Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 29, 1993 TAG: 9312290093
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I tell you that's not so.
Recently I attended a memorial service in Blacksburg for a man in his late 80s. His wife for 62 years, herself obviously an octogenarian, told me about the nursing home they had recently moved to in Roanoke.
"The staff is very nice. They're very caring people," she said. "But the people who live there are all old people."
Her comment brought to mind a poem my grandfather recited up until weeks before his death a month shy of his 89th birthday. It pretty accurately explains oldness, on the outside and the inside.
You say that I am growing old.
I tell you that's not so.
Oh, this house I live in is wearing out;
This, of course, I know.
It's been in use a long, long time,
And weathered many a gale.
I'm not surprised if you think
It's looking somewhat frail.
The color on the roof is changing,
The windows growing dim.
The walls are a bit transparent,
And looking rather thin.
foundation is not so steady
As once it used to be.
Yes, my house is getting shaky;
But my house is not me!
My few short years can't make me old.
I feel I'm in my youth!
Just starting out to live
A life of joy and truth.
I'm going to live forever there.
Life will go on. 'Tis grand!
You tell me I am growing old;
You just don't understand.
The dweller in my little house
Is bright and young and free;
Just starting out to live
Throughout eternity.
You only see the outside!
That's what most folks see.
You tell me I am growing old.
You mix my house with me.
The Virginia Center for Active Retirement presents its First Wednesday Wondering of the new year on Jan. 5, 9-11 a.m. in conference room F at the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center. Charlotte Reed, an economic development specialist for the Tourism Institute for Governmental Assistance will speak on " Tourism in Your Community."
February's session on "How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable" is Feb. 2.
"Getting the Most from Your Long Term Care Programs" will be presented March 2.
All seminars are $5, and registration may be made through the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center, 231-5183.
The GILES COUNTY SENIOR CENTER, 1320 Wenonah Ave., Pearisburg, 921-3924:
The senior center will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Line dancing will be taught on Monday, 10-10:30 a.m.
Legal aid is available from 2 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The American Association for Retired Persons chapter 445 will meet on Jan. 7 at 12:30 p.m.
The RADFORD SENIOR CENTER, 27 First St., 731-3634:
The center will be closed on Friday.
Fridays out in January include a trip to Valley View Mall in Roanoke on the 14th; Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke on the 21st; and Lunch at Texas Steakhouse in Christiansburg and shopping at the New River Valley Mall on the 28th. Transportation fees are $2, and lunch is on your own.
The CHRISTIANSBURG SENIOR CENTER, 655 Montgomery St., 382-8173:
The center will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Card nights at the center are the second and fourth Mondays of each month, 6:30-9 p.m.
The PULASKI SENIOR CENTER, 106 N. Washington Ave., 980-3969:
The center will be closed Friday.
The newsletter will be printed on a bi-monthly basis in 1994 to cut down on the high cost of mailing.
by CNB