Aging Well in the Gorge September 15th 2015

Besides being National Senior Center Month, did you know September is also National Fall Hat Month, National Blueberry Popsicle Month, and National Bourbon Heritage Month?  Probably not. But I hope you do know September is National Preparedness Month - helping communities prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies.

In conjunction with National Preparedness Month, the American Red Cross and NW Natural are inviting you to “Get Ready, The Dalles” an event at the Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue on Saturday the 19^th from 10:00 – 2:00. There you will learn more about how to prepare for natural disasters or other emergencies. You can pick up free safety items and the first 100 families will receive a small emergency kit! Plus free lunch will be served.

In addition to “Get Ready, the Dalles” you can find more information about preparedness at www.Ready.gov including these three important steps older Americans can take to be prepared.

First, make a kit of emergency supplies including food and water to last at least three days - plus your medications. Keep important documents such as birth certificates, Medicare cards and insurance policies in the kit or nearby.

Create a plan. Do you have a personal support network? A family communication plan? A plan to evacuate? And what about your pets?

Finally, stay informed. Do you have your mobile phone registered with Citizen’s Alert? (All landlines automatically receive emergency notices). Do you know what type of emergency to prepare for? We don’t have to worry about tornadoes or hurricanes, but we do have floods, wildfires, heat waves, snow/ice storms and, oh yeah, it also gets windy once in a while!

FEMA reported that Americans 75 and older are generally not prepared and are not confident it would make any difference. But it can. As the saying goes, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worse.”

Under the “Oops. I forgot” column, I didn’t mention last week that Mahjong is returning on Fridays from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. This is not the familiar computer game of matching tiles, but a game I found similar to Gin Rummy but using tiles instead of playing cards. This is a great chance to learn something new, and I promise it will be much easier than learning Mandarin Chinese.

Besides this column, I also write the Center’s almost weekly newsletter - which I email and post on the Center’s website (www.midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com). But often I can’t remember if I wrote something for this column or the newsletter. So have I mentioned the weekly Doodlers group offered by the Dalles Art Center? They gather every Sunday at different locations to sketch and doodle. It is very informal and open to all skill levels. It sounds like a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Call the Art Center for more information.

As I looked back over the past several week’s columns, it appears I forgot to mention who was playing music at the Center on Tuesday nights. I guess I miss the Brain Fitness Club more than I thought. (The club is meeting again on Mondays from 1:00 – 2:00). So for at least my own benefit, this week’s announcement for Tuesday Night music will be scrambled to give the grey cells a quick little work out.

Rof hte tnCere’s Tuesday night scuim at eth Ectenr on September 22nd, The Elderly Brothers lilw eb perofmrgni for yoru ilnsitgen dan cndaing pleasure. Ew ullp up het rgu at 7:00 so ouy nac ickk yuor shoes fof and adenc het inght ayaw. Reveoyne is invited, wtehhre yuo ehva ufro left feet or onne, nad odtnionas rea alawys appreciated.

The “Lovable Lush” was Foster Brooks who often performed with Dean Martin - who I recall had a persona of being a drinker himself. (And the winner of a quilt raffle ticket is Kathy Shebley.)

Fashion is always changing, but now a days there doesn’t seem to be any rules. Shorts are worn year round, pants range from baggy to skin tight, and what I would call pajama bottoms, people wear while shopping.

But when I was in high school, I remember my aunt telling me what I was wearing wasn’t supposed to be worn after Labor Day. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was I wearing? Email your answers to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or mail it with a can of Kiwi Polish.

Well, it’s been another week, learning to duck when it comes back around. Until we meet again, your friends may have more, and your critics less, but everyone has a piece of the truth.