Aging Well in the Gorge March 8th 2016

Let me just get it off my chest and say I didn’t have much time to write this week’s column because I was having too much fun hanging out all weekend with my eleven grandkids.

Okay, that’s not quite true because I really don’t have any grandkids. What I was actually doing was coaching eleven fantastic young swimmers for The Dalles Swim Team at a swim meet in Oregon City.

But I have come to realize, coaching is like having my own grandkids: helping these young kids adjust to life’s many lessons, and in my case, guiding them to become better swimmers. If you don’t have grandkids or they aren’t nearby, and you need a grandkid “fix”, find an opportunity to spend time with young kids whether at your church or neighborhood school. (The SMART program is one opportunity.) You’ll find it personally rewarding and you’ll see that the future is in good hands.

So this week, the best I can do, is a little of this and a little of that and a question about a 1960’s movie star.

If you haven’t filed your income taxes, you might want to consider the AARP Tax Aide program which provides free income tax assistance to low and moderate-income taxpayers with special attention to those aged 60 or older. And this is the best time, because as we are half way through the 2016 tax season the lines are shorter – at least until it picks back up for those late minute filers. You can stop by the Center between 2:00 and 6:00 on Fridays or 9:00 and 1:00 on Saturdays. Or outside The Dalles, the AARP Tax Aide sites are Canyon Rim Manor from 10:00 to 1:00 on the 1st & 3rd Mondays; Tygh Valley Community Center Room from 8:00 – noon on Thursdays; and in Sherman County you can make a Saturday appointment at the Rufus Community Center by calling 541-993-1054.

Congratulations to The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels for winning the MCHF Compassion Award for Outstanding Community Service Organization. I see the important work they do every day: providing nutritious noon meals at the Center; and delivering meals to folks who are homebound or have difficulty preparing healthy meals. They provide an invaluable service and every day prove that Meals-on-Wheels is “More than a Meal”.

Getting older can play some cruel tricks. Now that your kids have left home, you are retired from work and the house is finally paid off, you have the time to fulfill the long held dream of traveling across America on Route 66 in your classic sports car. But you then discover that your knees, legs and back are telling you in no uncertain terms that there is no way you are ever getting in and out of a car that low to the ground!

Last reminder about the Irish band Barley Draught’s concert at the Center this Friday. But this time, in the spirit of St. Patrick, I’m giving you the Irish translation - at least according to the English website Whoohoo! (I’d give you the real Irish Gaelic translation, but you wouldn’t understand a word.)

Git into a rousin' Oirish spirit at de Mid-Columbia Senior Center on March 11th wi' de local Oirish ban' Barley Draught. dis benefit for de Mid-Columbia Senior Center is sponsored by de Dalles 'ealth an' Rehabilitashun Center an' Clock Tower Ales. Music starts at 7:00 an' grub is served startin' at 5:30. Grub an' concert is $10, an' for de concert only its $7.00. Dis is an over 21 event.

For the Center’s Tuesday Night music on March 15^th the Simcoe Boys will be performing.  Doors open at 6:00, music starts at 7:00. Everyone is welcome and donations are appreciated.

The two-word slang term commonly used in the 60’s to describe someone as unpleasant or contemptible was “Rat Fink” commercialized by cartoonist and custom car designer Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. (The winner of a quilt raffle ticket is Barbara Pounds.)

For this week’s “Remember When” question, if I said U.S. Marine, motorcycle racing, “King of Cool”, the Blob, and the Magnificent Seven, what movie star of the 60’s and 70’s comes to mind? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or mail it with a 45 caliber Bullet.

Well, it’s been another week trying to stay out of trouble with a capital T. Until we meet again, no matter how hard, take time to discover each day’s blessing.

“An hour with your grandkids can make you feel young again. Anything longer than that can make you age quickly.” Gene Perret