Page 58 - Sonoma County Gazette August 2019

A View From A Safe Place...
At times, it feels like sight impaired. It’s not that I actually can’t see. It’s that sometimes I just can’t believe my eyes, and it becomes more about searching for a truth inside of what’s presented to my eyes. Double talk? (Well, I trust you’ll catch my meaning.)
Seeing clearly has become so much more vital—and that clarity is linked to the filter game I now must more carefully implement while watching the news and listening to the political static. (You know the one I mean: True or False?) In my safe and peaceful place in a forest full of innocent wildlife, it seems like some foreign tableau moving across my TV or iPhone screen! It’s not. It’s my country, my government, my news...
I couldn’t hear the roar of the military vehicles, thumping across our civilian DC byways on the 4th, and I couldn’t smell the exhaust or hear the roar of planes. (The view from a safe place tends to soften reality...) But, I
did see a phony soldier who tries to play war games with real tyrants, by default, by emulation, out of a pampered schoolboy’s fantasy. Good grief, it’s bad enough that flagrant racism, sexism, and ten other isms pour out of the mouths of radicals newly empowered by the Top Dog. But, now, “fact check “ is practically a mandatory, legitimate, new segment of daily broadcasts. The results are astounding.
I so agree with Bob Woodward, when he cautioned about the huge danger “...when lying is partnered with secrecy, and we must pursue the best obtainable version of the truth!” And, we must remember critical history. Have we somehow forgotten that among first indicators of a tyrant who desires takeover are the silencing of a free press and manipulation of the military?
It is so tempting to endlessly list grievances – so much of it is deja vu
all over again. I don’t want that stuff in my safe place. I don’t like that cold feeling that creeps up my spine as I listen and watch travesty after travesty.
I am a realist – I probably won’t be around, in the ten or fifteen years it will likely take to right the wrongs. (Parts of me will; we leave our consequences to our children!) In the meantime, I have to wrestle with the phenomenon, have the “conversations,” and look for actionable answers that are practical for my limitations.
There are other views from my safe place, views that help to counterbalance the ugliness in this political climate. There is my garden for healing, mountain views for perspective and the forest that can make you feel small and help you get over yourself when you think you have all the answers...
My fellow political junkies and I are noticing a huge sea change. We are more sober about these political challenges; and our cynical sarcasm has a tremble at its edges. The joviality is gone! Intensity borders on a nagging fear. You want to hang on to faith and hope that everything will be fine, eventually. The next election will fix everything! Or, we can impeach. Or, Congressional oversight will reel in out-of-control behavior. Supporters of the outrageous will come to their senses and see all this for what it really is! (Good luck with that last one...)
From my safe place, I try to remember the virtues of patience and compromise and I try to be less judgmental. But, the softened view one can have from their safe place, can easily become complacency, forgetting that not acting where action is needed becomes complicity.
Zoë Tummillo is a Business & Marketing Consultant/Trainer/Commercial Writer, dba COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS, in private practice since 1974. In addition to Commercial work, she writesSenior Momentum: A Series of Situations; “Pieces of My Path. essay memoirs of growing up first-generation Italian American; andSenior Momentum: Front And Center!. Email Zoë at writingservice@earthlink.net
58 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 8/19
Fall Tax Clinic ~ Free; AARP Tax-Aide, 2095 Franklin Ave, Santa Rosa, 707-327- 2401, aarpca2.org/sonoma-napa
Thru - Aug 7 ~ Managing Concerns About Falls ~ Falls are preventable! Free 8-session program. 3-5p, Rohnert Park Senior Center, 6800 Hunter Dr, Rohnert Park, 707-565-5936, Dana, sonomacounty. ca.gov, djacoby@schsd.org
Rides to Medical and Social Services Appointments ~ FREE for members of the Cloverdale Senior Community Center, 311 North Main Street, Cloverdale, 707-894-4826 Elizabeth, cloverdaleseniorcenter.com
About Falls ~ Free 8-session program. Burbank Heights & Orchards, 7777 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol, 707-565-5936, Dana, sonomacounty.ca.gov/, mob@ schsd.org
Thru Aug 29 ~ Managing Concerns About Falls ~ Free 8-session program. Fitch Mountain Terrace Apts, 720 Fitch Mountain Rd, Healdsburg, 707-565- 5936, Dana, sonomacounty.ca.gov, mob@schsd.org
Thru - Oct 14 ~ AARP Tax-Aide Summer/ Thru Aug 26 ~ Managing Concerns
Senior Dining Sites Council on Aging 30 Kawana Springs Road, Santa Rosa, 707-525-0143. 60 and over Donation of $4.00 Reservation must be made 24 hours in advance
Cloverdale Mon-Fri ~ 12p, Cloverdale Multipurpose Center, 311 N. Main St. 707-525-0383 Healdsburg Mon-Fri ~ 11a, Healdsburg Senior Center, 133 Matheson St., 707-525-0383 Sebastopol Mon-Fri ~ 11a, Sebastopol Senior Center, 167 High St., 707-525-0383
Santa Rosa Mon-Fri ~ 11a, Silvercrest Senior Housing, 1050 Third St., 707-525-4487 Healdsburg Mon, Tue, Wed ~ 11a, St. Paul’s Church, 209 Matheson St. 707-433-6161 Rohnert Park Mon-Fri ~ 11a, RP Senior Center, 6800 Hunter Drive, Ste. A, 707-525-0383 Santa Rosa Mon-Fri ~ 12p, Bethlehem Tower, 801 Tupper, 707-525-0383
Santa Rosa Mon, Tue ~ 12p, United Methodist Church, 2150 Giffen Ave 707-525-0143 x103 Sebastopol Mon, Wed, Fri ~ 12p, Sebastopol Senior Center, 167 High St, 707-829-2440, ext. 6 Sonoma Tue, Thu ~ 12p, Jerry Casson Senior Center, 264 First St. E. 707-996-1414
Ongoing ~ Senior Dining Room Lunch
12-2p every Wed. and Fri. 60 and over $4.00, Res Req’d, Russian River Community Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707-869-0618, russianriver.com
Sebastopol Area Senior Center 167 N. High St.Sebastopol, 707-829-2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org
Aug 9 - Oct 11 ~ Donna Declutter ~ Lighten your load, save time & money. Members, $10; Non-Members $12. 10:45a-12p, Sebastopol Senior Center, 167 N. High St, Sebastopol, sebastopolseniorcenter.org
Thru - Nov 1 ~ Exercise Classes ~ The Sebastopol Area Senior Center offers a variety of exercise classes on a weekly basis. $5-$10, Sebastopol Senior Center, 167 N. High St, Sebastopol, 707-829-2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org
Blood Pressure and Glucose Screening - 3rd Thursdays, 12-1 p.m. *when volunteers are available. Suggested Fee: $3 Wisdom Counts Member; $4 Assoc. Members
Community Reiki Sessions ~ Reg req’d, Reiki is a healing technique that involves the therapist channeling energy into the patient by means of touch to restore physical and emotional well-being. Sessions are led by Kristen Picard, Reiki Master Teacher. 10:45-12p
Blood Pressure and Glucose Screening - 3rd Thursdays, 12-1 p.m. *when volunteers are available. Suggested Fee: $3 Wisdom Counts Member; $4 Assoc.Members
Rides To Appointments ~ Need a ride to medical and social service appointments? CALL five business days in advance of your appointment, Dean Brittingham, 707- 829-2440 or emaildean@sebastopolseniorcenter.org.
Russian River Senior Resource Center 15010 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville, 707-823-1640, westcountyservices.org
Aug 6 - Sep 24 ~ A Matter of Balance ~ Free 8-session program. Vinecrest Senior Apts, 8400 Hembree Ln, Windsor, 707-565-5936, Dana, sonomacounty.ca.gov, mob@schsd.org
Aug 7 - Oct 2 ~ Free Veterans Pension Seminar ~ Veterans Service Office, 3725 Westwind Blvd., 1st Floor, Santa Rosa, 707-565-5960, scvets.org
Aug 22 ~ Free LGBT+ Training for All Caregivers ~ Train to care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender older adults and adults with disabilities. 9a-1p, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St., Sebastopol, 707-565-5700
Sep 4 - Oct 23 ~ A Matter of Balance ~ Managing Concerns About Falls. Free 8-session program. Vintage House Sonoma, 264 First St E., Sonoma, 707-565-5936, Dana, sonomacounty.ca.gov/, mob@schsd.org
Ongoing ~ Free Rides for Seniors ~ by WCCS. Pick up RR Senior Center, RR Health Center & Monte Rio & Forestville. Call 707-823-1640 x140