Senior Living May 13th 2008

At the luncheon honoring the Senior Center’s Charter Members, Hal Sessions presented a slide show using newspaper articles and photographs saved from the early years of the Senior Center. It was a nice reminder of all the hard work and challenges involved in building this senior center. But I realized that besides supporting seniors for the next twenty five years, the building expansion will also fulfill the original vision for the center: a two story multi-purpose community facility with an elevator, an exercise room and offices for rent. It amazes me that even though times are different and approaches and styles may change, two visions twenty five years apart can still be fundamentally the same.

The Senior Center will be serving breakfast this Saturday the 17th from 8:00 – 10:00. This month’s tasty offerings include: country fries, scrambled eggs, sausage links, biscuits, fruit and the regular beverages. We want to thank Washington Federal Savings for sponsoring this month’s breakfast and also for doing double duty by providing volunteers for last month’s Cherry Festival Breakfast. So enjoy a fine breakfast with good friends for only $5 for the general public and $4 for Senior Center members.

The Wasco County Historical Society is inviting you to join them for a trip to the Whitman Mission, a National Historic Site in Walla Walla, Washington on Saturday May 31st. The trip will be guided by local historian Jon Carlson, retired Army Corps of Engineers and WCHS Board member. The thirty passenger bus will be leaving at 7:30 am from the upper parking lot of The Dalles/Wasco County Library with the estimated return time being 6:30 pm. The cost is $10 plus $3 admission and bring your own sack lunch and beverage. If interested contact Jan Leininger at 541-478-3429.

May is AARP Driver Safety Program Month and for this month AARP has a special promotion. Any AARP member (with a membership card) can bring a friend to the AARP Driver Safety class at the Senior Center on May 19th and 20th from 9:00 – 1:00 and the cost for BOTH persons will be $10 instead of the normal $10 a piece. Dennis Davis has ably replaced Dick Frost as instructor for the class (Dick has been teaching the class forever – which is a very long time – and is still busy teaching classes and coordinating the program throughout the Mid-Columbia region). And when you do see Dennis you may want to ask him what it’s like to live with a very special dancing mouse. Call the Senior Center at 296-4788 to sign up for the class.

May is also “Older American’s Month” and to celebrate the Area Agency on Aging and Meals-on-Wheels are putting together an Ice Cream Social at the Senior Center this Friday May 16th from 6:30 – 8:00 pm at the Senior Center. Truman Boler will be providing the entertainment with his crowd pleasing and danceable music. Here is a chance to get out of the house on a Friday night for a little music, dancing and Ice Cream.

And to “double your pleasure and double your fun”, Truman will also be performing at Senior Center’s Tuesday Night Music on May 20th. If you already had your Friday night planned or once is not enough, come down on Tuesday night for another chance to enjoy the sounds of Truman Boler. And tonight the Notecrackers are playing for your dancing pleasure. The dancing always starts at 7:00 PM. The admission price is free although donations are gladly accepted. Everyone’s welcome.

The Next Chapter Lecture series 11:00 on Tuesday May 20th will feature Dr. Ryan LeBreton O.D., local optometrist, discussing common problems with your vision including Cataracts/Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma. It is always nice for a home town boy to go off to college, come back and contribute so much to the community.

May 20th is the last day to turn in your mail ballots in this important primary. Serious issues are being discussed including health care, the economy and war and peace but there has always been room for humorous look at the political events. This year we had Stephen Colbert a comedian on Comedy Central running for President and in the late 60’s does anyone remember Pat Paulson’s run for President? But again realizing there’s nothing new under the sun, I found in 1940 when Franklin Roosevelt was running for his third term, a political novice, Gracie Allen, announced her quixotic run for the White House. Since both of the major parties had qualified candidates, she decided to create her own party, the “Surprise Party”, explaining that her mother was a Democrat and her father was a Republican and she was born a surprise. Gracie had such high ethical standards that there was no vice-presidential candidate, because she had warned all along that she would not tolerate any vice in her administration. During the campaign she was asked several difficult questions. When asked if she would recognize Russia, Gracie answered: “I don’t know. I meet so many people….” and when she was questioned about what party she was affiliated, she replied, “I may take a drink now and then, but I never get affiliated.”

Like the major parties she also had a platform which she described as “redwood trimmed with ‘nutty’ pine”, with two key provisions (which she admits came to her in a dream). (1) Put Congress on a commission basis. Whenever the country prospered Congress would get ten percent of the additional take, and (2) extend Civil Service to all branches of government, because “a little politeness goes a long way.”

Well that is it again for another week. Until we meet again as I told my son last week during this election year, “Relax!”

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