Page 58 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2019
P. 58

   Letters Not For Mailing
May 31- Jun 28 ~ Senior Ballroom Dancing ~ Great time, Great music, a different band each week. $9, Sign in at the Person Senior Wing, Finley Center Auditorium Community Center, 2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa
May 31 ~ Memorial Day BBQ - Age 50 plus ~ All-American BBQ lunch in the courtyard at the Person Senior Wing! Pre-reg required. Members Free, Non-Members $8, 11:30a Person Senior Wing - Finley Community Center, 2060 West College Avenue, Santa Rosa, 707-543-3745
Jun 13 ~ Get to Know the Village ~ Learn how Village members and volunteers share their talents, support, fun, and friendship. Free, 10a, Village Network of Petaluma, 955 Petaluma Blvd. South, Petaluma, 707-776-6055, VillageNetworkofPetaluma.org, info@villagenetworkofpetaluma.org
Jun 19 - Aug 7 ~ A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls ~ Falls are preventable! Free, 3-5p, Rohnert Park Senior Center, 6800 Hunter Dr, Rohnert Park, 707-565-5936, Dana, sonomacounty.ca.gov, djacoby@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 Rides to Medical and Social Services Appointments ~ Call to arrange rides - FREE for members of the Cloverdale Senior Community Center, 311 North Main Street, Cloverdale, 707-894- 4826 Elizabeth, cloverdaleseniorcenter.com
It started for me many years ago when one of my mentors, told me about the useful tool: Letters Not For Mailing. Her name was Ruth. She was the General Manager of a “high profile” women’s clothing department store in Boston. It was a position unusual at that time, hard won and requiring a lot of diplomacy working with 99% of the managers of that venue being male.
I was in college and also working at my father’s business for practical application! I met Ruth then. She took me under her wing to show me the real ropes that awaited a naive young woman who wanted a career in business. She was a tough taskmaster who taught me a lot. Many of the things I learned by shadowing her, I have used throughout my business career. It was early on, women helping women.
One tool became especially useful. Letters Not For Mailing was basically just a simple discipline that could save the user a lot of grief, and bring the user clarity and a certain kind of success handling sticky situations. The older I got, the more I could see how that simple discipline could help keep me out of a lot of hot water, better resolve conflicts and more successfully clarify interpersonal communication. I think Ruth knew it would eventually appeal to me because writing was already my thing. (She also knew I had a short temper!)
 Sebastopol Area Senior Center 167 N. High St.Sebastopol, 707-829-2440, sebastopolseniorcenter.org
Jun 5 - 26 ~ Summer Mindfulness Meditation Series ~ Mindfulness Meditation has been proven to improve physical, psychological, and mental health. No experience necessary. 2:30-3:45p. Reg req’d.
Jun 7 ~ LGBTQI Art Show, Panel Discussion and Mixer ~ 1p Art Show + Reception with Alan Beckstead. 2-4:30p. Panel Discussion + Mixer: A member of each of the LGBTQI “letters” will be represented, tell their story and take questions.
Jun 8 ~ 50th Anniversary Motown Benefit Dance ~ Celebrate the Senior Center’s 50th anniversary with the Bay Area’s favorite party band, Pride & Joy. Food, drinks, live auction and a raffle! 5:30-10p
Jun 13 - Sep 26 ~ Heart Connection Group ~ Join the facilitated group to gain greater personal connection and learn to listen with compassion. $5, Free for Members. 1:30-3p
Jun 14 ~ The Psychology of Exercise with Dr. Justin Collmann ~ is a workshop that explores how exercise benefits attention, memory, and overall health. 2:30-3:30p
Jun 14 ~ Book Reading with Cleve Jones ~ Join celebrated LGBT human rights activist, author, and lecturer Cleve Jones for a book signing, reading, and Q+A session! $10; limited seating, 5:30-7p
Jun 20 ~ Frauds, Scams and Other Elder Abuse ~ Free, open to the community. RSVP. In conjunction with Elder Abuse Awareness Month, join us for an informative presentation on how to best protect yourself and your loved ones from fraud, scams, and other abuse. 1-2:30p
Jun 28 ~ 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.
Did I sometimes have a difficult problem in Dad’s office where I couldn’t just blow up? Oh, yes, usually with equipment. I’d grab a writing tablet, hear Ruth’s voice in my head and try to trust the process! Just start: Dear Darn Diebold drum-wheel filing system: Get it all out – the tricky quirks of the machine, the stupid little cards that fit on the drum...the frustration and monotony. Often those letters weren’t long, because the absurdity of getting mad at a steel drum with paper cards dawned on you. (Good grief – you were writing a letter to a machine.)
I was determined to try Ruth’s philosophy; but the truth be told, I thought it was stupid. She would just say: Give it a chance. You will see, one of these days. And, of course, much more significant situations came up as life unfolded. There was the very early death of my dearest friend, at twenty. I wrote and wrote my grief, and my anger; that letter was long. It took its place in the binder I had begun to keep.
Many times I had something to work through in a letter never to be mailed. In a way, they are conversations (or angry exchanges) with yourself. Eventually, I put two and two together; Ruth’s wisdom began to make more sense. She had shared her own experiences of being treated unfairly in the workplace, having to walk on egg shells and knowing it was best to get it
out on paper first where you could safely vent – then handle whatever it was diplomatically, with a calm demeanor and a cool head! She definitely showed me the importance of keeping cool at work and everywhere else!
There are times in anyone’s life when first writing a letter you know you should never mail can save you from a storm of words you can never take back. It may seem a silly exercise; trust me, it’s not. From whirlwind young years (with family, school, work, marriage, children, divorce, deaths and loves through all changing seasons) to ageing, there were – are -- challenges enough to work through. Ruth’s other wisdom was that the more one used the tool, the less one needed it.
 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 - 6/19
Senior Social Clubs Contact Laurel Anderson at 707-525-0143 ext. 103, atlanderson@councilonaging.com
Santa Rosa Senior Social Club at First United Methodist Church, 2150 Giffen, Santa Rosa, Mon., Wed., and Fri. 9:30-2p.
Sonoma Senior Social Club at Vintage House, 264 First St. E., Sonoma - Tues. and Thur. from 9:30-2p.
Healdsburg Senior Social Club at St. Paul’s Church, 209 Matheson St., Healdsburg, Mon., Tues., and Wed., 9:30-2, Contact Roxanne Lemereis at 707-433-6161.
Sebastopol Senior Social Club at Sebastopol Senior Cntr, 167 No. High St., Sebastopol, Mon., Wed. and Fri. 9:30-2p.
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