Ho-ho-holiday films, trivia & more
Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and movie family in "It's a Wonderful Life." (Courtesy: RKO Radio Pictures)
For me, a cinematic softy at heart, the holidays are never complete without watching Jimmy Stewart learn to appreciate the joy of living and giving in "It's a Wonderful Life."
If you're looking on TV for good Christmas movies that'll warm your heart, you have two very good choices Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. (Central Standard time). NBC rolls out the old chestnut "It's a Wonderful Life," while ABC is featuring the modern animated marvel, "The Polar Express." From this aisle seat, you can't go wrong with either one.
On Saturday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m., ABC gets into the comic Christmas spirit with "The Santa Clause 2" starring Tim Allen.
Heading to the DVD store? You can pick up your own copy of most of the movies that'll blanket TV, including, of course, "It's a Wonderful Life." For offbeat comedy, try "A Christmas Story." And you can't go wrong with almost any version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
Venturing out to the movie house? All Robert De Niro fans will want to catch "Everybody's Fine." In this remake of the Italian gem, De Niro is out front as a widower on a cross-country trip to see what his four adult kids are up to.
Paul Hogan's tips for senior care planning
Paul Hogan, the Omaha, Neb.-based co-founder of Home Instead Senior Care, was in Dallas recently to sign his new book, "Stages of Senior Care," a comprehensive step-by-step guide for making wise decisions about caring for seniors.
Hogan founded what has become a national and international string of home care franchises with his wife Lori in 1994. It all began with Paul's Grandma Manhart, who begin to decline at the age of 88.
The Hogans rallied with family support. It extended not only Grandma Manhart's life, but her quality of life as well.
"Personal experiences inspired me to start the company," Hogan says. "Once I started the company, I ran into more and more families. We'd be called in to talk about care and we'd sit around the kitchen table with an adult child pretty much steeped in anguish because three days ago Mom was playing bridge. Two days ago she had a stroke, and now she's incapacitated. Here's an adult child trying to guess at her care options and what her care preferences would be."
Paul and Lori wondered at first if their situation was unique, or if there was a widespread need for the type of home care company they were planning.
"We did our research and found out that 70 percent of seniors and their adult children aren't doing any planning for senior care. These conversations just aren't happening."
The core of the problem, says Paul, is that one-third of all Baby Boomers feel their parents still see them as a child.
"That's 25 million people. That's a lot. We're all adults here, but there's that parent-child relationship that makes it hard to bring up sensitive topics like should you live in your home or should you be driving your car or is it time to start a will and put an advance directive in place and a health care proxy. These things are very sensitive issues.
"We started a program to help families have the conversation. That's the 40-70 rule. We all it 40-70 because when you are at about the age 40 and your parents are at about age 70, that's when you have two people who both are clear of mind. But the 40-year-old is old enough to know that his knee hurts from that football injury or whatever and that it's not going to get any better.
"They understand chronic pain a little bit, so they appreciate aging to some degree. That's about time you should begin having the conversations. So we put together a Web site called 40-70 Talk (www.homeinstead.com/resources/4070/default.aspx). You can go there and you can learn about all the conversation starters."
In addition, Hogan says, visitors to the 40-70 rule Web site can see helpful videos.
"If you look at this video, this video is how you should not bring up the car keys. This will fail every time. Click over here on the other side of the screen and this is how you can bring up the car keys and have a successful conversation," he says.
"You must remember this." -- Movie trivia
OK, time for a little fun. If you answer all five of our trivia questions correctly, you'll earn the Movie Memories 4-jalapeño salute. That's a high honor in these parts. (Answers follow the questions.)
1. In "It's a Wonderful Life," what's the name of Jimmy Stewart's guardian angel?
A: Ebenezer ... B: Clarence ... or C: Humphrey
2. Frosty is a ...
A: Dr Pepper float ... B: IRS auditor ... or C: Snowman
3. Bing Crosby dreamed of a white ...
A: Christmas ... B: Fourth of July ... or C: Chevy Nova
4. What to leave out for Santa?
A: Mrs. Santa ... B: Cookies and milk ... or C: GPS device
5. In "It's a Wonderful Life," what did Jimmy Stewart promise to lasso for Donna Reed?
A: A Merry Christmas ... B: The moon ... or C: Mean old Mr. Potter
(Trivia Answers: 1-B, Clarence/2-C, Snowman/3-A, Christmas/4-B Cookies and milk/5-B The moon)
Upcoming events
Look for exact dates to be listed in the January Movie Memories newsletter. But here are some coming attractions:
"Casablanca" -- My Favorite Movie of All Time presentation at The Forum at Park Lane in Dallas in June
An Enrichment Presentation at Richland College in July
Richland College Emeritus Program classes in August
