Page 56 - Sonoma County Gazette March 2018.indd

This Is No Time To Cool Off!
I don’t really like being red up and angry so much of the time. But this is no time to cool o , let it go, and help all this slip into a “new normal” quagmire. It’s no time to relax about what is happening with our country, now in dangerous hands.
We could lose our country as we know and love it! As for me, not to worry... I’m old enough that I wouldn’t even be here when the nal boom would be lowered. These things take time. These things are innocuous right before they slip away from our grasp and become an unrecognizable “something else.”
It has become bizarre – in these unseasonably warm days – to spend a day doing beautiful things in my garden (where beautiful Da odils and Narcissus are blooming) then come inside for a big let-down. All I want is lunch and the noon news! Instead, my mood gets blown away with the dark and ominous realities of a twisted, dangerous, incompetent administration that is trying to make my country unrecognizable.
Often, I think about the fact that there now are way too few of us still around who can actually remember hearing – in real time -- the maniacal voice of Adolph Hitler. I was just a child then, in a living room in rural Massachusetts listening to a frightening, screaming voice followed by shrieking mobs shouting “Heil Hitler!” coming from the (at that time) state-of-the-art Philco radio cabinet. I can still see the tense, worried look on my father’s face, straining to hear the translations – which were chilling. (Why does today feel so deja vu?)
This is no time to cool off, calm down, tune it out, get fed up, stop caring, stop voting, stop yelling about it, just give up or write this off as an anomaly that will come to nothing.
There is a pathetic, dangerous Pied-Piper-wannabe ranting a repetitive mantra of lies, deceptions, incompetence, ignorance and worse. It hopes that if we hear it long and consistently enough we won’t remember when it wasn’t so.
As Americans, have we lulled ourselves into lethargy and overcon dence? Have we become arrogant, believing we are impervious to deterioration? Do we deny the possibility of the destruction of our Democracy? Do we think we are invincible? (Are we deaf, dumb AND blind?)
I sit here venting and ranting – a grandmother in her 83rd year – writing furiously about circumstances about which I can do very little, the truth be told. I have other themes in my drafts le that are being neglected – ideas and thoughts that would be interesting to explore – yet I am taken over with what feels like huge, imminent danger.
It is so ruinous to my mood, at times, that I almost feel guilty wanting to go back out to my garden and just enjoy myself! Instead, I write another letter, make another call, talk with my political junkie friends and try my best to stay informed – while also trying to immerse myself in my real work! I am trying with all the focus I can muster to trust the basic precepts and disciplines our Constitution mandates. I don’t want to become a cynic, trapped in negativity and inaction.
Eventually, I go back out to my garden; I consider bulbs. We bury them before the frosts set in, then winter wraps them in severe cold – it’s almost a threat of destruction. We trust they will make it through the test, break through the earth barrier -- renewed, strong and beautiful again in Spring -- cycling into a new beginning. (There’s an analogy in there somewhere.)
Zoë Tummillo is a Business & Marketing Consultant, Trainer and Commercial Writer, dba COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS and Writing Service, in private practice. SENIOR MOMENTUM: A Series of Situations!© Zoë Tummillo To contact her: email: writingservice@earthlink.net.
56 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 3/18
Mar 1, 15, ~ Legal Aid for Seniors - Preregistration required, 707-545-8608), $5 (Free for members) 1st Thur, 1230- 130p, 3rd Thurs, 10-1130a, Bennett Valley Senior Center, 704 Bennett Valley Rd, Santa Rosa, 707-545-8608, srcity.org/559/ Active-Adults
Mar 1 ~ Aqus ~ Singles Seniors Social - Mix & mingle. Make new friends. Free, 5p - 630p, Aqus Cafe Foundry Wharf, 189 H St., Petaluma, 707-778-6060, info@ aquscafe.com
Mar 2 - 30, ~ A Matter of Balance - Prevent falls and promoting strength, flexibility and balance. email mob@schsd.org or call 707-565-5936 for location. Free. 215p - 3p, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave, 707-565-5936, Dana Jacoby, sonomacounty.ca.gov/Human-Services/ Adult-and-Aging
Carl Green, Mar 9 -Tom Shader Trio Mar 16 ~ Manny Gutierrez Mar 23 ~ Carlton Trio. $8 Admission - Dance times 1-4p, Finley Community Complex, 2060 West College Avenue, Person Senior Wing, Santa Rosa, 707-543-3737, Billie Erkel, Heresbillie@aol.com
Mar 3 ~ Hat Workshop ~ Grand Opening of Abbot’s Passage Supply Co. - Bring a small item that holds special value (grandmother’s button, father’s tie, favorite stone) to incorporate into a hat that reflects their personal story. 12 guest limit. Reservations. Free, 11a, Passage Supply Co., 27 East Napa Street, Sonoma, 707-939-3017, abbotspassage. com/, experience@abbotspassage.com
Mar 6, 3, 20, 27 ~ Writing Your Life - Tell your life story in prose, poetry or creative non-fiction. Every Tuesday, 2-5 p.m Presented by Scott Reid, MA SRJC Older Adults Program. Free - Russian River Senior Resource Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville, 707-869-0618
Mar 8 ~ Advance Health Care Directive Workshop - Two-part workshop you can ask yourself “What matters most?” $50, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, 1360 N. Dutton Avenue, Suite C, Santa Rosa, 707-303-15, seniorsathome.jfcs.org
Mar 17 ~ Welcome to the Village - Continue living vibrant, active, and connected lives in our own homes as we age. Free, 11a- 12p, , 402 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, 707-776-6055, villagenetworkofpetaluma.org
Ongoing
Senior Social Clubs ~ Day programs at four sites in Sonoma County. Contact Laural Anderson at 707-525-0143 ext. 103, landerson@councilonaging.com.
Mar 2, 9, 16, 23 ~ Senior Ballroom Dance,
Rides To Appointments ~ Need help getting to medical and social service appointments? 707-829-2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org. Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St, Sebastopol, 707-829-2440,
Senior Center, Cloverdale Senior Community Center, 311 North Main St., Cloverdale, 707-894-4826, cloverdaleseniorcenter.com/, Elizabeth elizabeth@cloverdaleseniorcenter.com
Meet new friends and share a meal Wed. & Fri. 60 +. $4 Reservations. Russian River Community Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707- 869-0618, Debra Rianda, russianriver. com/events/senior-dining-room-food- fun-friendship/
Exercise
Mar 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 ~ Gentle chair yoga class - For older adults or those with limited mobility. Breathing, meditation and basic poses with support of a chair. $10, 1130-1230p, Monte Rio Community Center, 20488 Hwy 116, Monte Rio, delphinayoga.wordpress.com/, delphinayoga@gmail
Mar 6, 13, 20, 27 ~ Mindful Balance -Gentle yoga geared toward older adults - $10, 1130-1230p, Russian River Senior Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Rd, Marshall House, Guerneville, delphinayoga@ gmail.com
Blood Pressure and Glucose Testing
~ Third Thursdays - Empire College medical training program. $3- $4 3p - 4p, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St, Sebastopol, 707-829-2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org/
Every first Wednesday & Friday 12 - 2p.
Sebastopol Area Senior Center 167 N. High St.Sebastopol,
707-829-2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org
Mar 16 ~ Speaking of Death - Perspectives on death, share, and honor our stories. Potluck. Free for members, $5 non-members, 330-5p.
Mar 17 ~ St. Patty’s Day Shamrock Dance Don your greenest outfit, and join us for dancing, food, drinks, Irish style. All ages welcome. $15 - $20
Mar 25 ~ Rumi’s Caravan - Recited poetry performed in the ecstatic tradition, celebrating the art of Rumi, Hafiz, and other mystic poets. $15 members, $20 non-members, 3-430p.
Mar 26 ~ West County Homeless Advocates - Encourage and inspire each other to be informed and courageous. Free, 6-730p.
Mar 1,8,15,22,29 ~ Smart Phone Help
- Get your questions answered.. Members Free, $5 non-members, 2nd and 4th Thursdays, 3-430p
Mar 3 ~ Day Trip - Book of Mormon The Musical - An outrageous musical comedy about mismatched missionaries. $1 mbrs, $12 non-mbrs
Mar 8, 22 ~ Aging Informed 2 Part Series Avoid crisis management. Part I - For Someone, Part II - For Yourself. Free or , $5 non-members, 1-2p.
Mar 9 ~ Clearing Clutter Support Group Come with a project in mind $10 donation, 1045-12p.