GENERAL INTEREST
MARCH 2026
Neuroplasticity for Vision & Balance
By Teresa Reinhard
February 25, 2026. Athena Valerio-Hirschfeld, paramedic lieutenant, and fall prevention coordinator for Albuquerque Fire Rescue, presented information to about 30 residents on the neural connection between vision and balance.
Valerio-Hirschfeld stated that on average, 850 calls are received monthly by Albuquerque 911 due to falls, and she estimates about 85% of those falls are by people 65 years of age and older. Her job is to educate the population to reduce fall injuries.
Her training and education are based on a program called Z-Health Performance, founded by Dr. Eric Cobb, which is a brain-based approach to health and rehabilitation. Brain-based techniques rely on neuroplasticity, which refers to the brain’s lifelong ability to reorganize neural connections through new experiences or learning, including eye exercises. Her premise, based on Z-Health Performance, is that improved vision can lead to better balance.
Valerio-Hirschfeld emphasized one should always consult their medical provider to determine if this program is suitable for their unique needs and restrictions. To learn more about the connection between vision and balance and brain-based exercises, she provided the following references.
- Relearning to See: Improve Your Eyesight Naturally by Thomas R. Quackenbush
- Better Vision Now: Improve Your Sight with the Renowned Bates Method by Clara A. Hackett and Lawrence Galton"
Athena may be contacted at avalerio-hirschfeld@cabq.gov or 505.768.3791.
The Land We Walk Upon Remembers
Chuck Webster, MD, MSIE, MSIS
February 07, 2026. Mirehaven residents Joyce Salisbury and Kim Hafermalz today presented The Land Remembers, a rich and engaging overview of their book Acequias of Albuquerque: Walking Ancient Waterways at Albuquerque Oasis http://oasisabq.org located at 3301 Menaul Boulevard NE. There were close to 75 attendees.
Salisbury, a historian by training, framed the talk around a simple idea: the land remembers. Long after people move on, the landscape retains traces of what was there before: waterways, plants, debris, scars, art, and stories. Salisbury invites us to read history directly from the land itself.
Hafermalz, a longtime Walking Group Interest Group leader, brought this idea down to ground level, literally. She described how she learned to map and design walks that follow acequias pronounced (ah-SAY-kee-uhs) through the city, balancing safety, accessibility, and discovery. Her methods, combining conservancy maps, Google Earth, and firsthand exploration, make the walks practical for everyday residents.
Together, Salisbury and Hafermalz showed how walking these waterways reveals layers of memory: old dumping grounds turned into public spaces, burn scars that still mark the bosque, artworks that reinterpret past violence or environmental damage, and plants that tell stories of Indigenous cultivation, Spanish settlement, and later immigrant enterprise. Even cranes, porcupines, and coyotes become part of this living archive.
The recurring theme was community. Acequias, past and present, are shared systems. Water is “borrowed” from the Rio Grande, guided by gravity, stewarded collectively, and ultimately returned. That ethic of cooperation, the speakers suggested, may be one of the most important lessons these ancient waterways still have to teach us.
For Mirehaven residents, especially, it was a pleasure to hear two neighbors illuminate the city just beyond our doors. After this talk, it’s hard to take a walk along the bosque, or even cross an irrigation ditch, without wondering what, exactly, the land is remembering beneath our feet.
Love, Actually
by Teresa Reinhard
February 10, 2026. About two dozen Mirehaven residents gathered in the Cottonwood Room to hear professional film critic and lecturer, Dan Hudak, talked about the beloved Romance Comedy movie genre in a nod to the forthcoming Valentine’s Day. Good Rom Coms are fun, memorable, and feel-good movies that can help us add a little bit of levity to life.
Hudak, comes well prepared to speak on the day’s topic, “Love Actually: The Top Ten Romantic Comedies in Film History.” He is owner and lead lecturer of his company, Hudak on Hollywood, and presents around the United States on film topics to a variety of audiences.
His top ten Rom Com selections were not in any particular order, and he admitted are based on his subjective opinion, but adhere to a winning formula of six key principles of the Rom Com genre: The Meet Cute, Pre-dating, Dating, Meeting Family and Friends, The Obstacle, and The Happy Ending.
He encouraged us to view or view again the following films:
“Annie Hall”, 1977. The film was originally entitled Anhedonia, meaning the inability to feel pleasure, and it was 140 minutes long. Extensive editing trimmed it to 93 minutes with a much-needed title change.
“It Happened One Night”, 1934. He opined this is the greatest Rom Com of all time.
“Roman Holiday”, 1953. This film introduces the incomparable Audrey Hepburn opposite Gregory Peck.
“Pretty Woman”, 1990. The scene where Richard Gere snaps closed a jewelry box on Julia Roberts’ fingers was a prank move by Gere. Roberts’ reaction was 100% spontaneous. The director loved the unscripted scene and kept it in the final cut.
“Moonstruck”, 1987. One of the most famous lines in a Rom Com is when Cher’s character tells the character played by Nicolas Cage to “snap out of it” when he professes his love for her.
Rounding out Hudak's top ten are the following films.
“His Girl Friday”, 1940.
“Love Actually”, 2003.
“Say Anything”, 1989.
“When Harry Met Sally”, 1989
So, grab your special friend and popcorn and settle down to share laughs and tears. To learn more about movie lectures available through Hudak and his colleagues, visit hudakonhollywood.com