European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 14 stars and stripes sunday april 1 2007 holocaust survivors gather for pre Holiday seder in by by Verena Down he the associated press new York Lola Pinch essm Vail celebrate passover with her own idea about which bread is special to her As a jew and its not just matzo the unleavened Centrepiece of the Holiday meal during the holocaust we dreamed about eating a whole loaf of regular bread says the 83yearold who All but starved at the hands of the nazis while losing her parents and five siblings a few Days before passover which starts monday at Sundown Pinch essm joined several dozen other holocaust survivors at a Manhattan synagogue for a pre Holiday seder the ritual dinner that will be served this week in jewish Homes during the seder jews commemorate the Cal account of their ancestors passage from slavery in ancient Egypt to a new life in what is today Israel on this sunny Spring afternoon no one would have guessed the dark past of the men and women chatting and laughing As they sat at round tables eat ing their roasted entrees we celebrate what happened in Egypt and that a Good ending but we should remember what happened in our time said Pinch essm add ing that was not a Good ending before the War passover meant her mothers Home cooked matzo balls later it meant passing from the Edge of death to life in a new world Kicz essm and her family had been herded from their Large Art filled apartment into the jewish ghetto in Lodz Poland where barbed wire and nazi guards kept watch and occasionally shot some one at whim her father a talmudic scholar and Tex tile merchant died there of illness in Auschwitz the teenager heard her mothers last words before the nazis separated the two she said to me you Are a Young woman for you is the whole world i didst see her a second later or Ever again eighteen Skinny and naked she faced a Young German Soldier prodding her and others toward the Gas Chambers in German she told the Soldier Ich bin 18 Ich Kann Arbeiter meaning i am 181 can work the words saved her she was sent to a nazi am munition factory from there she was transported to the theresine Stadt Camp which was liberated by the russians on May 81945 after the War i was angry at god i am angry now too she said but she smiled As she spoke of celebrating pass Over with her married daughter in Fairlawn no and her grandchildren i enjoy passover at my daughters especially be cause of the children she said but deep inside i dont believe the Mosbach the Messiah will come if s a Bubble Meise she said yiddish for old wives tale video games Arent just for those Young folks anymore by Kathy Hanrahan the associated press Jackson Dier Bach lived video Gam free until her retirement Community introduced her to the interactive con sole Nintendo Wii Dierbach a 72yearold who lives in Lincolnshire he has be come an avid video game Bowler since the Community got the Wii in december Wii system players use a Remote to control game action when playing sports games this Means moving the controller As if you Are rolling a Ball Down the Lane or swinging a baseball Bat it is so easy that anybody can do it some of us older people that Arent As Mobile can do it Dier Bach told the associated press in a Telephone interview it is not like lifting a 16pound Bowling Ball and sending it Down the Lane Dierbach is one of a growing number of Gray gamers peo ple 50 years and older who Are spending their free time playing video games Sedgebrook Village has been hooked on Wii holding tournaments for gamers to show their Smus and win trophies for top scores residents have been getting interactive with boxing Golf and Bowling All in the Comfort of their Al purpose room Dierbach said the games pro vide a form of exercise and hand Eye coordination she thinks it has also helped people socialize and keep their minds Sharp Rogero v blues legend by King uses his Laptop computer to play a few hands of solitaire or other similar card games to relax it is a Little brain exercise you have to know when your turn is Dierbach said residents at Sedge Brooks Sis Ter facility in Springfield a also have gotten hooked Mel Tansill spokesman for bal timor based Erickson retire ment communities which owns the two communities said the Wii will be introduced in upcoming weeks to All 18 Erickson proper ties it really is a test of reflexes tenacity teamwork there is a lot of socialization As groups of people Are playing this it is very invigorating it is a Good solid activity for people of All Ages Tansill said by King is a Gray gamer when the blues legend wants to forget about music for a while he turns on his Silver Laptop and plays a few hands of solitaire when you play games that you enjoy it can take your mind off of All of the problems you have i even forget about music when i am fooling with that he said dominoes solitaire hearts and Spades Are the 81yearold Itta Bena natives favourites some experts think video games could help delay or ease the effects of alzheimer disease or other illnesses there is an emerging Consen sus among researchers that cognitive exercise can play a critical role in healthy aging said Ben Sawyer Confounder and director of the games for health project the serious games initiative created the games for health project to design games for Vari Ous aspects of health care con duct studies and research Poten tial uses of existing games in healthcare settings an estimated 47 percent of Ca sual gamers Are Gray people 50 years of age or older totalling 70 million said Garth Chouteau a spokesman for pop Cap games Lenny it Oliver a korean War Veteran sits in his bunk with his dog Duke at the homeless shelter for veterans in san Diego Duke is trained to assist Oliver when he suffers a seizure according to the department of veterans affairs there Are about 195000 homeless veterans on any Given night need greater than Supply of Beds for homeless veterans by Thomas Watkins the associated press san Diego with warmer temperatures arriving the giant tent that 150 veterans called Home for the Winter months is being packed away for most of us if s Back on the streets says Marvin Britton a former military policeman who been crisscrossing the country since leaving the army in 1971 after three Vietnam combat Tours the battered tent pitched on a Navy parking lot is reflective of a problem that almost certainly will Worsen As More troops come Home from Iraq and Afghanistan and leave Active duty there Arent enough Beds for those who end up homeless we All feel like we Are fighting against a clock said Toni Reinis who runs new directions inc a los Angeles substance abuse Cen Ter providing residential and out patient care for homeless vets were absolutely gearing up for a surge no one knows for sure How Many homeless there Are Esti mates vary from hundreds of thousands to millions according to the department of veterans affairs there Are about 195000 homeless veterans on any Given night the a last fall estimated a shortfall of 9600 transitional Beds for those vets these Are accommodations meant to serve As a stepping Stone from the streets to Independent living the a has secured funding for up to 1800 Beds to be added by the end of this year and is seek ing million More from con Gress for More Beds its a very very High priority said Peter Dougherty the Vas director of homeless programs there Are safety nets for Mili tary personnel when they leave the service for example they get free health care for two years and while there were no a funded programs catering to homeless vets until 1987 there now Are More than 200 Dougherty said the a also has increased the number of health clinics and employs about 230 outreach workers who specifically look out for homeless veterans Dougherty said the Agency goal is to catch problems Early be fore veterans end up on the Street sin the last two years the a has classified 1049 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans As at risk of homelessness of those about 300 ended up losing their Homes Dougherty said it can take up to eight years and sometimes longer for veterans to exhaust options and end up on the streets
