As the county executive, Johnny Olszewski is used to running things. But, when Baltimore County’s top official walked into the kitchen at Bykota Senior Center, he knew to let the assembly line of paper plates and diced carrots proceed without his signature.
“I do not want to complicate what is already a well-oiled machine,” Olszewski said as he and his communications director, Erica Palmisano, wheeled a silver cart of chicken-and-gravy lunches to an adoring crowd this week for No Senior Eats Alone Day.
The annual event, which began Sept. 9 and ends today, is focused on bringing senior citizens out of their homes for camaraderie, entertainment and a little bit of education about nutrition and mental and physical health.
About 212,000 senior citizens — defined as residents ages 60 and over — live in Baltimore County. That’s about a fourth of the county’s population. Many are active in their local senior centers — and, it should be noted, are reliable voters. Olszewski knows that and has spent energy and funds listening to their needs and providing for them, adding state-of-the-art gym equipment, upgrading senior centers and advocating for more senior housing.
It’s not just about politics, though. Olszewski, who turned 42 this week, has fond memories of spending time with his grandmother at the Edgemere Senior Center in Sparrows Point. She played bingo there. Today’s seniors, he notes, have many more options. Zumba classes, bus trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show, spirited pickleball games and singing groups.
“I had my tail handed to me once playing basketball here,” the 6-foot-7-inch county executive said. “There are some 80-something seniors playing some very good basketball.”
Friendly rivalries aside, the issues facing senior citizens are serious. Nationwide, one-fourth of adults ages 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That isolation can lead to loneliness and increase risk factors for chronic illness and hearing loss. Getting out to play basketball or bingo or just socializing keeps the mind fresh.
Olszewski worked the room like the retail politician he has been since his early 20s, when he was elected to Maryland’s House of Delegates to represent Eastern Baltimore County. He grew up watching his father, John Olszewski Sr., shake many hands and enjoy many chicken dinners as a county councilmember from 1998 to 2014. It will all be good practice if he wins election to Congress in November, replacing the retiring Dutch Ruppersberger.
The Bykota crowd ate it up, along with the meals he served. One woman showed him her wooden bird sculptures, and the county executive asked about her whittling technique. As the singing group Bykota on Stage danced in poodle skirts and matching suits to classics such as “Put Another Nickel In,” Olszewski shook his hips. “Closer, my dear, come closer,” he crooned as he walked into the kitchen for another cart of meals.
His security detail kept a watchful eye as he took another spin around the room before quietly ducking out for another event. His staff remained. There was chocolate cake to serve.
About 225 diners attended the Bykota event, according to Michelle Mills, deputy director of the Baltimore County Department of Aging. Senior centers across the county are having events, which end today. But, she said, the centers are always open and full of opportunities.
“Our senior centers, we really want to make them full service,” she said.
