The Connections Bridgewater-Somerville April 2019

The Dessert Plate Baked Goods from Scratch 34 E. Main Street, Somerville, NJ 08876 908-722-9881 info@thedessertplate.com www.thedessertplate.com Tue-Fri: 7am-5pm • Sat-Sun: 8am-1pm (closed last Sunday of each month) Monday: Closed Baked goods from scratch, the old fashioned way with real ingredients, butter, flour, sugar, eggs. For celebrations, for special occasions, for new traditions, for any time… Enjoy! Do you know what you want to do when you get old? Remember how Woody Allen’s 1977 classic Annie Hall made you laugh when you were… younger than you are now? How would the film play if the characters were older? What would the message be? New Yorker Matt Starr and his partner Ellie Sachs conceived a remake, engaging older adults in their version, My Annie Hall, casting 94-year-old Harry Miller and Shula Chernick, 74, in starring roles. Woody Allen now 83, gives the film his blessing. “I can only say that it is no fun getting older. It’s not that you mellow and get wise. What you get is arthritis.” Filmed in the Upper East Side’s Lenox Hill area with talented “stars” from the local senior center, the film, written and directed by Starr and Sachs is a wonderful look at life from an older person’s perspective…demonstrating that you can get more out of life than arthritis! My Annie Hall has been showing to sold out audiences in NYC and northern New Jersey. Starr and Sachs were featured on CBS Sunday Morning, and have had extensive coverage in print media for their creative talent. It comes as no surprise that Matt Starr, 30, would take an interest in older adults. His father, Jerry Starr, LCSW has been the Execu- tive Director of Jewish Family Service of Som- erset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties for the past 11 years. Mr. Starr has built his career in service to older adults and under his direction has grown JFS’s Senior Program providing a wide range of services to frail elderly living in the tri-county area. Matt Starr credits his grandmother for his concept of My Annie Hall. He recognized that despite failing cogni- tive function as she aged, she still remem- bered lines from movies and plays and that cheered her. Why not cast older adults in clas- sic films and see how they can bring a new energy, meaning and humor to some of the same famous lines? In a perfect pairing, award winning New York Times journalist, John Leland has been joining Matt Starr and Ellie Sachs, often accompanied by Harry Miller and Shula Chernick “on tour” with My Annie Hall. Leland frequently writes about issues related to aging. In his NYT best- selling book Happiness is a Choice You Make: Lessons From a Year Among the Old- est Old, Leland writes about his in depth expe- riences with six people aged 85 and older. They taught him” lessons of resilience, grati- tude, purpose and perspective that apply to people of any age. All had lost something – spouses, mobility, their keen eyesight or hear- ing. But none had lost everything. And they defined their lives by the things they could still do, not by what they had lost.” Leland, will moderate the Third Annual JFS Spring Symposium and Brunch on Sunday, April 28, 2019 10am-12:30pm at the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC, 775 Talamini Road. Reservations are required for the program and brunch and can be made by calling JFS at 908 725-7729 or registering on line at https:/JewishFamilySvc.Org/Symposium. Program and brunch, catered by Chef Jeff, are $36, with all proceeds going to support Senior Services Programs at JFS. This is a remarkable work you won’t want to miss, and it will be a sellout. Please register early! And in case you think this is a program for older adults, please reconsider… this is a feel good program for anyone, of any age, and a welcome opportunity to think about what YOU want to do when YOU get older. “The good news about old age is that there is good news,” Leland says. Check out this My Annie Hall Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wdflbvn5w0 JFS is a not for profit, nonsectarian social serv- ice agency serving the needs of individuals and families in Somerset, Hunterdon and War- ren Counties since 1980. JFS is committed to serving the needs of the entire community and offers a continuum of programs and serv- ices. Licensed clinical social workers provide individual, couple and family counseling as well as geriatric assessments, supportive coun - seling and case management services for home bound elderly. The Family Mentor Pro - gram recruits, trains and matches volunteers with vulnerable young families or with elderly persons for friendly, supportive, in-home vis - its; Families with children with special needs are assisted through social groups, paren t groups and through the Family Mentor Pro - gram. Career Counseling helps individuals in many aspects of their job search. Ohr Tikvah - Light of Hope Jewish Healing Services offers presentations, support groups, and individua l spiritual counseling to address the health , wellness and healing needs of the community . All information is confidential. Many programs are at no cost, on a sliding fee scale or payable through third party insurance. If you are inter - ested in learning more about JFS’ programs , please contact us at 908-725-7799, visit our website: www.JewishFamilySvc.org, like us on Facebook. Jewish Family Service of SHW, Inc . 150-A West High Street, Somerville, NJ 08876. CHOOSING HAPPINESS: MY ANNIE HALL By: Ruth Edelman, LCSW PAGE 57 www.theconnectionsnj.com / " %& .2! + -,',, ! -.'/, "% $ " ) " " % - 221 + " ' $ " $ !! '* $ % # ( * % " " $ 3,2)1.0)1133 $ " #$ " ) ) # "& $ # " " !% " ) # )+ " /0$ # ! " $ ## .322 4 $%" "# ( " $ * % $) $ ", & + " $$ " $ ) # $$ $ "", # %## " $ " + ' " "$ " %$ " $ #$ " " shop somerville