BRAIN: Preventing memory lapses

Exercise, get enough sleep, decrease stress, eat a Mediterranean diet, avoid head trauma, challenge your brain with puzzles or learning new skills, get enough Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, and get involved in the community.
That was the prescription for reversing brain atrophy that my doctor, Dr. Mary-Anne Ost, outlined in a fascinating lecture at the Jenners Pond retirement community in West Grove on July 22.
Dr. Ost started her talk by saying that the hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays a vital role in maintaining a person's memory, atrophies by 0.5% per year starting at age 40. A disturbed murmur immediately spread through the room as people calculated whether they had any hippocampal tissue left.
But she then went on to outline how research has shown that you can slow and even reverse the decline by taking the steps I mentioned in the first sentence. I was delighted to see that I have most of them covered; in fact, after the talk I went straight to the gym and later that evening did a particularly challenging crossword puzzle.
The audience had numerous questions after the talk, mostly about how various medications might help or hinder brain health.
I enjoyed the lecture very much. Dr. Ost said that given the prevalence of concussions in equestrians -- and the negative impact head trauma has on the brain -- she'd like to give the talk to horse people locally.
A few days after the talk I saw a friend of mine who is also a patient of Dr. Ost's and told her how interesting the talk was. "Oh, I forgot about that!" she exclaimed.

HOSTS: Dinner party nerves

Maybe you receive continuing education catalogs in the mail like I do. I browsed through one this afternoon and was amused at a blurb for a cooking class in which students would learn how to "impress even the most critical dinner guests."
My first thought: Who on earth would invite even potentially critical dinner guests to their home?

KENNETT: In the middle of the street

I witnessed a near-miss while driving on East Cypress Street near Willow Street Tuesday evening (yes, on my way to the Kennett Y). The driver in the left lane was not going fast enough for the impatient motorist behind him or her (who was driving a car with a Maryland tag), so Mr. or Ms. Maryland pulled abruptly into the right lane to pass on the right. Unfortunately, he or she didn't see that two young men were crossing Cypress Street. The pedestrians scurried, the driver honked his horn, the pedestrians gestured.
It could have been really ugly. Perhaps the Maryland driver didn't realize that a significant percentage of the drivers in the left lane are NOT going to speed through town because they're going to turn onto Race Street and go to the Y. You're asking for trouble if you pass on a busy street in the middle of town.

LONDONDERRY: Stars and planets

My friend Kevin Witman of Cochranville will be "starring" in an astronomy evening outside the Londonderry Township building, 103 Daleville Road, starting at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21. Kevin will bring along his amazingly powerful telescopes. I went to one of these stargazing evenings a few years ago, and there's something astonishing about actually being able to see planets and stars that are so far away. It helps that Kevin is such a patient and enthusiastic guide.

BIKES: Cyclists and people who love them

I wanted to share the following message from my pal Michael Guttman:
"Hi! I am working with Kennett Township and Kennett Square Borough to plan and develop a comprehensive system of bikeways and trails to make bike and pedestrian travel around the area easier and safer. Right now I am looking for people who would like to create and grow a volunteer bicycle advocacy group for the Kennett Area. If you are interested, please contact me by email at michael.guttman@kennett.pa.us."

SWEDEN: We'll miss you, Anne!

It's hardly fair: these big international companies like AstraZeneca bring wonderful people over here to the States for a few years and then have the nerve to take them back! I know that many, many people will miss Anne Grogaard and her family, who have endeared themselves to us during their three-year stint. They packed up their house in Chadds Ford and returned to Stockholm, Sweden, just last week.

READING: Thad Pennock at work

I am so enjoying "Necessary Vengeance," a thriller written by Unionville native Clipper LaMotte. I usually have a tough time keeping fictional characters straight, but in this book both the good guys and bad guys are described so vividly that I have no problem remembering who is who.
I just finished reading an exciting chapter in which an FBI agent gets to a Philadelphia storage locker and snags a briefcase literally seconds ahead of a very shady personal assistant who is on the take.
The local references -- part of the book takes place in Chester County "horse country"-- are fun and accurate. My go-to pleasure reading usually involves quaint English villages from many years ago, so it's refreshing to read a novel in which cell phones and Google are vital parts of life.

EGGS: Two answers to a bedeviling problem

Two readers responded to my item about the challenges of making perfect deviled eggs.
Said one: "I seldom make deviled eggs, but years ago I was instructed that the best solution to the 'overly adherent shells' phenomenon is to use eggs that are a couple of weeks old."
Another noted that Giant sells precooked, pre-peeled eggs from Sauder's Eggs: "10 to a bag for under $3.00." I looked up this company's website and it was like they were speaking directly to me: "Forget the frustrations of undercooking, overcooking, or peeling eggs - it's already done for you!"

LONGWOOD: A fresh look

We are so accustomed to having Longwood Garden close by that we're as familiar with the Italian Water Gardens, the Acacia Walkway, and the Eye of Water as we are with our own backyards. So it was good to get a fresh perspective from an earnest first-time visitor. Over dinner on Saturday, she told us she was amazed at the huge variety of plants there and marveled at how meticulously the gardens are maintained. She was also fascinated by the technology involved in keeping everything at the right temperature and humidity level. She even watched the Longwood Gardens movie! When was the last time you watched the movie? I'm not sure I ever have!

NIXON PARK: Blues band takes the stage

The July 13 free concert at Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett had a smaller-than-usual attendance because of the iffy weather, but the rain held off for the show by Jane Lee Hooker, a five-woman blues band from New York City. We were amazed at the way they maintained their sky-high, hard-rocking energy level throughout their 90-minute set (no intermission). They must have been absolutely sweltering up there on the stage. The lead singer, Dana Athens, said they'd be selling CDs after the show as well as shirts with the band's logo -- and the shirts would be dry, "unlike ours."