This is one of those weeks when there is so much happening at the Center I don’t have the space to say much of anything else – which is timely because I don’t have much of anything to say anyway. So onward and upward with the latest news.
On Thursday the 16th, this month’s Healthy Aging presentation – Medicine and You: Managing Medications as You Age -taught by Fern Wilcox is starting at 2:00 which we hope will be more accessible for those interested in Healthy Aging series. Fern will discuss why older adults are more likely to be at risk because of their medications, how to know if you are at risk and what you can do to reduce your risk. The information was developed by Oregon State University Extension so you know it is reliable (unless you are a Duck and never trust anything that comes out of Corvallis).
On Monday the 20th at 1:00 pm, Planetree Health Resource Center will explain and demonstrate how to access accurate and reliable health information on the Internet using the website “Medline Plus”, a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
The Center is now hosting Friday Night Pinochle starting at 7:00 pm. There is a charge of $6 to play but $1 goes to the Center to pay for lights and heat and the other $5 goes into the kitty all of which is distributed to the evening’s winning pinochle players.
The monthly AARP Driver Safety Class will be held from 9:00 to 1:00 on both the 20th and 21st. Dennis Davis will remind you of all the driving rules you have forgotten. And once again you can feel like an anxious sixteen year old dying to get your “wheels”. But try to avoid the eccentric approach to driving like that of Glenn Gould, one of the most celebrated pianists of the twentieth century and famously bad driver who once said, “It’s true that I’ve driven through a number of red lights on occasion but on the other hand I’ve stopped at a lot of green ones but never gotten credit for it.”
In last week’s letters to the editor, Harriet Langfeldt expressed her appreciation for the hikes Skip and Janet Tschanz’s lead throughout the Gorge; describing Skip as “amazingly knowledgeable and wonderfully gracious”. When Skip comes back down to earth, you can join him and Janet this Monday the 20th at 1:00 to carpool from the Center to the Mosier Syncline and enjoy another hike in our amazing Columbia River Gorge, up-close and personal.
I started reading the “Gift of Years: Growing Old Gracefully” by Joan Chittister, the book Lucille Torgerson chose for the “Let’s Talk” discussion group. Joan shares her reflections on the blessings and burdens of forty different gifts we encounter when growing older including fear, possibility, mystery, memories, loneliness, and faith. The “Let’s Talk” series starts on Monday the 27th from 10:45 till noon. Call the Center to sign up for the class and we will help you order the book through Klindt’s.
North Wasco County School District will be placing a local option tax measure on the May 19th, 2009 ballot. The District will use the tax revenue from this measure to continue repairing, improving and renovating the community’s school facilities. You will have your chance to learn more at the Center’s Next Chapter Lecture on Tuesday 21st when Ernie Blatz will be discussing the proposed levy.
Tuesday NIght Music on the 21st will feature the Sugar Daddies. Mark Womble and his group have been well received all around the Gorge and play nice danceable music everyone can enjoy. Tonight Truman Boler will be playing and he also has quite a following. Music and dancing starts at 7:00 and the admission is free but donations are gladly accepted. Everybody is welcome.
Gotta keep it short. Until we meet again, the sun is out; the ants are not, and the taxes are done. Life is good.
