Many of you who read this column probably have never and will never access the Internet – there are too many better things to do: gardening, reading and visiting the grandkids. But there are a growing number of folks over and under 70 who are finding the benefits of this connectivity to a larger world: 24/7 news access, reliable medical information through sites such as MedlinePlus, and reconnecting with long lost friends. But there is also plenty of misinformation circulating on the Internet particularly from forwarded emails. Before you forward emails of such rumors as the postcard virus warning – true and false; listing guns on your tax return – false; euthanasia counseling – false, check their validity at Snopes.com, the #1 source for checking out various internet rumors and email forwards..

If you want to learn more about Medicare; its benefits and complexities and how to help others become better informed about Medicare, attend the free “Learn the Medicare ABC & Ds” on Wednesday August 19th from 2 – 4 pm at the Senior Center. To register call the Area Agency on Aging at 541-298-4101, ext. 218. Seating is limited! This two hour workshop is presented by SHIBA – Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance.

This Saturday Bonnie has cooked up something special for the Center’s monthly breakfast: delicious Quiche. (But if you are not a “real man” there will be scrambled eggs as an alternative.) The menu will also include bacon, muffin and fruit besides the usual suspects for drinks. We are proud that the sponsor this month is Columbia Gorge Community College where “building dreams and transforming lives” is alive and well. And you are never too old to dream.

The Center’s Nu-2-U Shop is having a half price sale for one whole week starting tomorrow and continuing through Wednesday the 19th. Because there isn’t much space in the NU-2-U shop, Betty and Martha need to move the clothes out. So this is your chance to add some fine clothes to your wardrobe at give-away prices.

Congratulations to The Dalles’ own P-51 gal, Anna Monkiewicz, who was named the recipient of a Congressional Gold Medal. Last Sunday, she was warmly honored by Senator Ron Wyden for serving our nation during WW II as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). As Senator Wyden acknowledged, she was a trailblazer and a patriot.

It has been said that “Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance”. So tonight let’s dance! Truman Boler will be playing his country favorites and next Tuesday the Hardshell Harmony will get your toes tapping with their high energy bluegrass music. You just can’t sit still when they play. And each week I have to keep moving the tables back to provide more room to dance – last Tuesday there were twelve couples on the dance floor at the same time. Folks just like to dance.

If you would like to share your passion for a hobby or activity give me a call. We are always looking for folks to teach classes this fall during the day or evening. And for you budding artists, Nancy Russell will be back again teaching her “Yes, You can Draw” art class starting Thursday September 17th. .

The answer to last week’s question was the “Schnozzola” Jimmy Durante and the winner of the free breakfast was Jim Goff, King Bing of a couple years back. This week’s question is who said “All things considered, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” Email me your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com or call and leave a message at 296-4788.

Until we meet again, remember the words of the venerable philosopher W.C Fields “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.”

“We’ve put more effort into helping folks reach old age than into helping them enjoy it.” ~Frank A. Clark

The weather looks like it is going to be a little gentler by the end of the week. I know I should appreciate the variety each season brings because as Pepper Giardino said “Weather is a great metaphor for life – sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, and there’s nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella”. But rain I can deal with. It’s the excessive heat I don’t particularly like.

But there has been one benefit. Because of the heat advisory we stayed open every night this last week. And since we didn’t have anything scheduled for Wednesday night, we showed the movie “Singing in the Rain” on the big plasma screen in the dining room – we moved in the stuffed chairs from the lounge to provide some comfortable seating. Only a few joined us, but we have decided to continue the Wednesday Night Movies for the rest of August or longer. But I need some help. I have my favorites – comedies with Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, but I am interested in knowing what movies would bring folks out on a Wednesday evening. Email me your favorite movie classic from the 60’s, 50’s 40’s or 30’s or just call. This Wednesday we will show the 1940 movie “His Girl Friday” with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and next Wednesday “Some Like it Hot” with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe – ranked as the #1 comedy by the American Film Institute. Showtime is 6:00 PM.

During the vacation season, it is sometimes hard to get the band together. So tonight Truman Boler and his one-man “Country Gold” will be playing as well as next Tuesday when he was originally scheduled. Admission is free but donations are always appreciated to keep the music flowing and the dancers dancing.

And when it comes to dancing, I think the older generations had it easier, because when I dance with my wife, she forgets who the boss is and always wants to lead. (Or does she know more than I know?) But then it all works out in the end, because I wouldn’t know what to do if I did lead.

But there is an answer to my woes. Neva and Bill’s Reid’s Social Dance lessons begin again this fall with an Intro to the Waltz, starting September 21 followed by an Intro to the Two-Step starting November 9th. Then next year they have schedule the Tango and the Slo 2-Step. The lessons are held at the Civic Auditorium on Mondays from 7 – 9 PM. There is a charge but it is worth it, because dancing provides four of the ingredients of successful aging: movement, social connections, touch and if you watch me, laughter. For more information you can call 541-296-1570 or email callncue4u@charter.net.

Several weeks ago, I forgot to mention the results of the public health department’s recent inspection of local restaurants. On the last inspection, Meals-on-Wheels and the Pioneer Potlatch meal sites in Dufur and Mosier all earned perfect scores of 100% and the meal site in Tygh Valley was almost perfect scoring 99%. You can’t get much better than that. Congratulations to all the staff and volunteers who work hard to provide nutritious meals and also to ensure that your food is safely prepared in a clean environment.

Can you name the person that signed off his radio show with “Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are”? First correct answer receives a free breakfast at the Center’s Saturday Breakfast on August 15th sponsored by Columbia Gorge Community College. Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com. Last week’s winner was Sandy Haechrel who was the first one to identify Jim Backus as the voice of Mr. Magoo.

That is it, another day, another possibility. Until we meet again, “Don’t worry about avoiding temptation – as you grow older, it starts avoiding you”.

Could someone turn on the air conditioner outside? Sweating is no longer my favorite kind of exercise and even though the heat is still better than my humid memories of Indiana, my cooling system ain’t what it used to be.

But for us more mature folks, summer heat can cause major health problems particularly dehydration. The Oregon Department of Human Services cautions, “Not getting enough fluids each day can take a tremendous toll on every aspect of bodily functions, including possible changes in memory, vision, and kidney and heart function.” This is especially true for seniors because the percentage of a person’s weight in water changes as we age from about 80% for children to only 43% for women and 50% for men between the ages of 61 and 74. Consequently, any decrease in fluid consumption can cause proportionately more dehydration.

To prevent dehydration, you should drink at least six cups of liquids many times throughout the day and avoid drinking caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea and caffeinated sodas which act as diuretics. Instead, try drinking flavored carbonated water, or decaffeinated ice teas or just add a slice of lemon to a glass of water.

It doesn’t take an OSU graduate to know to stay cool, but not everyone has air conditioning and with a prolonged heat wave homes can get pretty warm. So take time to check on neighbors and relatives to make sure they are able to handle the heat.

But if you still need a little mental interlude, imagine a cool, late autumn Sunday afternoon; you and twenty others are traveling through the fall colors of the Gorge on your way to Portland to see the matinee performance of the Singing Christmas Tree; the 105 degree summer heat is long past and a lovely holiday performance is ahead.

For the second year, the Center has reserved seats for the holiday tradition, Portland’s Singing Christmas Tree on November 29th at 1:30 pm. The cost will again be around $65 including transportation. If interested, call the Center at 296-4788 or drop in and sign up.. Before long, we will be listening to Christmas music and wishing for the warm days of summer, but maybe not this warm.

If you want a more immediate respite from the heat, come to the Center tonight and enjoy the cool sounds of the Jazz Generations. They are a great dance band and you don’t often have the opportunity to dance to the big band sound. Next week the Cherry Park Band will be playing and though several of the regulars will be vacationing, there is plenty of talent in that bunch to fill in. Admission is free but donations are always appreciated.

The Center offers a weekly opportunity to sing with the Young-at-Heart Seranders from 10:00 to 11:30 every Wednesday. But before they start back this September, Shirley Martin is looking for someone to take over as musical director. If you are interested in taking the baton, call the Center at 296-4788 or Shirley at 296-8715.

The only correct response to last week’s question was Steve Bungum who listened to the Breakfast Hour when Don McNeil would call the kids “to march around the table”.
This week’s question is a bit easier. Who was the voice of Mr. Magoo? Since Steve said he is no longer a breakfast type of guy, the first correct answer this week will win two tickets to next month’s Saturday Breakfast on August 15th.

Until we meet again, stay cool and think on the bright side, it’s too hot to do yard work.

“I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.” Kurt Vonnegut

We all know the importance of food as nourishment to the body and soul, and fortunately, in Wasco County there are several meal sites providing that nourishment by serving noon time meals primarily for folks 60 and over.

One such program is Meals-on-Wheels which leases space from the Senior Center. Five days a week, they prepare around 200 nutritious meals – a healthy alternative to frozen prepackaged dinners high in sodium – that are delivered by volunteers or served in the dining room at the Center. (71% of the folks surveyed at the Center said they eat better because of Meals-on-Wheels.)

But Meals-on-Wheels is more than a meal.

Margaret Mead once said “One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night.” But for many older folks no one would notice if they didn’t come home. They live alone and do not have relatives or children who keep in daily contact. But the Meals-on-Wheels driver will wonder if you don’t come to the door and will find out if all is well. (Several times a Meals-on-Wheels driver has found someone on the floor unable to call for help.)

Meals-on-Wheels also reaches out. Last winter, when drivers found the sidewalks nearly impassable, Meals-on-Wheels contacted Boy Scout Troop #395 who went out that same day to shovel sidewalks and walkways. And for Christmas, Meals-on-Wheels, through generous donations, purchased gifts for the folks on the home delivered routes causing one older gentleman to cry because it was the first Christmas gift he had received in years.

But besides the home delivered meals, Meals-on-Wheels offers a daily meal at the Center which brings folks together to meet and connect with old and new friends. You can join in the fellowship; learn about new activities and find out you are not alone.

The Center supports Meals-on-Wheels because we share a common building, common friends and a common mission – promoting healthy aging – but most importantly because every day we see Meals-on-Wheels and their volunteers doing great work.

And if you want to meet more fine folks and enjoy more good food, visit the Pioneer Potlatch meal sites in Wasco County: Dufur – serving every Tuesday, Tygh Valley – serving every Thursday, and Mosier -serving every Monday and Wednesday.

Tonight the Sugar Daddies are playing for your listening and dancing pleasure and next week the big band sounds return with the Jazz Generations. Admission is always free but to keep the music flowing donations are appreciated. And this Sunday, the Center will be hosting the Sunday Pie and Jam Social from 2 – 5 pm.

The answer to last week’s question was House Party, the television show hosted by Art Linkletter that included the segment “Kids Say the Darndest Things”. You can see highlights from the show on the Center’s blog at midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com.

This week’s question suggested by Joanne Scott is a tough one. What radio host on his morning show called the kids “to march around the breakfast table”?” As a child Joanne use to listen to the show and as she said “was just dumb enough to do it”.

And finally my Monday morning editor, Zelta Wasson, is taking a short vacation at MCMC. I can think of less expensive vacation locations, but the service is good. So Zelta, we are thinking of you and expect to see you back real soon. I need all your help I can get.

Until we meet again, in anger, as in chewing, it is best to keep your mouth shut.

“Older people shouldn`t eat health food, they need all the preservatives they can get.” Robert Orben

Remember when Art Linkletter on his daily TV show would interview kids and they would say the “darndest things”. Kids still do, well at least one still does, albeit not as young. While my wife and I were setting around the kitchen table my daughter at the ripe old age of 19 asked if we ever felt we were getting old. After we laughed, I answered, “How about every day!”

She was thinking about the sign she saw at the grocery store identifying the birth date after which one could buy alcohol and realized in a year and a half she would be 21: the age of independence, responsibility and adulthood; no longer poppa’s child and soooo old.

There are always events that remind us we are getting older whether it is the store sign, your children’s first day at school, their first swim lessons (and the first time you realized they can swim faster than you) or when they graduate from high school and then land their first job. (But as it has been said, you aren’t really old until your kids are on Medicare.) So “old” is all a matter of perspective and unavoidable. At every age whether we are 19 or 91 we experience the blessings and accept the burdens; discover the hidden treasures and the fool’s gold. And the encouragement I use to give my kids when sending them off to school is probably good for any age: “give it your best”.

“If youth but knew; If age but could.” French painter Henri Estienne II

The Center will be hosting its monthly breakfast this Saturday before the Fort Dalles Pro Rodeo Parade. The breakfast is starting at 7:30 a half hour earlier so everyone can enjoy a nice delicious breakfast (and meet the rodeo royalty) and still have time to watch the parade. It will be a busy morning so why don’t you let someone else do the cooking. The breakfast is sponsored by Patti Blagg the Center’s Friday afternoon volunteer receptionist and also a promotional products consultant who can find the right item to promote any business.

Tonight Boyd Jacobsen has lined up the Hardshell Harmony to play again because you can never get too much of a good thing. Everyone is welcome whether friend or foe, young or old, blue or green. It doesn’t matter as long you love good music and the high energy sounds of bluegrass. Admission is free but donations are gladly accepted.

A big thanks to all the folks who have responded to the Center’s request for donations to help support the expansion project. Every dollar will help make the dream come true. You can learn the latest news about the expansion and the activities for this fall at the Center’s Annual Membership Meeting on Tuesday, July 21st at 1:30 pm. We have just sent out the meeting notices to current members and reminders to those who may have forgotten to renew their membership. It is never too late to join.

Eight folks correctly identified the Shadow as the answer for last week’s question including Jim Heitkemper who also identified Lamont Cranston as the Shadow’s alter ego. But the first correct answer was from Ron Sutherland. And this week’s question (and the last chance to win a free breakfast) is, “What was the name of the CBS show hosted by Art Linkletter that featured the segment “Kids Say the Darndest Things”? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com.

That’s it and I’m just a little older. Until we meet again, whether we are young or old or hot or cold “to everything there is a season”.

The best thing about getting old is that all those things you couldn’t have when you were young you no longer want. ~L.S. McCandless

And as an added bonus here are some highlights of “Kids Say the Darndest Things”

As we age, we enjoy joking about the challenges and foibles associated with becoming more mature? or is it more experienced? – or as we hate to admit it, just plain older: the nightly bathroom trips, the hearing aids, the stiffness and the all too common “senior moments”. But although there is undoubtedly some truth in all of these common perceptions, many of us accept these conditions or limitations as inevitable and unalterable and become our own worst enemies to enjoying our later years to the fullest.

Did you hear about the 83 year old woman who talked herself out of a speeding ticket by telling the young officer that she had to get there before she forgot where she was going?

As we grow older, there are many things we just no longer want to do or have to do. I no longer want to climb up on the roof. You may no longer have to punch the daily time clock. But that is different from avoiding a new experience because we feel we are not capable. It is not healthy to pass up opportunities to explore and contribute because we have accepted the common perceptions and limitations of our own aging.

A man was telling his neighbor, ‘I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it’s state of the art. It’s perfect.’ ‘Really,’ answered the neighbor. ‘What kind is it?’ ‘Twelve thirty.’

Sometimes, when learning a new skill that takes too much time or seems too hard, we think it is because we our too old. But learning anything new is hard and always has been hard whether it was learning to read, ride a bicycle or play the piano. Maybe it is because we have forgotten how long it has taken to us learn all that we know in our 50, 60, or 80+ years, we somehow feel we should be able to learn to use a computer or a new dance step or any new skill in a few short days or weeks or heaven forbid if it takes us several months.

“I don’t do alcohol anymore – I get the same effect just standing up fast.” ~Author Unknown

No doubt, there are changes. We don’t rush around as fast, we see more in grays instead of blacks and whites and hopefully we make better decisions based on experience which are all good. But the difficulties in learning we attribute to aging are overstated. At every age and stage in our lives, we are capable of doing more than we think if we allow ourselves to take the risk, take the time and make the effort.

Few quick reminders:
At the Center, The Hardshell Harmony will be performing next Tuesday and tonight Truman Boler will be playing his country classics. The music starts at 7:00 and is over by 9:00, in time to get home before dark. The show is free but generous donations are generously accepted.

The Center will also be holding a rummage sale in the basement on Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th from 9 – 3 pm.

We had two correct answers last week from Joanne Scott and Tom Sofie identifying Gunsmoke, which ran from 1955 to 1975, as the longest running western TV series. To win a free Ft. Dalles Days Breakfast at the Center on Saturday July 18th, be the first to email me at mcseniorcenter@gmail.com the answer to the following question: What radio drama started with this question: ‘Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men’?

Until we meet again, keep moving, keep laughing and keep dreaming.

Television is a far cry from when there were only three major television networks, late night television test patterns, and if you missed a show you would have to wait for the summer rerun. Not anymore. With the Internet and YouTube, you can watch a program again at your own convenience or even send a news clip to your friends across the globe. And this is a good thing if you happened to miss seeing the Center and Meals-on-Wheels on CGN7 or Carl Kramer on KATU.

CGN7, channel 7 on cable TV, has expanded their local programming and initiated a new series called “Making a Difference” focusing on non-profits in the Gorge. For their first episode, they chose the programs and activities provided at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center and the Adult Center in Hood River. They particularly highlighted the good work provided by Meals-on-Wheels and their dedicated staff and volunteers who serve between 140 and 180 meals five days a week. Meals-on-Wheels and the Center do make a difference and it is nice to be recognized. The series airs at 8:00 PM on Thursday evenings or you can watch it on the Internet at www.columbiagorge.com.

Also the KATU news crew came to The Dalles to report on our own centenarian, Carl Kramer, who exhibited his usual grace and humor. Several weeks ago someone stole Carl’s new scooter which he had recently bought to replace his old “Ferrari” scooter. Many days Carl would ride his scooter to Meals-on-Wheels at the Center for lunch and now he has to rely solely on the bus. If you haven’t seen the news clip and want to see Carl or maybe spot yourself in the lunch crowd, you can go to the Center’s web site at midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com and click on the link.

The Center is hosting a rummage sale to rid itself of many items that have been stored in the basement for some time. We will try to follow the “two year” rule: if it hasn’t been used in the last two years, it goes. But there are several keepers of the history who will make sure I don’t toss anything of significance. The sale will be in the Center’s basement on Friday and Saturday July 10 and 11th from 9 – 3 pm. As the saying goes “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”.

Truman Boler and his one-man-country-jam will be back next Tuesday Night to perform for your dancing and listening pleasure. And tonight is a special treat with a visit from the Dufur Boys. As I was reminded this Sunday, dancing is good for the body and spirit and helps wash your cares away. Music starts at 7:00 and is free but donations are graciously accepted.

“The Senior Center puts on a great breakfast, but I would rather eat at Alice’s Restaurant” was Joanne Scott’s correct answer. Alice’s Restaurant sung by Arlo Guthrie was released in 1967 but the answer to this week’s question started in the fifties. What is the longest running prime time western television series and was number 1 from 1957 – 1960? Email me the correct answer at mcseniorcenter@gmail.com and you too can win a free breakfast at the Center on July 18th before the Ft. Dalles Parade.

That’s another wrap. The Center and Meals-on-Wheels will both be closed Friday and Saturday for the extended Fourth of July weekend, so you’re on your own. Until we meet again, don’t forget Carl Kramer’s secret to a long life. “You inhale, then you exhale, then you inhale, then you exhale, then you inhale, then you exhale and if you can keep that up long enough you’re going to be a hundred years old.”

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” Victor Hugo

We have heard the stories: lottery rip-offs, insurance fraud, and “sweetheart scams”. Unfortunately, seniors are a prime target for such financial abuse because of their trusting nature, large net worth and vulnerabilities. Last March, a study by Metlife found the annual loss from the financial abuse of seniors is a whopping $2.6 billion. The study also found that elder financial abuse can be committed by anyone. It can be as close as a “family member, neighbor, or friend”, or as far away as an “invisible voice on the telephone or an e-mail from the other side of the globe”.

It may not be surprising but financial abuse is generally not committed by strangers. More likely it is people who are in positions of trust such as business advisers, caregivers or family members (watch out for the kids). And it will probably get worse. With the number of seniors increasing and technological advances continuing, the number of opportunities for the financial abuse of seniors will rise dramatically.

You can learn more about this serious problem by reading the full study, including the common types and leading signs of financial abuse, by going to the Center’s Blog at midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com and look for the link to “Broken Trust: Elders, Family and Finances”.

If you do need help managing your finances – haven’t balanced your check book in a year – you can get trusted help from the AARP Money Management Program. The program offers money management service to help low-income seniors who have difficulty budgeting, paying routine bills, and keeping track of financial matters. For more information, contact the Area Agency on Aging at 541-298-4101.

In the same vein, there will be a Medicare Fraud Training, July 13 from 2 – 4 PM at the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments office on the corner of 11th and Kelley. The Senior Medicare Patrol, retired professionals who are trained to help Medicare recipients identify Medicare fraud, waste and abuse, will be providing the training and they encourage anyone who has contact with seniors to attend.

The last Next Chapter lecture before we take a two month summer break will be Tuesday the 30th and will feature Sue Samet, Director of the Area Agency on Aging, discussing the legislation affecting seniors that has passed this legislative session. The legislative leadership is hoping to conclude the session by the 30th, but we will see.

Performing at the Center this coming week will be The Jammers for the Sunday Pie and Jam Social on the 28th from 2 – 5 PM followed by the Dufur Boys from Dufur on Tuesday the 30th. And tonight the Jazz Generations will be playing their favorite standards for your listening and dancing pleasure. Music starts at 7:00 and the music is free but donations are appreciated.

Thanks to Joanne Scott for emailing me the baby boomer spoofing video called “Baby Boomers Battle Hymn” which I have posted on the Center’s Blog. It begins with the quote “Barack Obama’s inauguration makes 70 million baby boomers older than their president for the first time. Never has a group been so large….. or so clueless”. Although we may be clueless we know our music. So the first person who emails me the name of the restaurant made famous by Arlo Guthrie will win a free breakfast at the Center’s Ft Dalles Rodeo Breakfast on July 18th.

That’s it. It is hard to imagine that the fourth of July is just around the fireworks stand. So until we meet again, celebrate the unexpected even though it can be a real pain in the you-know-what.

“The past is a source of knowledge, and the future is a source of hope…” Steven Ambrose

As you grow older are you happier? In a study of more than 2 million people from 80 countries, it was found that happiness was related to age. But the relationship might not be what you would expect. The results showed people are most miserable in middle years between 40 and 50 and are happiest towards the beginning and end of their lives. (In the US, men were most likely to be unhappiest at 50, and women at 40.) This U-shaped curve of peoples’ happiness was a consistent pattern regardless of socio-economic status or changes in marital status, employment or income. “Only in their 50s do most people emerge from the low period. But encouragingly, by the time you are 70, if you are still physically fit then on average you are as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year-old.”

The researchers suggested several possibilities for this pattern: a better sense of who you are, a greater appreciation for life or cheerful people just live longer. But we all know the real reason. Grandkids! No longer do you have to raise your own but now you can spoil and enjoy your kids’ kids. As one observed, “It’s funny that those things your kids did that got on your nerves seem so cute when your grandchildren do them”.

The Center’s monthly breakfast is this Saturday, June 20th, and Bonnie and Edna would like to offer you a delicious breakfast of hotcakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit and your favorite beverage. We generally serve between 40 and 50 folks but we would like to double that number. Bring your friends, pick up someone off the street or just come by yourself. The price is $5.00 for the general public and $4.00 for Center members and the food starts hitting the plates at 8:00 and continues till 10:00.

At times when I am not the sharpest stone in the gravel pit, I have been called dense, but being dense is not always a bad thing if you are talking about bones. Dr. Fran Yuhas will be discussing Bone Density at the center on Tuesday June 23rd at 11:00. You can learn more about the loss of bone density called osteoporosis: when bones become porous because of the loss of calcium and over time weaken to where they are more likely to break. Osteoporosis is much more common in women than in men because “women have less bone mass than men, tend to live longer, take in less calcium, and need the female hormone estrogen to keep their bones strong”.

There was a last minute change for tonight’s Tuesday Night Music at the Center. The Hardshell Harmony will be jumping in – playing their “toe tapping, thigh slapping” brand of bluegrass music which I know you will enjoy. Next week you will have a chance to dance to the Jazz Generations playing the big band sounds of the golden age. Music always starts at 7:00 and is free although we do appreciate donations to keep the music flowing. Everybody is welcome whether you have two toes or four, as long as they can tap to the music.

And if you happen to forget something you read in this column after you have already recycled the paper, you can always go to the Center’s Blog at midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com to find the column and other information about the Center.

Until we meet again, as Bobby McFerrin sang in his #1 hit of 1988, “In every life we have some trouble, When you worry you make it double. Don’t worry, Be happy”.

How old is old? Is it fifteen years older than you are as Bernard Baruch once famously said? Or as the basketball Coach Phog Allen lamented “when it takes longer to rest up than it takes to get tired”? MetLife did a marketing survey of sixty-two year olds asking them how old is old and the answer they found was seventy seven. I know several folks in their seventy’s who wouldn’t consider themselves old – maybe a little slower, a little stiffer and not as strong – but certainly not old. But whatever you think old is today, in the next 25 years the definition of old will change dramatically. By that time science fiction will become reality and Shangri-La may no longer be found only in an imaginary valley in the Himalayas.

On the new horizon, technological advances are just being discovered and engineered that may drastically change the way we age and consequently how we perceive old age. With the possibility of growing new organs and the advancements in brain research we may have to answer the question, “What do we do when we possess our own soul but the insurance company owns our body?”

Aubrey de Grey, a British biomedical gerontologist, has promoted a radical and controversial theoretical framework suggesting that aging is a disease and within 25 years through regenerative medicine it may be possible to live for a hundred and fifty, two hundred or even three hundred years. But is this just another misguided dream like changing lead into gold or creating the perpetual motion machine? We may soon find out.

In the next 25 years what will old look like? It is already said that today’s sixty’s are the new fifty’s. In the not too distant future will the hundred and fifty year olds be the new sixty’s?

There are many challenges when caring for a person with Alzheimers. One area that creates many questions is how to manage the many possible medications. On Tuesday June 23rd from 2 – 4 PM at the Center, the Area Agency on Aging will be hosting a workshop on “Medication Management in Alzheimer’s Disease: the Role of the Family Caregiver”. If you care for someone with this tragic disease or know of someone with Alzheimers, you will find this workshop helpful and informative.

You will have a chance to learn more about the challenges and opportunity facing the city when Nolan Young The Dalles City Manager, speaks at the Center’s Next Chapter Lecture on Tuesday June 16th. It is not easy weighing the interests of a diverse public with the interests of the individual when deciding complex and contentious issues such as urban renewal, annexation, docks and roundabouts. Nolan will share with you the city’s perspective and answer your questions.

Tonight, it’s Truman Boler’s one-man Country Gold and next Tuesday the Sugar Daddies playing at the Center for your dancing and listening enjoyment. Music starts at 7:00 and everybody is welcome. And it’s all free but donations are always appreciated.

If you want to watch a short humorous video of Tom Rush singing the “Remember Song” go to the Center’s Blog at midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com. The song is a humorous take on our memory lapses that Pat Davenport found on the Internet and sent to me. If you have enjoyed any other Internet videos and think they would appeal to the 50+ crowd, send me a link and I will see if I can post it on the Center’s blog.

That’s another week. Until we meet again, I want to leave you with this observation from Sam Ciranny. When I asked him how he was doing; he paused and replied “My friends say I’m doing fine”.