Financial Health Is The Focus For The Month Of April

How are you doing financially? Are you able to live comfortably; able to take vacations to faraway places? Or are you just getting by — barely able to meet your basic needs: housing, food, clothing, transportation and medical?

Because economic security is an important aspect of health and well-being, Financial Health is the focus for April in your Passport to Happiness Calendar — and the topic for the next Passport to Happiness event at the center April 17 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Carol Mauser, from the Aging and People with Disabilities office, and Marvin Pohl from the Area Agency on Aging will explain and clarify different services available to support older adults including Qualified Medicare Benefits, SHIBA, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Oregon Project Independence.

A few examples include evaluating your health insurance annually, which means for us “mature” folks to always review our current medical plans during Medicare Open Enrollment in October; borrow instead of buy (The Dalles Wasco County Library has a large selection of popular videos to lend) and to start hand washing instead of dry cleaning one shirt a month (I’ve never heard of anyone dry-cleaning their shirts! But then, I never knew you didn’t ask for Thousand Island dressing in an Italian restaurant.)

The center‘s first spring day-trip is to WAAAM (Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum) in Hood River April 13. That is the second Saturday of the month when WAAAM fires up their aeroplanes and autos so you can experience what it was like in the “good-old-days.” The cost is $10 for admission, (but I have four two-for-the-price-of-one coupons, so for the first eight folks to sign up admission is only $5) plus $7.50 for round-trip transportation. Trip capacity is 12. We will leave the Center at 9 a.m. and return by 4 p.m.

OSU Extension, in cooperation with CGCC, is offering Mastery of Aging Well in a five session series on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon at The Dalles CGCC campus starting April 18. Each session will include a 45-minute video presentation, plus an expert speaker. The first session is on Memory Difficulties, followed by Depression in Later Life, Medication Jeopardy, Food as Medicine, and Physical Exercise in Later Life.

And before the shallow water passes away to let the deep sea roll, playing tonight at the center is “Martin and Friends.” Next week, Truman will be serenading you with Country Gold. Music begins at 7 p.m.

The answer to last week’s “Remember When” question was General Douglas MacArthur who at his farewell speech before Congress spoke the famous lines “old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” (And this week’s winner is Sandy Goforth.)

This week’s question is about a common antiseptic from the 1950’s which is seldom used anymore. Before my mother would paint my cuts or scrapes with this orange liquid, I can still remember grimacing, because I knew it was going to sting like the devil.