September/October 2019

Pun alert: we’ve got a few books we think you’ll fall for this autumn. Carve out time for a couple of these titles and leave the busyness of the season behind. These book suggestions are from Jason Lea, Community Outreach Coordinator for Mentor Public Library and reference librarian Cailey Williams. 

 Go to mentorpl.org to learn about upcoming library events.

 

Mrs. Everything 

By Jennifer Weiner

Jo and Bethie Kaufman have always been opposites. As children, Bethie was the good girl, while Jo’s dress was always dirty. Bethie never questioned their mother, and Jo pushed boundaries. But when push comes to shove, the sisters always have each other’s back. Growing up in the 1950s, coming of age in the 1960s, and into adulthood, their experiences couldn’t be more opposite. One takes the traditional family route, and the other joins the counterculture of the day. Follow these very different women on their journeys through life, love, good times and bad, and see that no matter what happens, they have each other.

 

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper 

By Phaedra Patrick

Arthur Pepper, 69, is a quiet man focused on his routines. While cleaning out his late wife’s things, Arthur discovers a charm bracelet he’s never seen before, a hint to his wife’s life before they married. Stepping entirely out of his comfort zone, Arthur goes on a journey to discover the hidden stories behind these charms, taking him to Paris, London and even India, where he learns more than he ever wanted to know about both his wife and himself.

 

The Keeper of Lost Things

By Ruth Hogan

Forty years ago, Anthony Peardew lost a beloved keepsake. Since then, Anthony has become the keeper of lost things, gathering the lost items he finds on the bus, in the park, on the street, carefully documenting and saving them in case their owners ever come looking.

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It's showtime and have we got a terrific live theater lineup waiting for you in large and small venues throughout Northeast Ohio. Here's a list of new and returning can't-miss shows to consider for the months ahead. Order your tickets early. The 2019-2020 live theater season is under way! ...

I was horrified when students in a class I taught had never heard of the Marx Brothers. My grandmother told me that when the brothers and W.C. Fields played the Cleveland vaudeville houses, they stayed home because their acts were insulting. Hey, that was part of their charm! The Marxes were at Playhouse Square a number of times and barely escaped with their lives when Chico got caught hustling players at a pool hall. ...

I fell into fall and didn’t know it.

After years tethered to an academic calendar, school started without me, or at least without me noticing.

Other signs of the season were there, of course. The daylight started shifting in mid-

August. Cricket and locust chirps grew more persistent. The golds and purples of wildflowers replaced the white and pink flushes in ditches and fallow fields. Still, I was surprised to see the school buses go by.

Without kids in school anymore and no grandkids (yet), my calendar is a rambling, undisciplined affair that lands mostly on work deadlines and holidays. It’s a bigger-picture type of calendar that I follow these days, marking time by seasons instead of school days. It gives me the chance to take a long view of things. My focus is broader, not narrowed by someone else’s timeline.

This broader view fits our theme, “Restore.” We profile three Boomers who conserve and preserve special things, some centuries, others decades old. Experience counts, as these conservators prove. You can read about them on page 30.

Taking the theme further, we have two stories about yoga and its enduring benefits. If you haven’t tried it or gave it up years ago, our story on page 32 provides plenty of reasons for another look. I’ve heard about goat yoga but never understood the appeal of having one graze near my yoga mat.  We explain the charm of goat yoga, too.

Here’s a blast from our past: the Richfield Coliseum. Rising from fields in the middle of nowhere, the massive structure deserved the coliseum moniker. It’s now a haven for birds and bird watchers. Two decades after the Coliseum’s demolition, we’ve got a story about the property’s restoration on page 34.

We have two more Restore topics: cosmetic tattoos and side gigs.

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It's pumpkin time. If you are unsure what else goes with pumpkin, think about your favorite butternut squash or sweet potato recipe and incorporate pumpkin into it. What grows together goes together, so things like local maple syrup, root vegetables and dark, leafy greens complement pumpkin really well. ...

When  I heard that Boomer’s theme this issue was “restore,”  it touched me in many ways — both personally and professionally. 

Having reached my mid-60s, I understand how important it is to review your life priorities and consider how to maximize every day, both spiritually and physically. And, as a dentist with 42 years of experience and having seen many oral conditions, I have a sense of how our health plays a major role in how we move forward.

Good Teeth, Good Health
Our teeth and mouth need to be in great shape. Fillings, crowns, bridges and veneers are called “restorations” by the dental community. They restore teeth to their original conditions, before cavities or fractures. In this way, the patient has the ability to masticate (chew) food and break it down into the various nutrients needed to sustain life. Ask any person with a lower denture if they enjoy eating and most will tell you that it will never be like it was when they had their own teeth. Implants help with stability, but the force is still greatly reduced and the acrylic and/or porcelain changes the taste of food.  

From an emotional standpoint, having a nice smile is very important to one’s presentation and outlook. The first thing we see when we have an encounter with someone else is their teeth and smile. Having focused my practice on cosmetic and restorative dentistry, I can tell you that the most gratifying thing we can hear in our office is a patient’s comment that the veneers and/or crowns we placed on their anterior teeth have “changed their life.” 

As we continue to live longer, which may include working longer and dating at a more mature age, our smile plays a more important role. Just recently, a patient whose daughter was getting married and another who was attending her high school reunion wrote us that they kept getting compliments about how wonderful they looked; both were convinced that their teeth and smiles were the attention-getters.

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What scares kids? Sometimes it's the adults around them or the adults' response to things that are happening. Children who are around adults who most often express positive emotions have been shown to be able to control their emotions better than children who are subject to mostly negative expressions. Most kids look to adults for how they react to circumstances and mirror these responses. ...