PICKY, PICKY, PICKY

Anyone who has lived in a senior community know that a staple for existence is the potluck with everyone bringing there favorite dish and explaining just exactly what it is.

That why it is strange why some people shun potlucks because: "I just don't know how the food was prepared!" Come on, do these same people shun a commercial restaurant because of the safety of food preparation. There are few like Shake and Steak whose motto is "In sight, it must be right."

If people don't want to go too a potluck because they don't want to socialize with others just say so. As far as I know we haven't had any potluck casualties since I've been stuffing myself. You sure miss our on a lot of different, interesting dishes.

LIKE LIVING IN A WAR ZONE

Living in the Yuma Foothills seems, at times, like living in a war zone.

Because of the Marine Air Station Yuma planes such as the new F35 jets, Super Stallion helicopters and Ospreys, with their rotatable engines, are constantly flying maneuvers over our Foothills home. Quite often they may be going to the Barry Goldwater Bomb Range, or other military sites in the eastern part of Yuma County. It is only when MCAS has open house, and you can see these craft up close, can you realize just how large they are. Several are shown below.

While noise from four Super Stallions in formation or a couple of Ospreys can be bothersome (pictures rattling on the walls, obliterated TV sound) we must be tolerant because they all have the goal of protecting this country. So the best thing we can do is salute them as they fly overhead.

SNOWBIRDS AND WINTER VISITORS

Recently a fellow named Matthew Hendley wrote a disparaging article in the Phoenix New Times entitled “10 Things Arizonians Hate About Snowbirds”. Many of his comments have some truth in them but those who live here need to adapt to them because the annual winter visitors bring much needed cash to the Yuma area. The reasons Hendley puts forth (and I could find only nine reasons and not ten) are as follows: (for details go to Phoenix New Times News.The photo is from that article and that publication.)

- Actions while attending sporting events.

- Attitude in pharmacies where many seniors end up.

- Blocking supermarket aisles.

- Telling too many life stories.

- Just standing around blocking access to stores.

- Talking too much about where they came from.

- Bringing in “the most hideous dogs in the world” (and carrying them around in their shopping cart in Walmart).

- Clogging roads with their big RVs (usually towing a car).

- Slow driving. 

I can relate to many of these but the one that bothers me the most in the last reason: slow driving. For someone who lives in the Foothills and has to drive the ten miles to Yuma proper this can be very frustrating. Winter visitors do seem to drive well under the speed limit and often do so in both lanes of a four lane highway.

Frustrated as we often get, we love our winter visitors because they bring our friends back to help us enjoy the warm winter months and to make Yuma a more active city.

TIMELY THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON

When, and if, you plant a garden this year keep the following writeup in mind. It's full of tips for daily living.

ABOUT NAMES

What's with naming kids today? A sample of unusual names is shown on this birthday board at a Yuma elementary school. Whatever happened to Robert, John, Richard and William. They may be old-fashioned but they are easy to pronounce. There is a girl in my family with the name Arya. In case you are wondering its pronounced Ah-Wray-Ah. I can just imagine the kids at school asking "Are Ya?"I guess it comes by the melting of culture and perhaps the hope that a different name will make a child distinctive in their own right.

GOODBYE TO A NEIGHBOR AND FRIEND

I lost a neighbor and friend this morning with the death of Patrik (don't call her Patricia or Pat) Isotalo. Patrik and George, her husand and caretaker of many years, were inspirations for those who knew them. George was right by his wife's side on those sunny, warm days on which she could wheel around the neighborhood in the motorized chair to which she had been confined for most of the past decade. George and Patrik were bound by love as illustrated when, during a New Year's Eve dance, George lifted Patrik out of the chair and danced with her. It's a scene I will remember always and it always bring a tear to my eye. We all enjoyed talking with Patrik because of her gutsy manner and plain language. Our admiration will continue for George, a devoted mate and caregiver who, I know, will miss her greatly.

Awareness of Patrik's death came, as medical emergencies usually do in our small community, with the rumble of a fire engine in the early morning just before dawn,  without siren but with flashing lights which can wake a person as they filter through the slats in the window blinds. One of the drawbacks of living in a community for people over 55 is that each year we lose friends and neighbors through aging. Most residents of the community are winter visitors who flee to Yuma when the cold winters of the north start. The ravages of old age will mean each year that fewer and fewer will be able to come back to bring our community to life during the winter months.

CREATIVE DUMPSTER DIVING

I appreciate being able to recycle waste items in the small senior community in which I live. That's not only because it is the right thing to do. Every time I open the lid on the recycling container I get a chance to see what my neighbors are buying because they toss in the empty cardboard boxes. I know, for instance, that someone just bought a new fancy printer. Then there was the day when I noticed the box from a new water heater and a new 54" color TV. Of course, unless you see who recycled the boxes, you have to wait for the truth to come out at the regular card sessions or in the billiard room when the folks talk about their new acquisitions. In the summer, with few neighbors, its a lot easier to figure out who is buying what because there a limited number of people to buy. From what I've seen the economy where I live the economy is still very much alive and well.