Janie Williams took her place in the front row at her weekly Balance Challenge class, beaming as if she couldn’t wait for the huffing and puffing to begin.
Nearly an hour later, after twisting and turning along with two dozen other workout warriors at the Culver City Senior Center, Williams sidled over to me and explained what she was smiling about.
“I want to tell you that I’m 94 years old, and we can still do that,” she said, justifiably proud that she and her classmates — including an 83-year-old woman with a Parkinson’s-related disorder — had nimbly limbered every joint and muscle in their bodies.
It was impressive, as was the adrenaline-pumping soundtrack, which included “Mambo Italiano” and “Love Potion No. 9.”
California is about to be hit by an aging population wave, and Steve Lopez is riding it. His column focuses on the blessings and burdens of advancing age — and how some folks are challenging the stigma associated with older adults.
But my question was this:
Could President Biden, 81, and former President Trump, 78, have done what this group had just done?
“Well, I know my candidate absolutely needs to be in here,” said Judith Kendall.
She was talking about Biden, whose step has stiffened a bit. The president’s mental fitness for office has become a central issue after his shaky performance in the June 27 debate, even as Trump and the truth remained as estranged as ever.
Judith Kendall, right, participates in the Balance Challenge class at the Culver City Senior Center.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“What Biden should have said was, ‘I don’t debate a felon.’ And that would have led the news,” Kendall said.
Good advice, for sure. And where better to go for advice on how to negotiate advancing age than a senior center?
I doubt that Biden or Trump are doing much cooking, but if they happen to get hungry in the middle of the night, they could learn a thing or two from balance class instructor Teri Lemoine. She would be headed to Paris if fall-prevention moves were an Olympic event. At one point, in blue tights and sneakers, she led her class through a sort of kitchen fox trot.
“I go to the sink. I go to the stove,” Lemoine said, teaching her charges how to properly step, turn and shift weight to avoid ending up dialing 911 while sprawled on the floor. There was lots of instruction on safely rising out of a chair and sitting back down, swinging the arms and using tucks and bends to leverage weight.
“I was falling down before I started this class,” said Laura Clines, who recently traveled to London and France and put much of what she’s learned to good use. “I was pulling my little suitcase, climbing up and getting on trains … and it was fabulous.”
And no tumbles.
Carolynn Middleton said Biden seems to go “from his desk, to a plane, back to his desk,” and that routine isn’t physically challenging enough to help develop agility or and mobility.
“He needs to be doing something like what we are doing,” Middleton said.
“Some of us,” she went on, “we know we’re getting old. But until we get smacked upside the head, we don’t realize the vulnerability of what that is. Now, I took a fall a month ago. My son said, ‘This is the third fall you’ve taken in two years.’ After that last fall … I got up off the floor and said, ‘I’m not gonna lay here for four hours.’”
Middleton didn’t just get up off the floor. She started going to balance class, and “I feel myself getting more agile.”
Sally Schlosstein told me that physical and mental health are connected, so it wouldn’t hurt an aging politician to get in a good workout now and again.
“We’re all dealing with our minds and our bodies,” said Schlosstein. “You can’t manage one without the other.”
Phyllis Juster moved slowly in class but kept working.
“I can’t keep up with everything, but I do the best I can and I’m very mindful of not falling down,” said Juster, who told me she first knew something was wrong when she had trouble getting her key into a door lock. She took numerous falls, too, and was diagnosed with Parkinsonism, a brain condition that can cause slow movement, stiffness and tremors.
Seniors participate in the Balance Challenge Class at the Culver City Senior Center in Culver City on July 9, 2024.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
She said she voted for Trump before and probably will again, though she’s not thrilled with him, and said he seems to be suffering what she called “mania” and “narcissism.” She’s no fan of Biden, either, and thinks he’s not being honest about his health, or maybe isn’t able to see his own decline.
“At least I’m aware of the things I cannot do, and he appears not to be aware of it,” Juster said. “I think that’s extremely dangerous.”
There’s been a lot of chatter about how Biden’s performances seem to vary. Sometimes he fumbles for words or loses a thread, and people say he’s got problems. At other times he looks much sharper, like when he’s talking foreign policy detail, and people say he’s fine.
Juster had an explanation for what that might be about, based on her own neurological condition.
“How should I put it? It’s intermittent,” said Juster. “I want to speak as much as I can and be able to have information come from my brain and go to my mouth. I can keep speaking when I know what I’m talking about, but if I’m trying to describe something that’s not foremost in my brain, it seems that I have to hesitate.”
And that’s why, as soon as balance class ended, Juster walked down the hall and ducked into an improv class. I peeked in and watched as two dozen students created a story from scratch, beginning with a line about someone coming upon a box of fireworks. Each student had to come up with a line to keep the story moving, followed by a next, and a next, ad libing on the spot.
Note to the candidates: If you’re in the neighborhood, it wouldn’t hurt to come talk to Juster and some of the others. But be aware that they’re inclined, as older people often are, to offer blunt, unfiltered critiques.
Carolynn Middleton, left, shares her thoughts and concerns about President Biden as Sally Schlosstein, Judy Goar, Laura Clines and Teri Lemoine listen at the Culver City Senior Center.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Take Shiela Dean, 86, who wasn’t in the balance class, but moderates a Saturday current events session with nearly 30 regular attendees. The topic of presidential politics, as you might have suspected, has been popping up lately.
“All of the group loves Biden,” Dean said. “But almost 90% feel that he isn’t capable of continuing another four years…. We’re very concerned that he has early dementia or at least some mild cognitive decline.”
And what do people say about the other guy?
“Not very complimentary things,” said Dean. “They think he’s mentally, ummm, off.”
That’s as good a diagnosis as any.
Judith Kendall, 82, left, and other seniors raise their hands saying they support President Biden after a Balance Challenge Class at the Culver City Senior Center in Culver City on July 9, 2024.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Dean said she couldn’t recall a sadder presidential election, and she wishes the next generation would rise up and take the reins.
Back in balance class, Kendall seconded the motion.
If Biden drops out, or wins reelection but then steps down, “I trust Kamala,” Kendall said of Vice President Harris. “We just cannot vote for a felon.”
steve.lopez@latimes.com
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