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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2015)
B2 Hood River News, Wednesday, May 6, 2015 TALL AND TAN and Young and Lovely S ENIORS: ‘S TAY A CTIVE ’ Lauren Kraemer, OSU Extension Family and Com- munity Health Coordinator, CPS, MPH, demon- strates a healthy adult femur Thursday afternoon at the Hood River Adult Center. Kraemer’s speech en- couraged senior citizens to stay active in small doses every day in order to prevent injuries and maintain bone strength. The event was hosted by Heart of Hospice, Ashley Manor Care Center and Hood River Care Center. By C RAIG JOSEPH DANNER Part 2: The Girl From Ipanema... S tarting in the late 1990s, I endured a stretch of my life when every single morning of every single day for five years I woke up with the same song stuck in my head. The same song, every morning, for FIVE YEARS. And I didn’t even like the song. I had never liked the song. It was a bad song, a pop song, with stupid lyrics sung by a very mediocre singer. And don’t ask what it was; I can’t tell you because it might come back again. It would stick in my head for about a half an hour or so, just long enough to thoroughly annoy me while I showered and ate breakfast. As other thoughts and problems entered my head, the song would fade away for the rest of the day, but the next morning, as soon as my eyes would open, it would be back again. It was like Groundhog Day. I suffered in this unfortunate state for five years, but then I discovered a cure. It came from my brother Peter, to whom I will forever be indebt- ed. He said it was simple. “When a song gets stuck in your head, just hum ‘The Girl From Ipanema.’ It works every time. But just hum the tune. If you sing the lyrics, there are side effects to the treatment.” And he was right. The next morning when I opened my eyes, the accursed song popped into my head, just as it had every other morning for the past 1825 days. But this time I was ready. I quickly started humming “The Girl From Ipanema.” The horrid song vanished. I was elated. But my mind seemed to have a mind of its own and wouldn’t be satisfied with just humming “The Girl From Ipanema.” It had to break out into the full song, “Tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from…” The side effect, of course, is that “The Girl From Ipanema” then gets stuck. But at least I LIKE “The Girl From Ipanema!” After a few weeks of doing battle every morning, the old, horrid tune finally gave up the ghost and stopped tortur- ing me. Instead, I have since awakened each morn- ing to some random song I may have heard in the grocery store the day before or while waiting on hold on the phone. Stacey knows that whenever she hears me singing “The Girl From Ipanema” in the shower, I have awoken to a song I don’t partic- ularly care for. And you may be wondering, “Why, Craig, should I give a damn about what’s stuck in your head?” Well, bear with me a little longer. ■ Just over a year ago, I started providing med- ical care for the inmates at NORCOR, our local jail. Much of what we treat there is pretty mun- dane, though generally more advanced than what I would see in the general population: lots of dental problems and skin abscesses and untreated hyper- tension. But one of the things I see a lot of at the jail and not in my regular clinic is a near epidem- ic of hearing voices. This is a common complaint of people suffering from severe mental illness, most commonly schizo- phrenia. Schizophrenia is a devastating illness if untreated, but for a large number of patients it can be well controlled with medication, and many of the afflicted can lead normal and productive lives … if they are treated. Unfortunately, the symptoms of the disease make treatment difficult. Like that song stuck in my head, the voices people hear are not usually very nice to listen to. They tell them they are bad people, that others might be trying to hurt them, that they should do things they know they shouldn’t. Schizophrenics have a hard time ignoring the voices they hear, and often end up getting in trouble with the law because of them. If I stop to think about it, I’ve almost always got a song stuck in my head. It’s like I’ve got a radio tucked away in my brain that’s always on, some- times soft, sometimes loud. I don’t think this regis- ters anywhere on the scale of mental illness. It may occasionally be annoying, but it doesn’t inter- fere with my ability to do my job or care for my- self or my family. I’ve never had a song tell me to hurt myself or run naked down the middle of the freeway. But I’ve been wondering recently just how different my annoying little quirk is from an ill- ness than could potentially destroy my life. ■ In Part One of this article (April 1) I men- tioned that working at the jail has allowed me to see a reason to hope. And this is what I’ve been seeing. At the jail I see medical staff who are car- ing and compassionate and dedicated to helping a desperately needy population. The nurses there are amazing, working with incredibly difficult pa- tients with kindness and humor. There is a new program called “Jail Diversion,” sponsored by Mid-Columbia Center For Living. Through this program, inmates with significant mental illness are now being evaluated within days instead of weeks or months, their illnesses stabilized and re- sources identified not only to provide treatment, but also housing and health care. The program is offering inmates with mental illnesses the support they need both to stay out of jail and to stay healthy after release. I see a willingness to look at things differently, to explore alternative ways of doing things, to try to keep the mentally ill out of jail in the first place. Because that’s not where they belong. But for the grace of God, when I wake up in the morning, I only hear “The Girl From Ipanema.” Others are less fortunate. It is our duty as a hu- mane society to help them. Photo by Patrick Mulvihill PARKDALE NEWS Strong women classes coming to upper valley BY TAMARA EMLER BALL Parkdale Columnist McGhee and Joanne Ehl. Women of all ages and abilities are invited to join in the fun for a minimal pro- gram registration fee and do not need to have prior strength training experience to participate. Accommodations for dis- abilities may be made by calling 541-386-3343 x258. For more information, go to www.strongwomen.org, or contact OSU Exten- sion Strong Women leader Ann Dow at 503-708-6469 or An- ndow@me.com. The Oregon State Univer- sity Extension office is spon- soring a new program in the upper valley with a series of classes from May 12 through July 31. Be ginning next week, Strong Women will meet every Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. at the Mt. Hood Town Hall. This national evi- dence-based commu- nity exercise and nu- trition program tar- ■ gets midlife and older This Sunday, May women who want to 10, is Mother’s Day be able to dig in the garden all day, pick Tamara Emler a n d t h e P a rk d a l e Grange will be serv- up their grandkids, Ball ing up their last or lift their suitcase community break- into an overhead bin fast of the season that day, by themselves. The program is based on so bring all the special research done by Dr. Miriam “moms” in your life out to Nelson and her colleagues at e n j o y a g r e a t “ h o m e - Tufts University who have cooked” meal! A little something special the vision that Strong Women are a diverse commu- will be given to moms who nity of fit, strong, healthy attend. Breakfast is just $6 for women, who, once empow- ered, will become agents of adults and in addition to change for their families, the regular menu of scram- bled eggs, sausage, your communities and beyond. Classes will be led by Ann choice of biscuits and gravy Dow with assistance from or pancakes, a choice of Lauren Kramer, Christina ham and cheese quiche will C AST Continued from Page B1 An expensive vase and a handmade gew-gaw both play a critical function in the story; the values placed on these spectrum-opposite keepsakes brings real emo- tion to the forefront. No spoilers here, but suf- fice it to say that the mun- dane domestic setting that this scenes starts out to be turns into a far more in- tense drama as desperation and defense lock horns and a marriage faces a severe test. The play, directed by Judie Hanel, is funny, some- times caustically, and view- ers should note that there is some profanity. Kathleen Morrow plays Margie, a down-on-her-luck single mother raising a dis- abled adult daughter. Margie may be looking for more than a job when she drops into the life of an old flame, Mike (Garoutte), now an endocrinologist, and his wife, Kate, a college profes- sor (Desiree Amyx-Mackin- tosh). Jean is played by Kim Robichaud, and two CAST newcomers — Rona Klein as Dottie and Angel Reyes as Stevie — round out the cast. They are a re- minder of the truism that in theater there are no small parts. Through it all, the char- acters discuss the role luck has, or does not have, in success, a process that en- courages the audience to rethink our relationships, assumptions, and our words, Hanel notes. “Good People” will be the final full production direct- ed by Hanel, who helped found CAST in 1977 and has directed, and performed in, dozens of shows since then. Hanel will stay involved on the CAST board and in di- recting staged readings of plays, including “Other Desert Cities,” this fall. Hanel, Frank Levin and Jan Axford are the only charter CAST committee members who have re- mained involved in recent years. “I want to do other things, and it’s a lot of work, and I’m tired. I’ve been doing this since I was eight years old,” said Hanel, whose actor parents got her involved in summer stock theater in her home- town, Denver, and she gained two degrees in the- ater and worked for years as theater director in Cal- gary. Alberta, Canada. She came to Hood River in 1977 and helped start CAST shortly after. HOODRIVERHOMES.COM Your Oregon & Washington Broker %LJIRRWMXVWJRW BIGGER Bigfoot ADS Bigfoot ADS.com DGV FRYHULQJ WKH 1RUWKZHVW River City Tom Jenkins be served and beverages are included. ■ Kindergarten Round-Up i s g o i n g o n t h i s we e k through Friday at Parkdale Elementary School and par- ents who have a child turn- ing five by September 1, 2015, should bring their child’s birth certificate and cur rent immunization record to the school to reg- ister them this week. On Tuesday, May 19 (time TBA), the school will hold a story time to welcome all incoming Kindergarten stu- dents and their families. “This is a good opportu- nity to meet the teachers, myself, and lear n a bit about Parkdale Elementary School,” said Principal Gus Hedburg. For questions, contact the school office at 541-352-6255. ■ New this summer will be Open Library Night, hosted by Parkdale Elementary School. Every Thursday night be- ginning June 18, communi- ty members and their chil- dren are welcome to come to the school library from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be free book g ive aw ay s, s n a ck s, a n d other fun activities and children can check out books to read. For more infor mation contact the school at 541- 352-6255. ■ The annual OSU Family and Community Education Study Groups’ Spring Tour will be on Thursday, May 21, and the cost is $55 for FCE members and $60 for non- FCE members and includes transportation, entry fees, lunch and gratuity. This year’s bus is heading out to explore Bob’s Red Mill to tour their processing facil- ity and meet founder Bob Moore, then enjoy a deli- cious lunch at Bob’s Red Mill and a chance to stock up on their products for sale at the restaurant. Afterwards, the tour will head to Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry to wander in wonder and take in an OMNIMax movie at the OMSI Theater. For more information or to register for this excep- tional and educational tour, contact the Hood River County Extension Office at 541-386-3343. ■ Send items to: uvup- date@yahoo.com. B irth Penelope Elaine White A daughter, Penelope Elaine White, was born April 26, 2015, at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital to Tyler and Lindsey White of Odell. She weighed 7 pounds, Art Carroll HRV Parks District Board Member 9 ounces and measured 21 inches. She joins a sister, Jose phine, 34 months. Grandparents are Don and Mary Smith of Hood River, Leonora Repp of Hood River, Chuck and Barb White of Kennewick, Wash., and Mary Lynn Totten of Tulsa, Okla. ✔ Motivated ✔ Productive ✔ Community Connector Vote Art Carroll Parks District 0URCHASE2ElNANCE #ALL THE ONLY /&&)#% THAT MATTERSç (OME 0URCHASES s 2ElNANCES s %QUITY ,INES JEFF SACRE 3R -ORTGAGE 3PECIALIST NMLS-140302, MLO-140302 /FFICE (541) #ELL CRS, GRI 541-490-6045 This is not a committment to lend. Information deemed reliable but subject to change without notice. Consumer Loan License NMLS-3240, CL-3240
