Senior Scene
Go for a walk, get lost in thought

I started out on my morning walk deciding to break it into two halves due to the extreme heat. I would do half in the morning, and the other half from about 7 to 8 pm. There's always something new and interesting to see.

Oh, look! There's a bunch of balloons tied to that mailbox. Someone must be having a birthday party. And, hey, there are still a lot of American flags on display. There's a large sorority flag hanging in front of another home. I guess there must be a chapter meeting at her house. And of course, seeing that brought back memories of my own days as a sorority member, and all the excitement that went with it.

It was my first year in art school when I became president of my sorority, Beta Omega Theta, taking over from my friend Sue. I was familiar with the duties of the job, which had not changed over the years, but this year was different.

Our chapter had a summer house at the Jersey seashore. Since we all wanted to spend time there, we tried to schedule weekends and other times fairly, and were usually quite successful. We interviewed about four house mothers, and selected Mrs. Winslow, who was liked by us all, so we were off to a good start. She helped us schedule the boys we invited and find housing for them nearby where they could spend several days at a time.

One weekend, most of us girls were busy with our dates and activities. Mrs. Winslow had placed most of the invited boys in rooms in various local homes. Everything went swimmingly (in more ways than one.)

But a week later the bad news struck: it seems one of the male guests had trouble with a severe itch problem when he returned home. As the problem grew worse, he finally went to his doctor, who informed him that bedbug bites were the cause! Evidently the house he was staying in left something to be desired in the way of hygiene.

We were horrified at this news, and I was more than happy that it was Mrs. Winslow, not I, who had to inform the unlucky homeowner. Their name was removed from our list and neighboring houses were notified of their problem.

Talk about embarassing! I wonder now if anyone else from my chapter of Beta Omega Theta remembers that event all these years later.

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As you may know, Florida is the state with the largest percentage of senior citizens. But you may be surprised to learn that many large companies are beginning to take new interest in hiring older persons who wish to continue working.

Seniors have been found to be more motivated, punctual, and better at completing tasks given them. Many are also able to work as "consultants" to businesses where they formerly served as executives.

Many such folks have said that they want to continue working for their own mental health. Most do not want to 'rust out' - they want to stay sharp and involved. For some age is no longer a barrier to employment, full or part time. And laws preventing age discrimination are now in effect. Your skills can be all that matter.

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When I checked the sports page I was delighted to see all the medals from bronze all the way up to gold that the girls from our local area brought home from AAU Jr. Olympics Baton Twirling Competition, which was held in Knoxville, Tennessee this summer.

When I was a cheerleader, we always admired the skill of our school's twirlers. So let's all be proud of the mark our Gulf Breeze girls have made on the world (well, okay, at least our part of it.)

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"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic." Dave Barry

See you next week!