In a few days, it will be a new year:
the traditional time to make New Year’s resolutions, full of optimism and hope.
But do any of
us make New Year’s resolutions anymore? They just seem like a young person’s
thing: resolutions to stay fit for the dating game; resolutions to follow some
new self-improvement practice.
And then do we really need to? I mean at our
age, we’ve experienced enough that we should we have it all figured out, right?
And what do we really need to change?
But resolutions are not just about personal
fitness or self-improvement. They are also an opportunity to imagine what new
experiences we would like to encounter in the upcoming year: walking unfamiliar
trails in the Gorge, finishing that book you’ve been meaning to read, or finding
more time to spend with family and friends.
There is much we can’t control: medical
emergencies, the size of our social security check, or whether it is going to
rain or snow. But there are many aspects of our lives we can influence, if not
control.
So here we are, about to start a new
year. We can keep doing the same old same old – and there is nothing wrong with
that. Or we can branch out; take this opportunity to contemplate the new year and
what makes life worth living - so we won’t
miss what is truly important.
What is important to you this coming year? What
are your New Year’s resolutions?
Saturday
Night Bingo will be celebrating New Year’s Eve with free pizza and a chance to
win $1000. Over $1200 will be paid out during the evening plus if there is a blackout
in 58 numbers or less on the last game, the payout will be $1000. Doors open at
4:00, pizza served starting at 4:30, and bingo starts at 6:00 PM. If you are a
new player, try to arrive by 5:30. Minimum buy-in is $10.00. Ages 12 and over
are welcome (children between 12 and 18 must be accompanied by legal guardian).
It’s a new year for the Center’s Tuesday Night Music with Andre,
KC and Joe performing on January 3rd. Doors open at 6:00, music
starts at 6:30 and donations are always appreciated.
Continuing the
countdown of “40 Great Things about Growing Older”. # 11 – Your clothes are
in style again – although this time around you’re smart enough to keep them in
the closet. (I’m not wearing skinny jeans anymore! - or pegged pants as they
were called when I was in High School.)
The toy that consisted of 3-D pictures on a circular disk which
could be viewed in a plastic device is called a View-Master. (This week’s
winners of a quilt raffle ticket each are Maxine Parker, Lana Tepfer, Sandy
Haechrel, who was offered a job at View-Master when she first moved to Oregon, and
Jerry Phillips who lived about a mile west of the old View-Master site. But the
winner of one and a half tickets is Jim Ayers who didn’t send me a Virtual
Reality View-Master, but left me the next best thing – a Fred Meyer discount coupon
for one.)
The college football bowl season is here again, and although
neither OSU or U of O are traveling to a bowl game this year, there have been
many highlights over the past 50 years including the 1967 OSU football team
known as the “Giant Killers”. That season OSU went undefeated against three #2
ranked teams which included a victory over USC and OJ Simpson at what was then
called Parker Stadium in Corvallis. So for this week, here is a “Remember When”
question suggested by Ron Sutherland, to see who is really a true orange-and-black
OSU football fan. Who was the two-time All-American defensive lineman who
caught USC tailback O.J. Simpson from behind to prevent a touchdown and
preserve the Beavers' 3-0 win over the top-ranked Trojans? Email your answer to
www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com,
leave a message at 541-296-4788 or send it with a big
pumpkin.
Well, it’s been
another week, trying to keep the icicles from hanging off my nose. Until we
meet again, don’t expect hot water if you only turn on the cold-water tap.
“We spend January 1
walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done,
cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to
walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for
potential.” Ellen Goodman
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