Aging Well January 14 2014

Life can be so serious. When we were younger we were focused on pursuing a career, raising a family, and for many putting their lives at risk serving our nation in Germany, Korea or Vietnam. And now there are doctor visits, all those pills, and children who we once told when they had to go to bed, now trying to telling us what we should and shouldn’t do. (Ironic isn’t it.)

But now that you are retired or maybe still working, but only part time, there is time (maybe too much time?) that you didn’t have before to try something new - that is light and fun and stretches your perception of what you can do.  

I don’t mean riding Portland’s MAX in your underwear for No Pants Day. I mean taking the Art of Silliness Drawing Workshop – a creative drawing class led by Debra Jones that involves drawing exercises that makes drawing fun.

As you can imagine, this is not your traditional drawing class. It is based on the work of Carla Sonheim and her “Art of Silliness Drawing Classes”. (www.carlasonheim.com.) As Debra explains, it is all about the creative process being fun. And is perfect for the person who feels they can’t draw or aren’t creative. The workshop will offer you a chance to draw without any expectations, without comparisons, without fear, but with the freedom to follow you own instincts and add a little whimsy in your life.

And there is no limit on class size! The cost is only $2.00 for each session and the sessions will be held at the Center from 1:00 – 2:30 on four consecutive Tuesdays starting February 4^th.  You will receive a supply list when you sign up at the Center.

So when everything can seem so serious, and when the grey winter skies never seem to lift, why not add a little silliness by signing up for the Art of Silliness Drawing Workshop – and you won’t have to take your pants off!.

At the 11:00 Tuesday Lecture on the 21^st, you will experience an example where art, history and technology intersect with a discussion of the online Cultural Institute. Google has partnered with hundreds of museums, cultural institutions, and archives to host the world’s cultural treasures - online and accessible to everyone. And then on the 28^th Joyce Powell Morin from MCMC will discuss the “Healing Power of Gratitude and Optimism” which was postponed in December.

Jerry Phillips forwarded me a statement by the European Commission announcing the new official language of the European Union. It was agreed that English would be best, but because English spelling had room for improvement, they negotiated a 5- year phase-in plan to what would become known as "Euro-English". (But don’t believe everything you read!)

So I thought I would write the music announcement incorporating the new spelling - starting with the changes for the first two years: replacing the soft “c” with an “s”, and the hard “c” with a “k”; and replacing the confusing "ph” with "f".

Next Tuesday at the Senter, Truman will be playing his Kountry Gold for your dansing and listening pleasure. The doors open at 6:00, the musik starts at 7:00 and the doors klose at 9:00. Everyone is invited inkluding nieces, nefews, aunts and unkles. And donations are appresiatively aksepted.

Several readers remembered singer, composer and pianist Neil Sedaka and his 1961 hit single Calendar Girl. And as Joann Scott pointed out, a time when you could understand the words, and I might add, were not embarrassed by them. (And the winner of a Saturday Breakfast on March 15th is Marilyn Gladwell.)

Shifting gears once again, this week’s two part “Remember When” question is about fashion. If you asked teenagers today, they probably wouldn’t have a clue, but what was the name of the piece of clothing commonly worn under a woman’s skirt in the 50’s and 60’s?  And to be more specific, this article of clothing was used in the title of what television comedy (1963-1970) that took place in the Shady Rest Hotel? E-mail your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788 or send it with a picture of the Hooterville Cannonball.

Well, it has been another week trying to keep the light on without the bulb burning out. Until we meet again, as Hector in his search for Happiness, once said “There’s no point in looking before crossing the road if you don’t look in the right direction.”

“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Here is the key to your earthly pursuits.” — Carl Jung