03/17/05

LC050317

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

Is someone you know too old to drive? Now there's an easy way
to test them.

Joann Basham>> I take it as a challenge. I go back to the
drawing board and see where did I flub, where am I weak, where
am I strong and just assess what I can do to improve maybe.
Maybe I won't be able to improve. Who knows? This is an
assessment. You don't know what's going to turn out.

Val>> And then, classical dance with a Middle Eastern flair.
This teacher carried a proud family tradition from Iran to
Glendale.

It's all coming up next on tonight's Life and Times.

Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> As the American population ages, more and more elderly
drivers will be getting behind the wheel and the question
arises: At what point do they give up their driver's licenses?
And how do you know whether you're too old to drive? Well, now
there's a way to test your knowledge and reaction. As Toni
Guinyard tells us, it's a CD-Rom that allows you to test
yourself in the privacy and safety of your own home.

Toni Guinyard>> Motorists in California are sharing the road
with an increasing number of older drivers, some of them more
aware than others that, with age, their skills behind the wheel
are changing.

Otto Schnepp>> I have decided to be a little more cautious and
more patient than I used to be. I don't push, I wait it out.
When I'm in doubt if I should go through the yellow light or
not, I stop.

Toni Guinyard>> Do you still drive?

Solang Bourjoly>> I still drive.

Toni Guinyard>> Do you see any changes in the way you drive?

Solang Bourjoly>> Not yet.

Toni Guinyard>> The thought of someday giving up the cars keys
--

Otto Schnepp>> It is a fear, yes. No question about it.

Toni Guinyard>> -- is something many older drivers would rather
not think about. Driving provides them freedom.

Solang Bourjoly>> I like to be in that groove, to look at the
sky, that I be going. I find peace.

Toni Guinyard>> In an effort to put the emphasis on safer
driving for seniors, the American Automobile Association, AAA,
developed "Roadwise Review". It's a computer program allowing
older drivers a way to self-assess their driving ability.

Narrator>> "This program from AAA tests a range of physical and
mental abilities indispensable to safe driving. By using the
program every year or so, you can stay on top of any changes in
your safe driving abilities."

Toni Guinyard>> The forty minute long computer program is aimed
at helping older motorists determine not only if they have the
skills to continue driving, but also help them continue driving
safely.

Patrice Frazier>> We have found that, like teens who are over-
represented in terms of crashes, when we get in the eighties,
eighty-five, we begin to see seniors more over-represented in
terms of crashes.

Toni Guinyard>> An accident in July 2003 in which an eighty-six
year old man crashed his car into the Santa Monica Farmers
Market opened debate and refocused attention on older drivers.
But the Automobile Club of Southern California's Patrice Frazier
says the accident was not the reason the computer assessment
program was created.

Patrice Frazier>> Our research started well before that
incident occurred.

Toni Guinyard>> In 1999, AAA began conducting research on older
drivers and found most did not realize the effects of aging on
driving ability. From that research came the development of
"Roadwise Review".

Patrice Frazier>> There are eight tests that we put into it.

>> "I'm ready."

Patrice Frazier>> Neck flexibility.

>> "Look now".

Patrice Frazier>> Cognitive skills, working memory.

[Film Clip]

Patrice Frazier>> Visual acuity. All of these things are very
necessary for safe driving. I will tell you that the first time
I took it, I realized that it was no walk in the park and
actually, if you don't pay attention, there are certain aspects
of working memory that -- you know, it's a challenge.

Joann Basham>> I take it as a challenge. I go back to the
drawing board and see where did I flub, where am I weak, where
am I strong and just assess what I can do to improve maybe.
Maybe I won't be able to improve. Who knows? This is an
assessment. You don't know what's going to turn out.

Toni Guinyard>> We invited Joann Basham, Otto Schnepp and
Solang Bourjoly to test their driving skills using "Roadwise
Review". We met them at the Center for Healthy Aging in Santa
Monica, one of hundreds of community senior centers at libraries
statewide where seniors can use donated copies of the computer
program free of charge.

Narrator>> "This helps you with blind spots every time you back
up, change lanes or merge."

Toni Guinyard>> The program is narrated by a host who guides
users through the exercises and tests. Some segments like this
one testing reflexes require a partner's help.

[Film Clip]

Patrice Frazier>> This is a perfect opportunity for the seniors
themselves to really gauge where they're going as well as to
have a companion or a loved one with them observe.

Toni Guinyard>> Observe in a non-threatening environment while
drivers are able to do the exercise and take the test in the
comfort and privacy of their home.

Joann Basham>> Testing myself is just like the honor system. I
like that. I can relax and really test myself.

Toni Guinyard>> As opposed to having someone like me looking
and watching the whole time (laughter)?

Joann Basham>> Actually, I feel quite safe with you. But if
you were with the Motor Vehicle Bureau, I would be very nervous
(laughter).

Toni Guinyard>> As with any other test, results are presented,
conclusions are drawn.

Patrice Frazier>> It will tell you whether or not you have an
impairment at all, whether or not it's mild or severe, and it
will also recommend certain mitigating activities that you can
do. It could be something like you need a cushion to sit on.
You need to be able to see over the steering wheel. It may be
as simple as exercises, a new prescription for your eyeglasses.
It may be planning your trip. It may be altering the times that
you're going to drive, the route that you're going to take.

Otto Schnepp>> I know, for example, a number of seniors who say
they do not drive at night anymore and I respect that. I think
that's wonderful that they make this judgment and don't want to
endanger themselves and others, so they limit what they can do.
Others restrict themselves to neighborhood driving or don't go
on freeways.

Toni Guinyard>> Rather than limit the mobility of seniors, the
Auto Club is working to expand transportation options as part of
its senior mobility initiative.

Patrice Frazier>> It doesn't have to be the end of the road if
you are unable to continue driving.

Otto Schnepp>> I am ignorant at this point concerning the
public transportation system. It has been growing slowly, but
still growing. I know, though, that it is there and it's a
comfort.

Toni Guinyard>> While public transportation might be a comfort,
according to Frazier, it's not the only solution to helping the
aging driving public.

Patrice Frazier>> I think what has happened recently is we're
all realizing that the baby boomer generation [inaudible]. We
need to make sure that there are products and services that
cater to all as we age and "Roadwise Review" is a beginning.

Narrator>> "You rely on this ability to read signs, to
recognize pavement markings that guide your path as you drive
and to detect many types of hazards in or near the road."

Joann Basham>> Be gentle with yourself. Don't be scared.
You're better than you think, so take the test.

Toni Guinyard>> Learn more about your strengths and weaknesses
behind the wheel while seated at the computer. I'm Toni
Guinyard for Life and Times.

Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and
Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts
and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most
interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life
and Times".

Val>> He's considered the greatest writer of western culture,
but could it be that William Shakespeare as we know him never
wrote a play in his life? That "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet"
were actually the work of a more educated writer or writers?
Well, the debate has been going on for years, but now a top
attorney has turned his scrutinizing mind on the evidence. His
book is called "Players: The Mysterious Identity of William
Shakespeare" and the author is Bert Fields. I talked with him
at his Century City office about why he believes the man from
Stratford-upon-Avon is, alas, probably not the genius many
believe he is. Bert Fields, thank you for spending a little
time with Life and Times.

Bert Fields>> You're welcome.

Val>> You have written a book that raises a question that many
scholars don't want raised and that is that William Shakespeare
was not the true author behind the amazing body of literature
that we know as Shakespeare's.

Bert Fields>> Well, the book explores the question of was he.
It tries not to take a hard and fast position as so many people
do. But you're right. Academics and many, many Shakespearean
scholars believe there is no question at all. I think they're
wrong and the book raises the question of is there a question
rather than answering that question. I think very strongly that
there is a question.

Val>> That Shakespeare we think of, the man from Stratford,
actually wrote them. You're saying maybe not?

Bert Fields>> I say it's more probably not, that he did not
write them alone. I think he had something to do with them, but
I don't think that he wrote them. I think it was a combination,
but can I prove it? Absolutely not.

Val>> So what is the strongest piece of evidence that you found
that suggests Shakespeare did not write these?

Bert Fields>> Well, it's hard to pick out one single thing
because there are so many. For example, the knowledge in the
plays is so enormous and in so many varied fields. Shakespeare
would have had to speak colloquial French, courtly French,
Italian because many of the words he used were not even
translated and, in the plays, you see the use of French. This
is a guy who, at most, went to the sixth grade. So far as we
know, he was never outside of England. How did he learn those
things? There are naval terms. There are terms about falconry.
There are military terms, legal terms, things you would think he
couldn't possibly know.

Then there are the sonnets. Shakespeare died in 1616. In 1609,
his sonnets were published. They were not dedicated the way
works were usually dedicated by the author. They were dedicated
by somebody who published them and it is dedicated to "our ever-
living poet". That's a quote. Now that's not a phrase you
would use about somebody that was still alive. "Our ever-living
poet" means a guy who's died and who lives on through his works.
Why did they say that if the Stratford guy had written these
sonnets, because he was still alive? Why would you say that?
Why wouldn't he have dedicated the book himself?

But there are many, many more -- his will. His will is the will
of a small-town tough-minded trader. He leaves his silver gilt
bowl to somebody, his sword to somebody, his second best bed to
his wife. Not a mention of literary property. Now here's a guy
who --

Val>> -- nothing? No mention of homes --

Bert Fields>> -- nothing, none of the plays. Here's a guy who
writes thirty-six plays and a bunch of them have not even been
published, so they were valuable literary material. They are
not mentioned in his will. You say why not? Another fact.
When he died in 1616, William Shakespeare, the poet and
playwright, was famous throughout England. There is not a
mention by anyone on the death of this guy in Stratford, that
William Shakespeare had died.

There's a book published called "The Annals of Stratford" for
that year. It doesn't mention his death. Now this is William
Shakespeare who wrote this fantastic body of work --

Val>> -- and who was famous in his day, who was a celebrity.
So it would be like a major celebrity dying now and no one --

Bert Fields>> -- that's right. Nobody mentioned it. When Ben
Johnson died, when famous actors died, there was huge mourning
throughout England. William Shakespeare died, if he was the
Stratford man, not a word, not a word. There's a fellow named
William Camden who wrote a book called "Stratford Worthies" in
the sixteenth century. He doesn't mention the Stratford guy.
He wasn't even considered a Stratford Worthy.

Val>> So who might be --

Bert Fields>> Well, it could be the Earl of Oxford. He did
have a naval and military background, who did engage in
falconry, who was a highly educated man who wrote plays, who
knew French, knew Italian, traveled widely. Could be Oxford.
Could be Marlowe. Everybody thinks Marlowe was murdered in, I
think, 1594.

Val>> Christopher Marlowe.

Bert Fields>> Christopher Marlowe. He may not have been
murdered at all. If you follow the facts of his supposed death,
he could have gone off. He was wanted, in essence, and could
have been burned at the stake for his heretical views. Before
that happened, he could have been smuggled off to Italy and he
could have written the Shakespearean plays. I said could have
because nobody can prove this stuff.

Val>> There's an a theory that Elizabeth I might have had a
hand in some of these plays?

Bert Fields>> Well, there's a fellow here. This is called
"Shakespeare, the Mystery" and his theory is that Queen
Elizabeth wrote Shakespeare. I think that's extremely unlikely
for a lot of reasons. But as I say in the book, quoting
somebody else, wouldn't it be pretty to think so?

Val>> So in the end, you do not come to a definite conclusion
that it wasn't the Stratford man, that it was so and so? But
you're pretty convinced it wasn't the Stratford man and you
think perhaps it might have been a combination of other people.
But why did they hide the fact that they wrote such wonderful
literature?

Bert Fields>> A nobleman really could not write for the public
theatre in his own name. The public theatre was reviled. It
was a place that was filled with hookers and pickpockets.

Val>> Oh, it was low-class, burlesque.

Bert Fields>> It was just low-class. Really, if the Queen knew
about it, if he didn't use his own name, he could probably get
away with it if it was somebody like Oxford or some other
powerful person. But he wouldn't dare do it under his own name.
There's a fellow named Roger Manners, the Earl of Rutland. It's
Rutland that the French like. A French author says if you look
at the records of the University of Padua, for the fifteenth
century, he gives the date when Roger Manners, the Earl of
Rutland, was studying at the University of Padua. He had
classmates named Rosencranz and Gildenstern who were the two
characters from Hamlet. The only thing is, it isn't true
(laughter).

We went to the University of Padue and you can see that Roger
Manners is there on the day he says, but you can look ten years
on either side and there's no Rosencranz and Gildenstern. Now
Rosencranz and Gildenstern did go to the University of
Wittenberg, which is where Shakespeare has them go, and it could
be that this writer got his notes mixed up and confused the two
universities, or maybe not.

Val>> So that's why it remains a mystery and that's why it's
called "Players: The Mysterious Identity of William
Shakespeare". Still a bit of a mystery, but we're getting
closer perhaps.

Bert Fields>> I'm not so sure we're getting closer. T.S. Eliot
said one thing we can be sure about. We will be wrong about
Shakespeare in some new way.

Val>> (Laughter) That's a good way to put it. On the other
hand, Shakespeare by any other name is still fantastic.

Bert Fields>> Would still smell as sweet.

Val>> Beautiful literature. Bert Fields, thank you so much for
delving into the past for us.

Bert Fields>> Thank you.

To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us
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Life and Times
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You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or
contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val>> Her love of dance is rooted halfway around the world in
Iran. That's where her father first had a ballet studio. Now
Anna Djanbazian is following in her father's footsteps and
teaching scores of youngsters in Glendale the art of classical
dance. We meet her in this story from the Life and Times Vault
produced by Glendale City Television.

Anna Djanbazian>> My name is Anna Djanbazian, teacher, dancer,
choreographer. I was born in Tehran. I'm Armenian. I always
loved dancing. I don't know where this comes from, probably
from my dad. Our studio and house was the same. Most of the
time, I was spending my time watching dad's class. And when
there was no class going on, I would be in a classroom in front
of mirrors doing all kinds of choreographies, singing, dancing.

My father came from Russia. He was a ballet dancer and he
studied at the Kirov Ballet. I was so little that I don't know
why, but I know that after the revolution the family transferred
to Iran. He was the first person to have a ballet studio in
Iran. Especially male dancers, it was very non-traditional, so
it was not a very easy job for him. But he succeeded and earned
respect and he was very well-known in Iran. Unfortunately, he
died soon and I definitely wanted to follow in his footsteps.

In 1984, I came to the United States. In 1988, I succeeded in
having my own studio in Glendale. Since then, with hard
working, we have lots of students coming in and out. They are
usually interested in ballet classes, modern dance classes,
traditional Armenian. Our shows usually have different kind of
variety of dances.

If we can teach them how to create, how to let their mind and
body work together, I know that all my students are not going to
be a ballet dancer. But definitely they are going to be better
for themselves and the community. They are going to be more
disciplined. They are going to be open to see and realize and
very quick. The dance movements that we teach them in the
classroom, it helps them and gives them the skills.

[Film Clip]

Later on, one day in performing on stage, with this training,
they are more open and live performers instead of only learning
those things, come on stage, listen to the music, count, do your
routine and just get out. It's just life. They can transfer
life to the audience. I love the students when they are
shedding all these little boundaries that life is around us.
Don't move. Don't talk. Don't walk. We're taking all those
don'ts out and lets them to shine.

[Film Clip]

I have a ballet class that I'm teaching to girls who are fifteen
and sixteen years old. With this particular group which is my
junior dance company, we are working on ballet three times a
week. Usually we start with warm-up of the joints and every
body part. Then we go for a little extension. Then after, we
start to do all the lifting, all the turning, jumping and that
kind of thing, which is not very easy and needs a lot of will to
take all this pressure. But after they can do it, it's really
fun for them too.

Dancing is life to me. It's air, it's energy and love. Without
that, that's the only way I can communicate. That's the way I
communicate better than the other ways. Dance is life to me.
It's love. It's everything.

[Film Clip]

Val>> For more information on the Djanbazian Dance Academy, you
can log onto their website or give them a call. Our thanks
again to Glendale City Television for that story. For everyone
at Life and Times, I'm Val Zavala. Thanks so much for watching.
We'll see you next time.

Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> Next time on Life and Times --

Stranded by Mother Nature. One reporter's firsthand account of
trying to get out of Ojai.

Stephanie O'Neil Noe>> This is Santa Ana Road, a road that
bypasses the main drag out of town. It's now coated in mud from
smaller landslides that led to this. I don't think we'll be
getting out this way either.

Val>> That's next time on Life and Times.