Aging Well in the Gorge July 10th 2019

Are you living with several chronic conditions - conditions that won’t go away and you have just learned to live with? A 2017 study by Rand Health showed that over 82% of adults 65 and older have more than one chronic condition that range from an irritant to life threatening.

But living with a serious chronic condition for years is a struggle and each person finds their own way to cope. Such was the case for Carole Anderson who turned to writing and painting to support her healing for over thirteen years after being diagnosed with Lymphoma.

To share her story of the healing power of art, Carole, Corliss Marsh and Scott Stephenson, the new director of The Dalles Art Center, have created a fascinating ongoing and evolving exhibition this month at the Art Center called “In Process: My Handmade Life”. The exhibition features writings and paintings from Carole’s book My Handmade Life which she hopes will provide encouragement and comfort for others living with cancer or another serious chronic condition. The opening reception was last week, but at the Art Center on July 11^th from 5:30-7:30 pm, you can hear Carole read excerpts from her book as well as view many of her paintings.

This exhibit is both an opportunity for Carole to share her story of living life with a chronic illness which she describes as a patchwork quilt; and an opportunity to build community. And this is where you can participate. Using the idea of a quilt, you are invited to add your own personal thoughts and feelings to a community quilt that will hold the individual experiences within a community.

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To create this community quilt, you are invited to “sew-ins” on every Thursday in July from 1:00 – 4:00 led by local quilt maker, Corliss Marsh. Everything will be provided to create your own quilt block that will be added to the quilt. And if you want to keep your thoughts private, you can write them on a sheet of paper that will be used as the batting for the quilt. Upon completion at the end of July, the community quilt will be permanently displayed at the Art Center.

I hope you will find time to hear Carole’s story and participate in this inspiring community-building exhibition that is a work in process. Visit Facebook (The Dalles Art Center) and Instagram (@thedallesartcenter) for more information.

The Center is offering trips during the summer and the Center’s next trip will be on Thursday, July 18th to the Old Aurora Colony Museum. You will have a chance to explore the five-building museum complex including: the Ox Barn, Steinbach Cabin, Kraus House, Will Family Summer Kitchen and Tie Shed. The cost is $45 which covers the transportation and admission. If you want to take the Guided Tour that will be an additional $5.00. For lunch there will be a stop at the Filbert’s Farmhouse Kitchen where you can order off the menu. Call the Center to sign up.

The name the 1963 hit song whose lyrics were so unintelligible they were thought to be obscene and consequently banned in several places was “Louie, Louie” by the Kingsmen. And the other band that recorded “Louie, Louie” in the same studio (411 S.W. 13th Avenue in Portland) and around a week later was Paul Revere and the Raiders. I received correct answers from Carol Earl, Jess Birge, Cheri Brent, Mike Carrico, Mark Bartel, and Jim Heitkemper this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket. And I missed Carol Earl from last week.

Baseball was a big part of many boys lives back in the day: throwing a baseball back and forth with your dad or listening to the baseball world series during school. So how about a question about “America’s Pastime”?

The New York Yankees were dominant in the 50’s playing in nine World Series and winning seven of them. For this week’s “Remember When” question who was their coach that said after being fired by the Yankees in 1960 “I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again”? And for bonus points, when he returned to major league coaching in 1962 which expansion team did he coach? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or return your answer with a 1963 Topps baseball card of "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry.

Well, it’s been another week, enjoying the beautiful days in the Gorge.  Until we meet again, keep writing your own life story.

“God invented mankind because he loved silly stories.” Ralph Steadman, illustrator