A Black Perspective
You&
Your
Health
The Aging Process
Brenda Kennedy BSN
By now most of us know that the
life expectancy of the average
Black American is much lower
than that of the average white
American. At birth, the life expect
ancy_for whites is 71.7 years; for
Blacks, it is only 65.3 years. We can
also see the women, in general,
live longer than men. There are
several reasons for this difference
Many believe this is due to the poor
health status that many Black
infants are born into. Due to many
problems such as economic status,
etc., many Blacks have difficulty
obtaining a high level of health
care. But an interesting point is
that on an average, if a Black
person survives the age of 70. he
may actually be expected to live
longer than a white person of 70
years.
For those Black persons who live
longer than 70 years, they are often
faced with some special problems.
Along with housing, transporta
tion, finances, etc., health pro
blems arise more frequently.
Many times the aging Black
American is forced to be placed
under the care of health providers
within an institution. This may
mean nursing home, rest home, or
extended care hospital, this de
pends on the type of care that the
individual is required to have or
what he needs to help restore or
maintain his health.
Some hospitals or institutions for
the aged have developed reputa
tions that are not pleasing. Re
member that this should not influ
ence your ideas about all institu
tions. If you have questions about
such a hospital or institution,
direct your questions to the speci
fic place. Investigate yourself if
necessary, if you or a member of
your family will be needing such—
care. Also investigate the type of
assistance (financial) that can be
received from the governmental
agencies for helping pay for
nursing care in these facilities.
With better medical techniques
and procedures, the life expect
ancy for all Americans is increas
ing. We will need to begin to think
of more and better ways to help
those in our community whom we
call our ‘‘Senior Citizens*’,
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~V> » CHAMOTTE >
Am t Misbehavin999
Broadway Musical Set For
e* ' —
Six Performances At Ovens
AIN'T MISBEHAVIN’, the cur
rent Broadway smash musical
devoted to Fats waller comes to
Ovens Auditorium on February 14
for six performances.
Waller, a big man with a big
spirit who died in his 39th year,
grabbed a hugh chunk of Ameri
ca’s heart with his sassy stride
piano and his trademark wit. The
five-member cast of this musical
dedicated to his music and his
memory does the same thing in the
space of their very first number,
and they keep right on doing it
throughout each performance.
Meet the cast:
Clent Bowers, 28. His theatrical
background includes “Jesus Christ
Superstar” and the role of Coward
ly Lion in the road company of
“The Wiz”.
David Cameron, 27. He spent 18
months prior tn thi«-ron«i<»n| rising
“Bubbling Brown Sugar” in Lon
don. --——
Adrienne West, also 27. Long on
nightclub singing experience, but
this is her first theatrical role.
Terri White, age unrevealed.
Only one to have done the show on
Broadway. She also toured in
“Bubbling Brown Sugar".
Ms. Heaven made her Broadway
debut in “The Wiz” and was a
featured dancer and singer in the
National tour of “Raisin" and
“Don’t Bother Me I can’t Cope”.
Along with the title song, 25 of
Pats Waller's most popular hits
are featured in AIN’T MISBE
HAVIN’ including “Honeysuckle
Rose", “Keeping Out Of Mischief
Now , “Your Feet’s Too Big’’,
"Bookin' Good But Feelin' Bad ',’
"CashFor Your Trash’’. “Fat And
Greasy”, “Black And Blue” and
“The Joint Is Jumpin’”. The
Finale is composed of songs by
others which Fats Waller made
hits They are: “I’m Gonna Sit
Right Down And Write Myself a
Letter”, "Two Sleepy People ”, "I
Can’t Give You Anything But
Love”, “It’s a Sin To Teif a Lie”
and “Honeysuckle Rose".
Ife
Men with dreams From their boy
hood into manhood, they planned
and dreamed of flying On Dec 17 •
1903 in Kitty Hawk. North Carolina
their dream came true Orville and
Wilbur Wright flew into history THE
FLIGHT BROTHERS, a musical
drama, celebrates their lives and
their triumph Written by Nonh
Carolinian Bill Ries. THE FLIGHT
BROTHERS, was produced for UNC
TV by the Carolina Regional Theatre
Wed. Feb. 13. 8:00 pm
Channel 58
UNC-TV
CELEDRATES
NORTH CAROLINA!
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Th* «1 fry rtw UWC TV Nftworfc Md (fc. Co.po.Kwo to, MHl •'urtc.n.O'