A couple weeks ago, Mark and I accompanied my mom and visiting pal Phyllis to a gala event at Vashon's Senior Center. There are senior centers and there are senior centers. Here on our little rock, we are blessed to have a centrally-located building filled with volunteers and laughter, hard work and classes, fund-raisers and charity works.
It's got its politics and warts, like any small town organization filled with retirees, but for the most part, our senior center is a vibrant and integral part of our close-knit community. My sense, from 8 years of island residence and 45 years of life, is that it is one of those rare elder facilities that folks in the community just gradually find themselves more and more a part of until, before they know it, they're serving on the Board, running Monday bridge night, and giving out scholarships when graduation rolls around. The Vashon Senior Center doesn't sit quietly in the corner of our shared life until the Age 65 bell goes off and one feels obligated to shuffle over and play pinochle.
So, while Mark and I were undoubtedly the whipper-snappers at the table, it didn't feel at all out of place to be breaking bread with this gang at a recent "friend-raiser" - an all-out Paella Fest ambitiously held outdoors in the driveway-cum-patio. Ambitious, yes - but the wisdom of the organizers shone through in the form of many, many canopies.
And a good thing too. Because, as 2010 has shown us repeatedly, Mother Nature is indeed a fickle friend. The traditionally dependable September balm was rudely shoved aside by a storm of nearly gale proportions. Most of the dressed-up seniors retreated inside to enjoy their feast and the Flamenco dancers warm and dry, but a few - including us pre-seniors - sort of reveled in the sizzle of the paella pans and the sparkle of the meticulously-hung fairy lights swinging in 40 mph winds and shining through curtains of rain all around us.
We helped, we feasted, we ferried dirty dishes through the weather to the kitchen. And by the time we went home, we were happily, gloriously drenched.
Whenever Mark is feeling old, I remind him that it's better than the alternative. And, looking into the future of an old age here in this community, I know it's true.
1 comment:
Hello, Deirdre,
I stumbled on your blog while hunting for a website for your farm. I hope you don't mind me contacting you via your blog. I have been looking around for apprenticeship, volunteer, internship positions on local, organic farms because I have become more and more passionate about farming as a way of life, and, additionally, as a crucial part of what makes a city able to exist. I am majoring in Urban Planning: Community Development and Sustainability at Portland State University. I am so excited to find your farm and would love to come work for however long I am needed. I am a hard-worker and not at all squeamish about getting dirty or doing repetitive, labor-intensive jobs. I am on a break from school so my availability is completely open. I have a fair amount of knowledge as a gardener, and I am a quick-learner, and, more importantly, extremely anxious to learn everything I can about different farming techniques and strategies that do not rely on harmful methodologies that are not good for the soil/livestock long-term. I am open to learning about everything and helping out wherever I can!
I am not sure what the process is for you guys as far as what you need from me. I can send you my resume and some letters of reference attesting to my solid work-ethic; however, I do not have farming experience as of yet. Let me know what I can provide you in the way of references or information.
Thank you very much!
Jamie Felton
Post a Comment