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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress August 24, 2018 Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Even nonagenarians can learn to live well While on the phone recent- ly with my daughter, Lynn, she had to take another call so she put me on hold. Neither of us could remem- ber what we were talking about when we resumed our call. “Just think, Mom,” she said, “now that all of your children are seniors, we can have our dementia times to- gether!” One of the toughest things to hear is a senior lament- ing “Nobody needs me any- more.” What can family and friends do to assure seniors they’re needed and to give them purpose for living lon- ger and longer? Astoria man passes basic Air Force training U.S. Air Force Airman Timothy Hennessee gradu- ated from ba- sic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lack- land in San An- tonio, Texas. The airman, a 2017 gradu- ate of Astoria Hennessee High School, completed an intensive eight- week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills. Airmen who complete basic training also earn four cred- its toward an associate in ap- plied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force. Remember the adage, “The only person you will live your entire life with is yourself”? All the blame can’t be heaped on our adult children or any- one else. However, I wonder how long it’s been since any of them have called their mom, a favorite aunt or an aging friend and asked for a recipe? Or advice? Something that simple could make us feel needed. “Between 1900 and 2000, the average life expectancy increased by nearly 30 years in the United States and most other developed countries of the world,” according to an item featured in the Atlantic Monthly. Now we can expect to live seven, eight, nine or more decades. Remember when Willard Scott used to hon- or 90-year-olds? And after age 80 you could write to the White House and have a birthday card sent to you? A new word for those 100 or older is centenarian. When we turn 70, we become a sep- tuagenarian and a person age 80 is an octogenarian. At age 90, we’re referred to as a no- nagenarian. And not to leave out those of you in your 60s, you’re re- ferred to as a sexagenarian! It’s impolite to refer to any- one in these stages as an “old person.” After spending time “surf- ing the internet,” I learned that when one attains age 90, they feel as if they’re living on borrowed time. (Aren’t we all?) Ida Fisher Davidoff, a no- nagenarian, said, “I live as if I’m going to live a long time. I’m planting bulbs, putting in shrubs that will take years to grow.” She added, “Why should you deprive yourself of even an hour of beauty because you don’t know how long you’ll be around to enjoy it?” Martin Luther once re- marked that if he knew he were going to die tomorrow, he’d “plant an apple tree to- day.” I like that philosophy, don’t you? So what’s your plan? My friend, Diane, recently shared one of her Mom’s favorite sayings, “Hey, things are tough all over, even the win- dows have panes (pains?).” Be thankful we are not alone in this journey called life. Last but not least, I encour- age you to go to church Sun- day and hear “the rest of the story.” And do have fun! Senior lunch menu Monday, Aug. 27: Jambalaya with chicken, ham and shrimp, rice, broccoli, romaine lettuce salad, bread pudding. Thursday, Aug. 30: Parmesan chicken, pasta salad, roasted tomatoes, coleslaw, ice cream. The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is $5 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more information, call 503-861-3502. 7 This Week in Aboriginal History by Carl A. Ellis First reservation is established Aug. 24, 1721: The Pe- quot Indians, after decades of land disputes, give up planting rights at Noank in present-day Connecticut, but retain their fishing rights in exchange for clear title to land at Mashantucket. They remain a federally recognized tribe there to this day. Aug. 25, 1607: Some 200 Indian warriors storm an un- finished stockade colonists are building at Jamestown, Va. Two settlers are killed and 10 seriously wounded before the Indians are pushed back by cannon fire from the colo- nists’ three moored ships. Aug. 26, 1842: Caddo Indians sign a treaty with the Republic of Texas. They agree to visit other tribes to convince them to sign trea- ties as well. Today they are known as the Caddo Nation, a confederation of southeast- ern Indian tribes. Aug. 27, 1878: Capt. James Egan and a troop from the Second Cavalry follow a group of Bannocks who’ve been stealing livestock along the Madison River. Near Henry’s Lake, Egan’s forc- es skirmish with the Indians and recover 56 head of live- stock. The escaping Bannocks follow a trail taken by the Nez Perce a year earlier. Aug. 28, 1607: North America colonists complete James Fort in Jamestown. Powhatan, emperor of the local Indians, puts an end to hostilities after commanding local chiefs to live in peace with the English. Aug. 29, 1758: The na- tion’s first Indian reservation is established in Brotherton, N.J. It was created for the lo- cal Lenape community, some- times called the Delaware. Aug. 30, 1645: A peace treaty between Dutch im- migrants and local tribes is signed at Fort Orange, in modern-day Albany, N.Y. The treaty ends a long con- flict in the area. Ellis is an author and his- torian working on a book about American Indians.
