Aging Well in the Gorge May 10th 2016

I have this vague impression I use to be mentally sharp. (But then when I can’t remember what I did four weeks ago, I guess I can imagine my self being anything forty years ago.) But I’ve discovered these days I seem to be living by the “Rule of Three”. I will take the same route three times before I learn to avoid the detour; or I have to follow a new simple office routine three times before I remember to do it automatically. But there are some advantages. I can enjoy watching a TV mystery three times before remembering who killed who. How things have changed. But I’m not going to let it bother me. I’m pretty sure sometime in the future I will be living by the “Rule of Four”, and then five - and who knows what after that.

The Mid-Columbia Senior Center Quilters do more than design and stitch together the beautiful quilts displayed in the Center’s lobby. They also have sewn over forty special one-of-a-kind baby and toddler blankets that make great gifts. In addition, they are available for hire to repair family quilts or complete any unfinished quilts. For more information, you can find the quilters downstairs at the Center every Monday from 10:00 – 3:00 or you can call the Center during those hours.

I wish I could peruse through the old pictures of my classmates and teachers; school clubs and sports teams from when I went to school in Indianapolis – and reawakening forgotten memories by those visual reminders. But if you attended one of The Dalles area schools, you can travel back in time by visiting The Dalles District Archive Museum, now open every Saturday from 10:00 - 3:00. You can find yearbooks, pictures, programs, and much more from local elementary, junior high, and high schools from 1911 to the present. And it is free! You can visit the museum, located at the Wahtonka High School building on 3601 W. 10th Street, by entering the school through the door closest to the athletic fields.  Call Rymmel Lovell at 541-296-6546 or e-mail tlovell@netcnct.net for high school tours and class reunions scheduled this summer. Donations are always appreciated from school alumni.

The Center relies on volunteers, business supporters and its member to keep the doors open and the floors swept. A particular thank-you to the three hundred ninety-five members (five members in the last week) who have already joined during the Center’s 2016 membership campaign. But the Center is still fifty-five members shy of its goal of four hundred fifty members by the Center’s annual meeting in July. The cost is $35 for a single or $60 for a couple or $50 a person to be Super Duper member. Please join by stopping by the Center or online at www.midcolumbiaseniorcenter.com.

It is that time again to shake up your little gray cells. For this week’s music announcement, I’ll give you a chance to practice your backward reading skills. Start at the end of this paragraph and I’ll meet you back here. .detaicerppa syawla era snoitanoD .neewteb-ni ro tfel ,thgir era uoy rehtehw emoclew si enoyreve ,00:7 ta strats cisum ,00:6 ta nepo srooD .gniyalp eb lliw syoB eocmiS eht ,ht71 yaM no dna ,tnemyojne gninetsil dna gnicnad ruoy rof cisum evil si ereht retneC eht ta thgin yadseuT yrevE

The name of the controversial rock musical that portrayed the hippie counterculture in New York City was Hair. (And the winner of a quilt raffle ticket is Bill Van Nice.)

In the Sunday Chronicle, you may have seen the picture of one of the new informational kiosks and bike racks recently installed along Second Street. If you examine closely the kiosk shown in the picture, you will see a photograph from the 1962 The Dalles High School Yearbook of this popular 50’s and 60’s destination for teens “cruising the gut” or just hanging out. What was the name of this popular drive-in? And for bonus points who owned it? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or drop your answer off with a Hefty Henry and its special sauce.

Well, it’s been another week searching for the questions before I forget the answers. Until we meet again, although we may be over 60, life is far from over.

“Sometimes we can't find the thing that will make us happy, because we can't let go of the thing that was supposed to.”  Robert Brault