Have you ever gone to a large department store and had trouble finding what you wanted: A new shirt, bath towels — or more importantly, the nearest restroom? Or have you had a medical appointment at OHSU on the hill and didn’t know how to find Suite 3200 in the Multnomah Pavilion? Each time, didn’t you wish there was an information desk?
It is often just as difficult to find the resources we may need as we grow older: Home-delivered meals, transportation, family caregivers, crisis support, Medicare and Medicaid help, and long-term care options. But in Oregon and Washington, there are “information desks” where you can find where to go for what you need.
In Oregon, it is ADRC (Aging and Disabilities Resource Connection). ADRC is focused on older adults, people with disabilities, care partners, and veterans. The service is free and there are no income restrictions. ADRC does not provide the services themselves, but they do know the majority of resources available. You can contact ADRC by going online to www.adrcoregon.org, but the best way is by phone so they can give you more personalized information. For Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties, ADRC is administered by the CAPECO Area Agency on Aging, and you can call them at 541-705-5434.
In Washington State, you can call Klickitat County Senior Services’ “Information and Assistance,” where professionally trained and caring specialists are available at both the White Salmon office (509-493-3068) and Goldendale office (509-773-3757). They will confidentially answer questions and provide information, assistance, or referral to local, state, and federal services and benefits. In Skamania County, you can reach an Information and Assistance specialist by calling 541-427-3994 or emailing seniorsia@co.skamania.wa.us.
As we get older, there may be times when we need a little help. These “information desks” can point us in the direction of relevant resources so we can enjoy the best quality of life possible.
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The next question for your “Soul Portrait:” Over the years, what you like to wear has probably changed, but today how do you prefer to dress?
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BRAIN TEASE: See if you can decipher this quote by Anonymous. “Zm lkgrnrhg rh hlnvlmv dsl uzooh luu gsv Vnkriv Hgzgv Yfrowrmt, zmw zugvi 50 uollih hzbh, ‘Hl uzi hl tllw!’” — Zmlmbnlfh
The name of the small rotating doorknob-shaped handle attached to the steering wheel that made it easier to turn with only one hand had many names including Brodie, suicide, and squirrel knobs. The most common answer I received was a suicide knob sent in by Gary Hertel, Eva Summers, Mike Yarnell, Kathy Bullack, and Bruce Johnson, whose dad used a suicide knob on his 1954 Ford Country Sedan wagon. Judy Kiser and Rebecca Abrams called it a Brodie knob. Lloyd Olson had a squirrel knob on his 1937 Plymouth, and Keith and Marlene Clymer covered all the bases remembering it as a steering, suicide, spinner, or squirrel knob, and today still has one on his 1968 CJ-5 Jeep.
But this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket is John from Klickitat County (sorry, we didn’t get your last name) who called it a necking knob because, as you can guess, it allowed you to more easily navigate winding roads while still keeping one arm around your partner — although I don’t recall my father using it for that reason.
And last week I missed Craig Terry.
Before there were graphing calculators and smartphones, to solve math problems in high school, I used this mechanical instrument that looked like a 10-inch ruler and consisted of three linear strips of which the middle strip moved back and forth. And don’t ask me how to use one today!
For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of this instrument that NASA engineers used to build the rockets that landed Apollo 11 on the moon? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or mail it with a TI-30 scientific calculator.
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Well, it’s been another week, thinking of that 1959 #1 hit song by the Platters. Until we meet again, as I was recently reminded, we’re all in this together.
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“Question everything … except the wonder of the world.”
— Albert Einstein
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
Answer:
An optimist is someone who falls off the Empire State building, and after 50 floors says “so far, so good.”
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