Page 56 - Sonoma County Gazette 11-17

Nov 2 ~ Legal Aid for Seniors -
Ongoing ~ Dine with seniors and guests at Sebastopol Senior Center - Fresh meals, made daily, to order. $4-$6.5, 11:30-1:30p, 167 N. High St, Seb. 707-829- 2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org, info@ sebastopolareaseniorcenter.org
Ongoing ~ Rides to appointments - 60 and over in West County to medical & social service appointments. Call five business days in advance. Dean Brittingham, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St, Sebastopol, 707-829-2440, dean@ sebastopolseniorcenter.org.
Ongoing ~ Rides to medical and social services appointments - Call to arrange for rides. Free for members of the Cloverdale Senior Community Center, 311 N Main St, Cloverdale, 707-894-4826, cloverdaleseniorcenter.com, Elizabeth, elizabeth@cloverdaleseniorcenter.com
Sunsets, Bon Voyages... and Good-byes
My Dad often said that good-byes need not be sad things – if you did it right. His philosophy about parting was simple: one should be sure to say good-bye with the possibilities clearly in mind. More than once his good-bye hug was followed with: Let’s hope we meet again, but if we don’t, always remember I love you! I feel fortunate that his attitude and philosophy has stayed with me. It doesn’t necessarily make parting or loss easier, but it helps strengthen one’s perspectives on reality.
Bon Voyage! and Sunsets have special bittersweet character, and I think we meet both with a childlike trust that all will be well – morning will come; travellers will return. While such “soft” departures serve to calm fears, who among us, at some occasion, has not had those fleeting moments of – what if? We’ve probably heard our own voice say, to a someone consumed with fears: “Don’t worry, everything will be all right...” (...and we sometimes say those words just trying to convince ourselves.)
Whether we learn from our wall-mounted-glass-face across the room, or from a frantic call or knock at the door, we can find ourselves suddenly pulled into awareness of tragedies about which we can do almost nothing. Memory can trick us, but I remember experiencing that tragedies were astounding things that happened exceptionally, infrequently and surprisingly. (Excepting war, of course.) One could move through and around a tragic situation with stalwart courage, doing what must be done. Trying to understand “why” can’t change things, but might help someone to better cope with insight. And then, there was time to heal.
Disasters, accidents, Mother Nature’s rampages, even the outrageous insanity and horrors of terrorism have a “why” somewhere in the rubble. But, in these few past years, I cannot catch my breath or keep my balance in the whirling cacophony of tragedy upon tragedy, each following on the heels of the other, assaulting mind, body and reason – following one another like a parade from hell! Not enough time in between, to heal.
So far, thankfully, I remain personally unharmed and will never know why. It leaves me disarmed and flabbergasted about the plight of others, like the man
I just saw on the news. He was standing by his home, not a shingle disturbed; but his entire neighborhood was reduced to smoldering rubble. I won’t soon forget his bewilderment as he struggled with relief and survivor guilt.
Of course, we do what we can with hands-on help, with money and
needed goods. (I hear my father’s voice and wish I could talk with him.) But, philosophies, credos or even Dad’s comforting words wax pathetic in the face of the need for driven pragmatic resolve and hard, new lines to be drawn in the sand. How do we kill inertia, wake up climate skeptics, replace sham leadership and get on with revisionist healing?
Freak weather! Massively destructive Hurricanes! 100 year Floods once a year! Insane Mass Murder! Devastating Wildfires! Furtive terrorist incidents contrived by twisted minds... we ask: what’s going on? When all is said and done in the wake of the latest effrontery, to life, love, country and planet, we are challenged only with the cleanups, a search for solutions, our efforts to prevent the preventable and survival strategies for going forward.
What we do not need (and must remedy) is patronizing pseudo leadership from a pathetic and insulated misfit who arrogantly scolded victims (elitism and prejudice scarcely veiled).
Too many Good-byes for too many good lives, from human to animal to flora, have been viciously thrown into premature Sunsets. Our Bon voyage feels like a Johnny-come-lately, weakly murmured, and rife with questions!
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.
Preregistration required. Free, 12:30- 1:30p, Bennett Valley Senior Center, 704 Bennett Valley Rd, SR, 707-545-8608, srcity.org
Nov 2 ~ A Matter of Balance
Senior fall prevention course classes occur at various venues throughout Sonoma County. Participants learn the importance of exercise in preventing falls and promoting strength, flexibility and balance. Free, Class size is limited to 15, 707-565-5936, Dana Jacoby, djacoby@ schsd.org, sonomacounty.ca.gov
Nov 13 ~ Restorative Yoga – 90-minute class to calm the mind and body and be fully present. Bring small blanket and pillow. 8:30-10a, Cloverdale Senior Community Center, 311 North Main Street, Cloverdale, 707-894-4826, cloverdaleseniorcenter.com
Nov 15 ~ Legal Consultations for seniors and family members - Half-hour consultations. Call to make appointment. Free, 10-11:30a, Parents Place of Sonoma County, 1360 N. Dutton Avenue Suite C, SR, 707-303-1530, jfcs.org
Thru Dec 20 ~ Aging Gayfully - Designed to serve older LGBT adults. Free, 2:30- 4:30p, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St. Sebastopol, GaryDHermes@ comcast.net, 707-227-6935
Ongoing ~ Senior Social Clubs - Helps seniors re-connect with others. Various locations. Laurel Anderson, 707-525-0143 ext. 103, landerson@councilonaging. com, Connie Aust at 525-0143 x 108 or email her atcaust@councilonaging.com.
Ongoing ~ Senior Dining Room Lunch
- Reservation must be made 24 hours in advance. W&F, 12-2p, $4, Russian River Community Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707-869-0618, Debra Rianda, russianriver.com
Thru Dec 31 ~ Sonoma-Napa district Tax-Aide program - Counselors prepare tax returns and client-facilitators greet clients to help them organize tax paperwork and to provide computer support: administrative work or publicity. 12 sites from Cloverdale to Petaluma, from Sebastopol to the City of Sonoma. Minimum commitment of 4 hours per week from Feb. 1 to mid-April, plus training time in January. aarp.org, taxaide4sonomaco@yahoo.com
56 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 11/17