July 5, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
Dealing with the ‘old wives’
An “old wives tale” is defined
as “an often traditional belief
that is not based on fact,” ac-
cording to my Merriam Web-
ster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Believe it or not, some “tales”
have been going on since the
15th century.
Most of us grew up hear-
ing many old wives tales and
looked at them simply as fact.
This time of the year, especial-
ly, we are told that swimming
with a full stomach causes
cramps, and that one should
wait an hour after eating be-
fore swimming. This is false,
according to Wikipedia.
Another familiar old wives
tale is “Don’t cross your eyes
or they will stay that way.”
Ask your ophthalmologist on
your next visit and you won’t
worry about it.
What got me on this sub-
ject? One day last week I was
putting fresh linens on my
bed and there was that pes-
ky tag sticking up, “Under
penalty of law this tag not
to be removed except by the
consumer.” As a child, I was
afraid I’d go to jail, so I would
hardly touch it.
For more than eight de-
cades, I’d never noticed the
words “except by the con-
sumer.” That was a freeing
moment in my somewhat
sheltered life. Hey, I am the
consumer. I found my favorite
scissors and cut off the tag. It
felt good. I felt like a liberated
woman on that day last week.
Doing a tiny bit of research,
I learned from answer man
Roger Schlueter that “In oth-
er words, the second you get it
home, you can rip, cut or tear
to your heart’s content with
no fear of a SWAT team ram-
ming down your front door.”
I also learned there’s a law
in the U.S. Code (Title 15,
Chapter 2, Subchapter V, Sec-
tion 70c) that makes it illegal
to remove, mutilate or cause
to be removed or mutilated
any stamp, tag or label from
a textile fiber product in com-
merce prior to it being sold or
delivered to the final custom-
er.
So the tag warning is for the
seller not the consumer and
dates back to the early 1900s
when it was found that the fill-
ing in pillows and mattresses
could cause infestations of
mice, bedbugs, disease and
unwelcome allergens.
Tags are there for our pro-
tection. And in some cases to
protect warranties.
With warm weather around
the corner, remember that ice
cream leads to nightmares
and toes pointed up signify
low blood-sugar.
Another bogus rule is to be-
ware of cracking knuckles,
which can give one arthritis.
And how often have we heard
that only the good die young?
Maybe that’s why you and I
are still here!
Senior lunch menu
Monday, July 8: Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, broc-
coli, romaine salad, bread pudding.
Thursday, July 11: Turkey, cornbread stuffing, green bean
casserole, coleslaw, pumpkin cake.
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
$6 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more
information, call 503-861-3502.
7
Wauna donates to St. Vincent de Paul pantry
Wauna Credit Union em-
ployees recently donated
more than $6,500 for the
Food for Kids Program at the
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pan-
try in Astoria.
Employees selected it as
their charity of choice during
the year.
“Our employees care about
giving back to our communi-
ties and that’s why we chose
the Food for Kids program,”
said Kristen DeForrest, WCU
compliance specialist. “I know
this food makes a tremen-
dous impact on the students’
ability to learn and grow, and
we hope others will join us in
supporting this very worthy
cause.”
Last year, the pantry gave
away 2,246 food bags, about
13,000 pounds of food, to
needy residents. Since the
pantry began six years ago
Kristen DeForrest, compliance specialist for Wauna (left), presents
a check to Lorrie Radu and another pantry volunteer.
at Saint Mary, Star of the
Sea, Church, it has given
away more than 10,000 food
bags.
“Every now and then we run
into a parent who thanks us
for being there for their fami-
ly,” said Lorrie Radu, a pantry
volunteer. “We like to think of
it as delivering a little bag of
hope every Friday.”
St. Vincent de Paul Food
Pantry is at 1465 Grand Ave.,
Astoria, and is open 1 to 3
p.m. Tuesdays and 10 a.m. to
noon Fridays and Saturdays.
Business and development tidbits
• May was a busy month for
the Clatsop County Plan-
ners with the building codes
department issuing 250 per-
mits and completing 486 in-
spections.
It represents a 70 percent
increase in the number of
permits issued over May 2018
and a 28 percent increase in
the number of completed in-
spections.
• County staff has been
meeting with architects, de-
signers, engineers, and secu-
rity electronics consultants to
set a timeline for construc-
tion of the new jail in War-
renton.
The former Oregon Youth
Authority facility is being
converted to house inmates.
In addition, a contract was
signed with KPFF Consult-
ing Engineers for design and
project management of Bugle
Road, which will run between
the sheriff’s office and the
county animal shelter.
• Englund Marine & In-
dustrial Supply celebrates
its 75th year in business on
Friday, July 19.
Each of their seven retail
stores, including the War-
renton Raft Shop, will hold a
thank-you event to celebrate
the milestone with drawings,
give-aways, and special deals.