THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 24, 2003
President Bob Witt opened the meeting with 168 members present. Membership is 522 with 3 invitees and 12 on the waiting list.
Announcements: President Witt informed us that New Canaanite Dave Checketts is part of a group buying the Los Angeles Dodgers. Thankfully, Minister of Health, Dick DePatie, had nothing to report today.
Activities: Bowling is in business today, as is bridge. Next bridge seminar will be at 8:45 A.M. next Friday in St. Mark's. 4Fs eat today at The Three Bears, and paddle continues Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 9:00 A.M.
Couth: 1/30 N.Y. Philharmonic still has a few tickets left. The 2/20 trip to the Museum of Moving Image will now depart from St. Mark's 10:30 A.M. March Mama Mia is sold out. 4/24 is the Connecticut state capital, and May is the trip to Boston which will be one day, or two, still to be decided.
Resident Humorist: John Berg told us the story about a female high wire trapeze artist who was very forgetful about dates. Then John teamed up with Jim Schlumpf to do an Abbot and Costello routine on who's on first etc. This time the routine concerned the president and Condoleezza Rice discussing who's Hu in China. It was very, very confusing.
Speaker: Vice President Bob Shafter introduced Gerd Weindling former president of AARP in Connecticut. Mr. Weidling has currently set up a counseling office at St. Vincent's in Bridgeport. In his speech, he covered a wide group of subjects, most of which were common sense things which tend to get overlooked. He warned us to know the fine details about our health care coverage and, in this context, surviving spouse coverage. Gerd also stressed how very important it is to communicate with our children, since in many cases they will eventually become our main caregivers. They should be knowledgeable about both our financial affairs and our health affairs. They should know where all important papers are kept. Mr. Weindling then talked about wills, living wills, and powers of attorney, warning us that all states have different rules, which we should be aware of if we move. He also informed us that a lawyer is not necessary when making up a living will. His next subject was long-term health care, which is not for everybody. It is very expensive, and it is up to each individual's circumstances. His final subject was supplemental health care insurance for those of us on medicare. There are twelve supplemental insurers in Connecticut and all cover the same ten options. One must really price out these companies since they are all offering the same product; therefore, the only difference should be in the service provided. He suggested trying to speak with someone having personal experience with any of the companies being considered. All in all, Mr. Weindling gave a very nice, informative, and low key presentation on a subject obviously very close to all our hearts. If we weren't smarter when we left the room, we were certainly more aware of some of the pitfalls of our aging situations.
Eric Musa, Secretary