Documentary, like a Vitamin B-12 shot, energizes seniors

 

By Donald H. Harrison

LA JOLLA, California—Television station KPBS teamed up with documentarian Susan Polis Shutz on Wednesday evening,  April 20, to produce a giant pep rally for senior citizens in the Sherwood Auditorium of the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

As van after van from such senior residence establishments as Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, the Patrician and White Sands brought residents to a screening of Over 90 and Loving It, one could feel excitement building.  The crowd was filmed by a video crew and professional still photographer as it made its way from a reception into the auditorium.  As ushers checked tickets and showed people to their seats, it was soon clear there would not be enough seating for all the arrivals, and that some people would have to monitor the proceedings electronically from another room.

Joanne Faryon, a KPBS producer and host, in introducing the documentary, said that 13 percent of all Americans today are over the age of 65.  She added that with advancements in medicine that percentage will grow, with there being a good chance that many people will reach 100, “not necessarily in perfect shape” but happy.

The documentary—which will be aired at 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 26 over KPBS—profiles a variety of people over the age of 90 whose active and productive lives can serve as role models for older adults.  Previously screened at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, it was previewed in this publication on  January 22.

Four of the people featured in the film attended the screening, and later took questions from an appreciative audience.   These panelists included nonagenarians Annelle and Ernest Rogers, whose recent wedding ceremony is one of the delights of the films, and  senior Olympian Don Pellman, who continues to win medals in track and field events ranging from pole vaulting to discus throwing.

Also on the panel was author Laura Simon, who was 103 when the film was made, and today is 105 and living at the Patrician in La Jolla.  She likened reaching her great age to the thrill that mountain climbers feel when they achieve the summit of Mount Everest, and said writing the book, I’m Still Here (serialized on San Diego Jewish World) helped keep her mentally alert.

Shutz announced that one of the profilees in the film wasn’t able to attend.  Nola Ochs was shown in the film becoming at 95 the oldest person to graduate from a four-year college, and later, at 97, becoming the oldest person in the nation to earn a master’s degree.    So why couldn’t she attend? was the worried question that crossed many a mind in the audience.  Shutz explained that Ochs is now a brand new associate professor at her college in Kansas, so had classes to attend to.  One could feel the sense of relief permeating the laughter that spread through the auditorium.

Unmentioned on this upbeat evening was the fact that, unfortunately, not all the profilees in Over 90 and Loving It are still living.  San Diegan John W. Finn, who had earned the Medal of Honor for his courageous conduct at Pearl Harbor, had died between the time of filming and the showing Wednesday night.

Shutz, a poet who wore her hair blue for the evening, is a member of the Jewish community and proud family woman, whose three adult children, including Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado, attended the screening.  The congressman was a subject in a previous Shutz film, Anyone and Everyone exploring the reactions of parents like herself on learning that her child is gay.

With 13 interviewees in the film, including a nonagenarian cab driver who is the uncle of her husband, Shutz and her crew at Iron Zeal Films had a wealth of material that probably could have been made into a series on aging.  However, they made the proper decision in limiting themselves to a single hour-long documentary: almost everyone over 65 who watches it is bound to sense the unlimited vistas that still may be awaiting them.   As the audience left, it was as if someone had given them all Vitamin B-12 shots.

Schutz compiled a list of recommendations from the seniors who were the subjects of her documentary: These included such suggestions as: don’t worry about anything, embrace maturity, keep doing things, stay curious about the future, engage in a pursuit, care about others, choose to be around people who are positive, and don’t be afraid of death.

The panelists had additional suggestions:  “I try to memorize a new word each day,” said Ernest Rogers, adding that he doesn’t “let the sun go down before I use it several times.”   Simon said she meditates all the time, feeling grateful for what life has given her.   Pellman said in his lifetime the human race has always found solutions to problems besetting the world, and he has confidence it will continue to do so.  Annelle Rogers said she gives her burdens to the Lord.

The Jewish community was well represented at the event.  Besides filmmaker Schutz, panelist Simon, and the Seacrest Village residents, some of those present for the occasion were Linda Bennett, Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Murray and Elaine Galinson, Natasha Josefowitz, Burt and Lil Nestor and Barry Soper.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com