22 - CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, June 20 - June 26, 1997
CAPE LIFE
Memory Walk 1997 to benefit Alzheimer's Association
By Rosanne Pack
Those who live with the heartbreak of
seeing loved ones drift into the abyss of
Alzheimer's disease now have the comfort
of knowing that their cares and fears are
shared by many. The Alzheimer's Associa-
tion Delaware Chapter has become increas-
ingly active, and this year, the organization
will bring Memory Walk 1997 to southern
Delaware.
This is the sixth year that the walk has
been staged in Delaware, but the first time
there will be walks in Sussex as well as
New Castle County. Set for Oct. 4, the
southern fundraising walk is already in the
planning stages with Rep. John Schroeder
as the honorary chairperson, and Josh Clen-
daniel as chair of the steering committee.
The two chairs are very enthusiastic, yet
they come to the event from different per-
spectives.
A native of the area,
Schroeder has long
been active in events
that benefit community
organizations. His
mQther lives with
Alzhiemer's so he and
his family have
become familiar with
the disease and with
the research going into
diagnosis, treatment SCEIROEDER
and prevention.
Clendaniel is the president of the Lewes
Longneck Parrot Heads. The local Parrot
tion of Jimmy Buffet fan Clubs. The clubs
not only celebrate appreciation of the talent
of the singer, they all are chartered to per-
form community service on a regular basis.
Recently Buffet declared the Alzheimer's
Association as the charity of choice for Par-
rot Head groups. The singer also has a par-
ent with Alzheimer's.
Raising awareness
Andrea Carr, executive director of the
state chapter of the Alzheimer's Associa-
tion, said that raising awareness of the dis-
ease in southern Delaware is a natural step
for the organization. She pointed out that
the areais fast becoming a favored site for
retirees.
She said many in this population have to
deal with a parent or other loved one who
suffers with Alzheimer's, and unfortunate-
ly, a portion of the retirees will have the dis-
ease themselves.
"We have had a 600 percent increase in
requests for services in the last year," Carr
said. "This is a huge awareness event for
the association, we want to share our
knowledge and let people know the scope
of the problem.
"In addition to increasingawareness, a
major purpose of the Memory Walk is to
celebrate those who care for family mem-
bers and friends who have Atzheimer's. We
hope everyone who has concern is planning
to participate."
Clendaniel said that he has long been
aware of the disease; however, since
Heads are a chapter of a national organiza- - becoming involved with planning Memory
Walk 1997, he has learned much more. He
said his awareness has. expanded regarding
the concern and the
efforts of those in the
medical field as well as
regarding those who
care about and care for
those with Alzheimer's.
He and Schroeder are
both cofifident that the
Sussex walk will meet
the goals of at least 200
walkers and $15,000. CLENDANIEL
Schroeder said that he
will be encouraging individuals and groups
to form teams, and set up challenges with
other organizations or representatives of
corporations.
Clendaniel said that the Parrot Heads are
ready and willing to do the walking for
those who will raise funds for sponsorships.
He said the group will be announcing addi-
tional fund and awareness raising events
betweennow and the October walk,
A sense of urgency
"We will be looking for ways to get walk-
ers and to get sponsors as well as volunteers
for other fundraising efforts," Clendaniel
said. "
As I have learned more about the disease,
I can better understand the anxiousness to
conquer Alzheimer's. There is a sense of
urgency in wanting to stop a disease that
robs people of enjoying their families and
friends as they age."
Agreeing with Clendaniel, Schroeder
said, "Any small part that I can to raise
money, I am glad to do. There is so much
research that is needed, so much that we
don't know about the disease.
"Perhaps the most difficult thing is that it
takes a perfectly healthy individual, and
makes it impossible for them to know or
enjoy the people that they care about. My
mother raised six children and has 11
grandchildren, and now she can't enjoy
them. It's an ugly disease; there is no other
way to put it."
Carr said, as the plans progress forMem-
ory Walk, more and more information will
be made available to those who want to par-
ticipate. She said that Alzheimer's patients
live an average of 14 years with the disease
in its progressive stages.
"That's a long time for those who love
them to see them regress, to see them lose
touch with their word," Carr said. "But, we
will see the end of this."
The Oct. 4 Memory Walk will be an 8K,
or approximately five miles. Individual
sponsorships are $25 and are paid in
advance.
The Sussex walk will leave from Grove
Park in Rehoboth Beach; registration starts
at 8 a.m., and the walk begins at 9 a.m. The
route will include Lake Gerar, parts of Hen-
lopen Acres and a stretch of the Boardwalk.
There will be prize incentives for spon-
sors, and food and entertainment on the day
of the walk.
For information on Memory Walk 1997,
call 1-800-219-7666.
Sussex League of Women Voters elects 1997-98 officers
The Sussex County League of
Women Voters elected the follow-
ing officers for 1997-98 at its
annual meeting on June 14: presi-
dent, Francis Ann Gilbert of Mil-
ton; vice-president, Elise Altergott
of Millsboro; secretary, Blackie
H. Nyg0od of Georgetown; trea-
surer, Elizabeth Knott of Hen-
lopen Acres; assistant treasurer,
Esther Klima of Lewes. Elected to
serve on the board of directors
were Mac Clark, Elizabeth G.
Hooper and Mary Burton of
Rehoboth Beach; Ardyth
Strohmaier of Seaford; Christine
Perrone of Milford and Marian
Forbes of Ocean View.
Outgoing president Til Purnell
was presented with gift in tppreci-
ation of her services. The meeting
was followed by a picnic and was
held at Riverlane, home of
Howard and Blackie Nygood.
I
The League welcomes members
from all of Sussex County. It is a
non-partisan, gender-neutral orga-
nization which strives to under-
stand and help solve some of the
problems faced locally, statewide,
nationally and internationally.
Meetings are held every month of
the year except July and August in
various parts of Sussex County.
International affairs discussions,
held on various nights during the
year, are by experts in the interna-
tional field. For more information
about the Sussex League, call
684-4177 or 856-2199.
Do everyone in Rehoboth a favor and drop in for a walk
I know, it's parking meter time.
Quarters become as central to
your life as reruns of the "Sein-
feld" show. I have to be able to
put my hands on one at all times.
Sometimes when I'm stuck in
traffic, I just roll quarters back and
forth in my hands like the captain
in the Caine Mutiny. It's very
soothing.
But there are a lot of things you
can do in town before that 10 a.m.
get out of Dodge, run for your life,
nan-nan-na-na parking meter
deadline kicks in. One of the
thi0gs I like to do, and apparently
half the population does, is walk
on the Boardwalk early.
The key to walking on the
Boardwalk at this time is to park
as close as possible so you don't
have to exert yourself walking the
Boardwalk.
So, I would suggest you pull
right up onto the fountain if you
can. I always.park next to a bench
and leave a card sticking out from
AROUND TOWN
Nancy Katz
my visor that says "Coroner" or
"Ebola Virus Unit."
O.K., so I make a little money
selling these out of the back of my
car, also. But that istotally irrele-
vant, egregious and prejudicial.
Anyway, now you are all set to
walk. But you have to have the
proper outfit. And that means
shorts nd a prestigious T-shirt.
The T-shirt has to be from some-
where exotic; it h to give other
walkers the impression that you
normally spend most of your time
hangingj around really cool places
wi really cool people doing real-
ly cool things.
And today, you thought you
would do everyone in Rehoboth a
favor and just drop in for a walk.
Anything saying Key West, Flori-
da is definitely in.
If you add the name of a bar,
say like Roberto's Bar and Grill,
even if you' weigh ninety pounds,
• wear "Coke bottle" glasses and
generally look like anyone could
beat the stuffing out of you and
you wouldn't in your wildest
dreams step into a bar and grill,
you will still command respect
wearing this T-shirt. Believe me,
Priscilla's Coffee House, in
Ames; Iowa just doesn't cut it.
O.K., so i make a few extra quar-
ters selling these out of the back of
my car, too. But that is totally
irrelevant, egregious and prejudi-
cial.
low you can carry this too far.
For there are some T-shirts that
definitely carry an image with
them, and the last thing you want
other walkers to think is that you
are a phony. Beware of wearing
T-shirts that say Central Intelli-
gence Agency, Federal Bureau of
Investigations or Delaware State
Police. A dead give away will be
your milk white skin and the extra
three hundred pounds you are car-
rying.
So let's say you start out on
your walk. One thing you have to
realize is that other walkers are
very into what they are doing and
you have to respect their privacy.
They may not pay attention when
you greet them. It's nothing per-
sonal. It's just that their mind is
somewhere else. For instance,
one day after recognizing this
famous person, I yelled out, "Hey
aren't you Sammy the Bull
Grafano, the guy who ratted on
the Mafia Don, John Gotti, send-
ing him to three life terms in
prison?" The next thing I knew,
the guy was in the water swim-
ming towards New Jersey. I can
respect that kind of concentration.
And yes, I sell/all kinds of swim-
ming gear out of the back of my
car. So what!
O.K., so you don't like to walk.
You can still take advantage of
this situation. I usually spend the
time before 10 a.m. stretching up
against the wall of one of the
buildings at the Boardwalk; this
gives the illusion that I'm prepar-
ing to walk. After an hour of pho-
ny exercises, ! can relax and go
. back to selling stuff out of the
back of my car. See you there.
