Help
me with this question. What does “old” look like?
Here’s
the reason I’m asking. I take a diuretic and for me one of the side effects is
dry mouth. And because of my dry mouth, I apparently make strange mouth
contortions to moisten my mouth. It hasn’t been a problem until the other day when
my wife told me to stop because, as she put it so eloquently, ”IT MAKES YOU
LOOK LIKE AN OLD MAN!” Now what does that mean? Some toothless old guy gumming
his saliva?
I’ve
mentioned how I must keep up a certain appearance for my children to protect
myself from their loving concern. But my wife? She has lived with me long
enough to know I’m no spring chicken - not even an autumn rooster.
But
this whole episode begs the question, what should I look like at 71? What
should anyone look like when they grow older?
Should
I dye my hair? Pump iron for two hours a day? Purchase the latest anti-aging creams?
The model
and actress Lauren Hutton once said “We have to be able to grow up. Our
wrinkles are our medals of the passage of life. They are what we have been
through and who we want to be.”
I’ve
decided I’m not going worry about how old I look. I’ll display my medals with
pride knowing I am what I am. And if my grey hair, balding scalp and wrinkled
skin (and strange mouth contortions) is the price to pay for a long and
wonderful life, I’ll take it any time.
You
only have a few days left to purchase raffle tickets for the Chicken Coop. The
drawing will be held at the Center this Friday, February 22nd during
the Chicken Dinner and Auction – the Center’s major fundraiser for the year. Tickets
are $10 or three for $25.
If
you’re soon turning 65, (and congratulations, you made it this far!), you
probably have questions about enrolling in Medicare. As in any health insurance
program, it’s complicated and can be confusing and frustrating.
You
have a seven-month window to enroll called the Initial Enrollment Period which begins
three months before the month you turn 65, includes the month you turn 65, and
ends three months after the month you turn 65. You can go to www.medicare.gov to
learn more about how to enroll.
But
if you’re like me and find it more comfortable to talk to someone face-to-face,
there are SHIBA (State Health Insurance Benefits Assistance) volunteers to help
you through the Medicare maze. To schedule an appointment, call the local SHIBA
line at 541-288-8341 or the Center at 541-296-4788. A SHIBA counselor should
return your call within 48 hours.
The
Center’s Loan Closet of durable medical equipment has been enlarged, organized
and cleaned thanks to the help of Joyce Browne, Karen Miller and Sue Arguelles.
It is one of the Center’s most popular programs, but it depends on a constant supply
of donated used medical equipment. The Center currently has plenty of walkers, both
two wheel and four-wheel, but is short of commodes, shower benches and toilet
seat risers. You can drop off any donated items at the Center, and if the
Center is closed just leave them at the front door. I haven’t yet seen any thieves
running down the street with a toilet seat riser under their arm.
The
title of Jacqueline Susann’s first novel published in 1966 which received poor
reviews but was the biggest selling novel that year was Valley of the Dolls. I received correct answers from Vicki Sallee, Jerry
Phillips, Cheri Brent, Lana Tepfer, Deloris Schrader and Lorna Elliott this
week’s winner of a free quilt raffle ticket.
We’ll
stick with literature for two more weeks. In 1966 Truman Capote, wrote one of greatest
true crime books ever written establishing a new literary form: the “nonfiction
novel”. For this week’s “Remember When” question what was the title of the book
that detailed the 1959 murders of four members of the Herbert Clutter family in
the small farming community. Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com,
leave a message at 541-296-4788 or return your answer with a picture of the
Finney County Courthouse in Garden City Kansas.
Well,
it’s been another week wishing spring would grab my snow shovel and store it away
for another year. Until we meet again, there
is no wrong time to start living the life you want to live.
“Keep
your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.” Walt Whitman
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