one else can understand."
The Miller twins appeared in poor health recently and possibly had been treated a year ago for dehydration or malnutrition, Harwood said.
Their childhood friend told Harwood that the sisters stopped sending annual birthday cards last year, and when the friend called to inquire about the missing card, the sisters seem disinterested in continuing the relationship.
Neighbors would call and the sisters would say, "Let me call you right back," and then wouldn't.
"They weren't taking care of themselves as they should or could have," Harwood said.
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CreepyOldGuy
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Re: Geriatric News...
« Reply #14 on: Mar 8th, 2012, 2:40pm » |
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Creepy, weird and a shame. 
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"Stand and fight, live by your heart
Always one more try, I'm not afraid to die!
Stand and fight, say what you feel
Born with a heart of steel!"
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Manowar - Heart of Steel 1988
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