Rockin'

Residents of the Jewish Home for Aged's Fleischman
.006. Residence sit for Alzheimer's research.

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

Lillian Braunstein adds a classical touch to JHA's rock-a-thon.

DETRO IT JEWISH NEWS

Ethyl Glickstein, 82, "rocks" around the clock for the
Alzheimer's Association.

14

Sylvia Shapiro, 82, "rocks" with the West Bloomfield High
School pom-pon squad.

ick Jagger, get real.
You're only 50. Get a
load of the 80- and 90-
year-olds at Fleisch-
man Residence arid Hechtman
Federation Apartments . . . Now
that's some serious rockin'.
On Sunday, nearly 30 elder-
ly Jews took a seat — and a
stand — for Alzheimer's re-
search. Alzheimer's, a debili-
tating disease causing memory

loss and cognitive impairment,
strikes approximately one in 20
people over the age of 65.
In Greater Detroit, there are
60,000 victims of the disease.
Borman Hall nursing home
treats 17. Though there is no
known cure, progress has been
made in tempering less acute
cases.
Originally, Jewish Home for
Aged had wanted to sponsor a

walk-a-thon to benefit the
Alzheimer's Association, which
conducts research and provides
information about the disease.
Problem is, many Fleischman
and Hechtman residents have
difficulty walking long dis-
tances. JHA decided to sponsor
a "rock-a-thon" instead.
There were heavy metal
rockers ... and wicker rockers
and wooden rockers — all do-

nated by metro Detroiters. A
rainbow of balloons decorated
Blumberg Plaza at Fleischman,
where residents and spectators
gathered.
Residents rocked back and
forth to a repertoire of oldies like
"Jail House Rock," played on
the piano by Marlene Nessel.
The West Bloomfield High
School pom-pon squad chanted
a spirited refrain to: "Rock-It,"
a cheer they wrote especially for
the event.
The rock-a-thon, which
raised more than $1,400, hit
particularly close to home for
people like 82-year-old Ethyl
Glickstein, a resident of Hecht-
man, who says a lot of her
friends and friends' parents suf-
fer from the disease.
West Bloomfield High School
pom-pon squad captains Jodi
Levin and Debbie Eskin said
the event held importance —
even for teen-agers.
"It makes us feel real good to
get these people moving be-
cause a lot of times they sit
around," Debbie said. Her

grandmother, Tillie Eskin from
Hechtman Apartments, at-
tended the event.
Rocker Lillian Braunstein,
an octogenarian who has stud-
ied piano since childhood,
switched hats to make a cameo
musical appearance while 83-
year-old Sylvia Shapiro jumped
up from her rocker and cheered
with the pom-pon squad.
The spunkly Fleischman res-
ident, who remembers her days
as a cheerleader, had just re-
turned from the hospital where
she was being treated for heart
problems.
"The doctor wanted me to
stay longer, but I begged him to
let me out for this event," Mrs.
Shapiro said.
Among the rockers were
three young ones: Cady Kaas,
8, and the Weiss children,
Samantha, 11, and Jeffrey, 9.
Said mother Linda Weiss:
'1 wanted my children to par-
ticipate because they should al-
ways remember older people.
One day, they're going to be
old." ❑

