Senior
Living May 31st 2016
“You
don't stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop
laughing.” Michael Pritchard
At the
Center we often talk about the importance of humor and laughter. Dr. Steve
Allen, Jr., son of the talk show host and comedian, said "Laughing,
especially at yourself is the most powerful stress-releaser we have." It not
only reduces the body's negative reaction to stress, it helps prevent such
stress from occurring in the first place.
Humor
is particularly helpful as we age, because it acknowledges the incongruities
and absurdities of life and reminds us that we are all in this together. We all
deal with the struggles and challenges of aging and yet here we are still alive
and kicking - or at least moving. As Bob Newhart said, "Laughter gives us
distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move
on."
The
best laugh is always on ourselves. Elsa Maxwell, 75, declared, “Laugh at
yourself first, before anyone else can." Or as Robert Fulton puts it
"It is a matter of laughing with ourselves, not at ourselves." Can
you remember the funniest thing that has ever happened to you? And what makes
you smile or laugh?
A
sense of humor is very personal. You can be offended while others find a joke amusing.
I have watched several standup comedians on Netflix, and for some I couldn’t
make it past the first ten minutes because it was such poor taste and too
embarrassing – especially watching it with my wife. Yet the audience thought it
was hilarious. Am I getting old?
But
here is one of Elt Fadness’s “Ole and Lena” stories - for us who still remember
drive-ins.
Ole
and Lena were at the drive-in movie. Ole says, “Say Lena, you wanna get in the
back seat?” Lena says, “Naw, Ole, I’d just as soon stay up here with you.”
Have
you ever left a store and can’t remember where you parked your car? Many
boomers have resorted to strapping bicycles or kayaks on their car roofs so
their cars would be easy to spot. (And you were envious thinking they were just
enjoying the great outdoors!) But since not all of us can afford a mountain
bike or kayak, the Center will soon be selling large colorful plastic balls to attach
to the end of your car’s antenna. Never again will you have waste time remembering
where your car is - it will just be under the bright red plastic ball. But we
will only be selling a few. We don’t want you to walk out of Fred Meyer and see
a whole field of plastic balls and still not know which car is yours.
At the
Center’s Tuesday Lecture at 11:00 on June 7th, Tria Bullard from
Google will demonstrate how to use Google Apps on your computer - so you can
connect with friends and family, organize your photos and files, and even make
calls for free. You'll explore Gmail, Google Docs, and Hangouts. And if you
don't have a Gmail account, Tria will walk you through the process of getting
one. The class is open to anyone with basic computer skills.
Every
Tuesday night at the Center there is live music for your dancing and listening
enjoyment, and on June 7th, Andre, KC and Tom will be playing. Doors open at
6:00, music starts at 7:00, and, donations are always appreciated.
The actor-singer
who sang “Back Home Again in Indiana” at the Indy 500 from 1972 until 2014 was
Jim Nabors. (The winner of a quilt raffle ticket is Jim Ayers - and Ruth
Radcliff who I forgot to mention last week.)
This
week’s “Remember When” question is about the musical icon Bob Dylan who turned
75 last week. It doesn’t seem that long ago in the summer of 1965 when I was vacationing
with my family in Los Angeles and on the radio heard this singer called Bob Dylan
which I, from Middle America, had never heard of. But in September of that year
he recorded his first hit song that was over six minutes long and reached #2? Email
your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or
mail it to the Center with a small clump of green moss.
Well,
it’s been another week trying to keep my hat from blowing off. Until we meet
again, as Lord Byron once said, "Always laugh when you can. It is cheap
medicine."
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