We’re in that catch-your-breath after Christmas calm trying to remember what year it is. (How long will it take before I stop writing 2019?) And wondering when the ice and snow will arrive – when we’ll wish we were snowbirds sunning in Arizona.
We know the ice and snow will come – maybe not enough to close schools, but enough to make walking treacherous. (I remember the wonderful snowy days when I was in grade school staying in bed hoping to hear my mother walk into my room and saying. “There’s no school today.” What a feeling knowing unexpectedly I had the day off to play in the snow!)
But during the snowy or icy days it’s best to stay home. But if you do need get out because you want to enjoy a nutritious Meals-on-Wheels lunch at the Center, think of the phrase “Walk like a Penguin”.
What does that mean? Well, it’s a way to think about walking safely in snow and ice. To walk like a penguin, try the following: point your feet out slightly; bend your knees and keep them loose; extend your arms out to your side (and hands out of your pockets); and take short steps or waddle.
In addition, since we haven’t evolved webbed feet yet, wear shoes or boots with traction. And this is where I must really pay close attention: assume all wet and dark areas on pavement are icy – especially around snowbanks where the melt off freezes over-night.
Whether it’s icy or not, this is also a good time to remember that falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults. So this winter, don’t rush, pay attention and remember to “Walk Like A Penguin”!
Would like a part-time gig for eight to ten weeks that pays $16 an hour plus mileage with flexible hours? Sounds too good to be true? It would except once every ten years when the U.S. government is looking for census takers. Think what you could do with the extra cash. A trip to Hawaii or the Caribbean? New clothes? Gifts for the grandkids? To apply you can go online at 2020census.gov/jobs or call 1-855-JOB-2020. You can be a part of history while supporting your community by helping to ensure there is an accurate count – which affects how billions of dollars are distributed.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I need to mention it again because this raffle has the perfect prize: twelve $25 gift certificates from The Dalles finest restaurants. The Center’s Meal-a-Month Raffle tickets are being sold at the Center for $10 apiece or 3 for $25. You have three chances to win, and you may be one of those three winners!
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is regarded by some as “the most important and influential rock-and-roll album ever recorded” and was ranked number one of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine. One of the album’s songs, written by Paul McCartney, is about a young man singing to his lover about his plans for their growing old together. For this week’s “Remember When” question, the young man is asking, “will you still love me when I’m …” what age”? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or drop it off with a special version of the song recorded by McCartney’s children as a surprise present for his birthday in June 2006.
The earlier name for The Dalles Health and Rehabilitation Center was Valley Vista and the business once located where Holstein’s is today was the Handout. Rhonda Spies and John Huteson remembered the Handout (which Diana Weston points out was owned for many years by Phil Hammond after he sold the Dairy Queen on 4th and Union), and those who answered both questions correctly were Diana Weston, Lana Tepfer, Carol Earl and this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket Karl Vercouteren.
Now that I’m back from the “Windy City” Chicago, those who answered The Poseidon Adventure from the previous week were Rhonda Spies, Lana Tepfer, Delores Schrader, Carol Earl and the winner Don Hansen,
Well, it’s been another week, trying to find the place I am supposed to be. Until we meet again, you know you are getting older when you start every new conversation with “I may have told you this before, but…”
“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. …The truly wise person is colorblind.” Albert Schweitzer
