February 2020 Issue

How to Live to 100

As I entered my 60s, I became more interested in how to live a long and healthy life. Most people would like to increase their lifespans, but even more important is increasing your health span. Health span is the number of years in which you live without chronic diseases and are able to carry on your normal life tasks independently. What can we learn about increasing both lifespan and health span from centenarians? Boston University is conducting one major study, the New England Centenarian Study. Areas of the world that have the largest numbers of centenarians are called Blue Zones. Researchers are also doing experiments with animals on diet and

Are Nutritional Deficiencies to Blame for Your Symptoms?

Are you feeling run down with no get up and go? Are you having trouble sleeping? Do you feel like you can’t focus? Is your acne, psoriasis, eczema getting worse and you’ve tried every topical remedy out there? Is your brain in a fog; do your anxiety and depression seem to be taking over? Is your weight creeping up and you can’t seem to lose those stubborn pounds no matter what you do? There might be hidden nutrient deficiencies underlying your symptoms. We think we’re eating right and taking the right supplements for our health, but do we really know what we need, and how much, and the quality of

Crowd Thrilling Grand Prix Eventing Returns to the Aiken Horse Park

Olympic-bound riders and horses expected to compete “The whole purpose behind a showcase eventing competition is the spectators,” enthuses Kate Boggan, Aiken Horse Park’s director of marketing and communications. “We want to get non- horse people to come out and see what it’s all about,” she says of the event slated for February 28 and 29. Grand Prix Eventing is a condensed version of eventing, a demanding competition that is often described as a triathlon on horseback. In the two-day showcase format, each horse and rider combination performs a dressage test of graceful movements to demonstrate training and precision. Later that day, the same horse and rider pairs compete in

Finding Her Art & Soul in Glass | Bella’s Featured Artist Stacy O’Sullivan

From a young age, Stacy O’Sullivan had all the right tools to become an artist. “I grew up in Laguna Beach in southern California. It’s an art town and was really in full bloom when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s,” she recalls with a smile. Her father was a water-colorist and she felt fortunate to live in “a little bedroom community full of artists” and have a dad who encouraged their creativity by making sure Stacy and her siblings “always had access to clay, paint, and pens and ink — whatever we wanted to try.” Her interest in glass art came about in an unusual way

Growing Up Black in an Earlier Aiken | Longtime residents recall black proprietorships

Bill McGhee, 83, smiles as he reminisces about his childhood days in Aiken. “In the 1940s the alley was a playground for us. Bobby Brooks, whose family owned Jackson Brooks Funeral Home [now located on Fairfield Street with a second location in New Ellenton], and I were best friends and we loved to play marbles there.” He describes the shooters, the large metal marbles they called steelies, and all the different colors they collected. “The alley was ideal for playing marbles because it was dirt,” he says, adding, “Later on, when I moved to Philadelphia, I missed playing marbles. You can’t play marbles on pavement because they just keep going.”

So I Sang | The women and songs in the life of country singer Darius Rucker aka “Hootie”

Music is what feelings sound like. Unknown His brothers never seemed to grow tired of tormenting him about his taste in music. Tired of hearing him defend himself, his mother came through the door in time to pick up where he left off. She scolded the siblings to leave him alone as she slumped into her chair — she was lucky no one was in it. With 18 people living in the three bedroom house at times, there was little space to claim as your own. His mom looked tired from working extra hours as a nurse at Medical University of South Carolina. The boy knew they were far from

Knights of the Heart Table | Aiken’s 2020 Heart Show

It all started with a fashion show. A fashion show and a dream of lowering the risk of heart disease for all Americans. After losing her mother to heart disease, Aiken’s Eleanor Bookstaver was determined to make a difference. Bookstaver founded the Aiken Women’s Heart Board in 1968 with the goal of raising funds for the American Heart Association. After calling on the Aiken community for support, Bookstaver made a bold move. She contacted an acquaintance for help. That acquaintance just happened to be First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. Mrs. Eisenhower enthusiastically agreed to be a founding member of the board. The new Aiken Women’s Heart Board held its first benefit,

Bella Fella | La ballade de Kelvin Jenkins

acte un Once upon a time, let’s say 1985, back when kids still played outside, A boy named Kelvin Jenkins could be seen ‘round town, out for a bike ride. South Boundary was his preferred path; how he wished to someday live on that road. So he vowed to own a house under those sleepy oak trees, someday, perhaps, when he was old. Then he’d pedal on home, to his family and kin, where he’d play with his neighbor and best buddy, Jimjim. “My dad,” Kelvin tells me, “he almost went into the NBA. He was a basketball star; he’s even up on the wall at the Etherredge Center. And

The Gift of Love | A Community Love Story

This is a love story. It is a story of a group of people who love Aiken and the people who call Aiken home. It is about friends who were frustrated when they saw too many local needs not being met. It is a story of individuals who decided it was time to do something about it. The inspiration for the Gifting Tree Foundation was found in several heartfelt conversations. Most of the people in this conversation first met while serving together on a nonprofit board in Aiken. Professionally they are quite different – small business owners, retirees, professionals – but in their hearts they all hold the belief that