Good Bye Arthur

Have you ever heard of Arthur Winston? He is the Los Angeles transit employee who retired on his 100th birthday in March. President Clinton gave in an “Employee of the Century” citation in 1996.

During his more than 70 years with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Arthur missed only one day of work. That was to attend his wife’s funeral in 1988. He supervised the workers who cleaned and refueled the bus fleet.

Arthur passed away last Thursday, a month after retiring. Could it be that he no longer had a reason to live. I am sure Arthur will be missed. He is an example to all of us that our careers do not need to end at age 65. We can continue to make our contributions to society (and the social security fund) well into our second fifty years.

Jazz in a Strip Mall

Working in a retirement and assisted living community can lead to all kinds of new adventures. Last month one of my volunteers, Ivan, who plays piano at lunch on Mondays, suggested a trip to a little jazz place.

So, last Friday night I loaded seven residents in the van and we headed out. I have lived here for six years and knew where I was going, a strip mall featuring a Bi-Mart Store and Harbor Freight, an outlet for tools of all kinds. I had never noticed Dy’s Broadway Diner or Donna Marie’s Pizza, as it was formerly known.

The owner invited Ivan and Bill, one of our residents, and a former dancer to play before the entertainment started. Bill had not been behind a set of drums in a number of years. This was a special night out for him

The owner, Jim Federman, is a California native who had lived and played music in New York City for several years, created a place where jazz musician could gather and play.

My favorite was Margie Hayas, an 82 year old clarinet player and singer. The Brooklyn native is a show all by herself. She plays, she sings, she entertains. She is a class act.

The highlight of the evening was when Jim invited Ivan and Bill to play for play while Margie sang and played the clarinet.

It was a great evening and I just might be hooked on jazz.

Dodging Eva

An Associated Press article this morning reminded me of one of the games I used to play in my hometown. Like small towns across America, we had a local reporter who reported time “local news” for the three nearby papers, The Stayton Mail, the Mill City Enterprise and the Scio Tribune. At one time her weekly column might have been carried in the Salem paper.

Eva was an institution. The close proximity to the post office may have helped her in her gathering of the news. Being the sister of the local telephone operation must have also helped. Her weekly columns recorded the coming and goings in the small town I call home. Some call it the “quilting-bee” kind of news, the kind of news picked up during conversations.

Each visit home for my oldest brother, my sister and myself (all three Navy) was reported by Eva. It soon became a game to see if we could visit home and get away before Eva discovered us.

With the old phone system Eva’s sister Alta knew the movements of my brother and sister. When my parents weren’t home when they called she would track them down. That personal touch was lost with the arrival of the new dial system.

I remember when I was still in high school. We had to ride a bus 10 miles back and forth to Stayton. One afternoon we pulled up behind Eva’s car at the elementary school in Lyons. Eva came out and walked between her car and the bus, got into her car, started it and backed into the bus. Soon after that Eva had to give up driving.

Small town newspapers have changed. I dropped by subscription to the Stayton paper when state and national news became more prominent than the local news. People read their local paper to see their names. Now the obituaries are the most prominent local news and by the time your name gets there it is too late.

I’m glad to here that some small town papers cling to the local columns, reporting about the lives of everyday people, their out of town guests, family reunions and Sunday dinners.

I'm Back

Wow, what a year I have had. At the end of March last year I accepted a position as Activities Director for a retirement and assisted living community. It has been a very busy 11 months of learning.

I discovered 94 great people. We have had residents die. Some have moved. New residents have joined the community. They are a great group of people to work with.

One of the things I have missed is working on this Blog. I have missed writing. I'm back now. The posts may not come as frequently as they did at the beginning.

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to send comments.

Tom