August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born; the odd uneven time.
Sylvia Plain
Well, we’re at August in the calendar year already; what I’ve always thought of as halfway through the summer.
It was a turning point when I was a kid. We always had swimming every day. When we were younger it was swimming lessons. Later we went swimming every day just for fun. The town swimming pool was in easy walking distance.
We always loved the fresh garden produce and especially fresh fruit, beginning with berries of every sort and radishes and lettuce (and how could we resist fresh corn on the cob?). Later, as teenagers, we picked berries and beans as a summer job. August always meant we had only a few weeks left of that arduous task. We joined others on a bus and were driven to a field somewhere in the Fraser Valley and picked all day. As I recall, we didn’t earn a heck of a lot of money.
August brings a few emotions with it: happiness and joy for sure, as it is still summer, but there’s also a feeling of nostalgia and sadness as the season winds down.
I intend to enjoy the next 31 days, spending as many of them as possible out at the cabin with my family and friends.
The Clinton Seniors’ Association has adjourned for the summer, with no events; not even member birthdays.
Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.
Betty Friedan
The next regular meeting of the Clinton Seniors’ Association is on Sept. 21 at the Clinton Seniors’ Centre. Come and join us!
Three and four letter anagrams: Fill in the blanks below with words that are anagrams. (Anagrams are a rearrangement of letters in one word to form another word, for example TEAM/MEAT.
1. She ____ a trophy, and ____ she is happy.
2. We could smell the foul ____ as soon as we opened the barn ____.
3. Dad gave me a ____ on my shoulder and a ____ on my head.
4. The queen sipped her ____ and ____ a scone.
5. Dad gets mud on his ____ when he ____ in the garden.
6. The ____ of the litter waited for his ____ at the food dish.
7. The flower ____ was on ____of the table.
8. The actor portrayed his ____ so well that he had the ____ attention of the audience.
9. When Sally’s boyfriend gave her a ____ she had a happy ____on her face.
10. The ____ letter was ____ an insurance company.
I’ll leave you with a few thoughts for seniors!
- Talk to yourself. There are times when you need expert advice.
- The biggest lie you tell yourself is “I don’t need to write that down. I’ll remember it.”
- It would be wonderful if we could put ourselves in the dryer for 10 minutes and come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller!
- Growing old should have taken much longer.
- “Old” is when you’re cautioned to slow down by the doctor, not by the police.
- “Old” is when getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot.
- “Old” is when an all-nighter means not getting up to go to the bathroom.
Happy August!
ANSWERS: 1. won/now 2. odor/door 3. pat/tap 4. tea/ate 5. shoe/hoes 6. runt/turn 7. pot/top 8. part/rapt 9. ring/grin 10. form/from
