An Interview with Leslie Wilcox

Our “can do!” island culture values resourcefulness and cooperation when faced with challenges. “We know a guy” and where to get things, and have honed skills tūtū taught us. We don’t expect anything in return for helping out. “If can, can; if no can, no can.” We put ourselves to the task. PBS Hawai‘i (KHET or KMEB call letters in your guide) is our TV station. Our donations built it and it serves us. But don’t take it for granted.

How to Avoid Charity Fraud

It may be hard to believe, but during natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes — and even the current COVID-19 pandemic — unscrupulous scammers set up fraudulent fundraising operations to take advantage of Good Samaritans who want to help.

Meaningful Estate Planning

In medicine, there is cure and care; in finance, there is worth and value. In estate planning, there is wealth and meaning. Most people see the estate planner’s role as writing a document that transfers wealth at death. Just as significant is our role to communicate our client’s meaning clearly. This meaning is the foundation for estate planning.

COVID-19 and The Market

Historic market volatility has washed over the globe in recent weeks. The spread of COVID-19 (the disease caused by coronavirus) has precipitated a record drop in the stock market and a sharp plunge in bond yields, sending the U.S. into its first bear market in over a decade. People around the world are facing a health crisis that’s driving an economic crisis, which are leading to high levels of anxiety for families and individuals regarding their well-being and financial situation.

Using Hawaii Relay Conference Captioning

There’s a service available that can help you feel empowered and stay engaged with individuals or co-workers. Relay Conference Captioning (RCC) is a free* service available to Hawai‘i residents who are deaf or hard of hearing that enables them to actively participate in multiparty teleconference calls or web conferences. The service enables you to participate in teleconference calls or webinars by reading live captions through a web browser on your computer or mobile device. Saving a copy of the RCC transcript is one of the available options.

Solution for Loneliness & Housing Shortage

In response to this epidemic of isolation, a strategy called “home sharing” has been implemented in many U.S. cities for over 40 years. Recently, the nonprofit Hawaii Intergenerational Network (HIN), with funding from the HMSA, Kaiser and Atherton Family foundations, began a project called “Homesharing Hawaii” to offer a similar program in the state that will help seniors safely age in place and secure very affordable housing for low- and moderate-income renters. It is also a cost effective program because it doesn’t require building new housing or providing ongoing rental subsidies.

Exercise: A Panacea for Heart Disease

Exercise is the closest thing to a complete remedy — a panacea — for heart disease. The heart fuels the entire body. If the heart gets too weak, it cannot sufficiently provide nutrients to organs and the body slowly deteriorates. Unfortunately, this is quite common for people in hospice care. Thankfully, prevention is readily available.

Going to the Dentist After COVID-19

Hopefully, the COVID-19 virus is now under control and life is back to normal. Regardless, one of the lessons we learned through this pandemic is better personal hygiene. Dentists were asked to help contain the spread if the virus by limiting their care to only emergency visits. The main concern was patients spreading it to each other while in the office. Just as concerning was the direct exposure of the virus to dentists and their staff — and possible spread to their families.

Mindfulness & Memory

If you have ever forgotten why you walked into a room or you find yourself making small mistakes, you’ve probably chalked it up to an aging brain. Age is only a minor contributor to this condition. The main factor is how you utilize your brain. Learn how to guide your brain instead of following or trying to catch up to it and you’ll find you not only recall things easier, you’ll enjoy the moment more and feel better overall.

Tighten Your ‘Internal Belt’

Core training is one of the most popular concepts in the field of fitness and physical therapy. Core stability training is often associated with strengthening your abdominal muscles — the “abs.” The ab muscles play a very important role, but the core also includes multiple muscles in he mid-lower back, pelvic floor, hips and buttocks. This ring of muscles, or the “internal belt,” holds us up during the day, reducing falls, decreasing back pain and improving posture and even bladder control.

New Book Reveals Chronic Pain Solutions

Husband-and-wife team Anthony Chrisco and Eileen Paulo-Chrisco offer drug-free relief for chronic pain in Pain Free Everyday: The Roadmap for Natural Treatment When Pills, Injections, or Surgery Aren’t Your Solutions. The book explains how those suffering from stiffness and chronic pain who prefer to avoid opiates and surgical intervention can restore the body’s innate ability to heal.

Choosing the Road Less Traveled

Maybe you’ve never thought of your life in those terms. But everyone, whether they are aware of it or not, has selected a particular pathway in life. The most popular road seems to be aligned with what the world tells us we need — a nice home, a fancy car, a good job, exciting sports events, live entertainment and travel to exotic places. We are told, at least subliminally, that focusing on and fulfilling our needs and wants will lead to a successful, happy life.

Lifework Planning Amid COVID-19

Even in this time of uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, two simple rules dominate the future of your life’s work and options that are available today: 1) Full-time, regular 8 to 5 jobs are off the radar as the singular source for employment. Sometimes we will work for others this way, but who needs long commutes if they can be easily avoided? 2) Even in the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that we will live longer than any previous generation. Do you wonder how you will handle your financial, mental, emotional and physical health? This is the time to consider multiple strategies.

Aging in Hawai‘i – A Moving Experience

There are many questions that families have as their parents age. Many adult children have never had to provide care for a senior. When they begin, they soon find it is not an easy task. Assisting your parents as they age in place seems like a good idea until we realize how much time it takes to provide meals, and clean and maintain an additional house, along with continuing our own career and meeting life’s demands.

June – July 2020

June – July 2020

The April-May 2020 issue of Generations Magazine, Hawai‘i’s Resource for Life, features an in-depth look at Leslie Wilcox, President and CEO of PBS Hawaii, we look at lifework and planning amid Covid-19, the expansion of telehealth services and a look at solutions for loneliness and housng.