The Columbia Press
May 21, 2021
7
ZED by Duane M. Abel
www.corkeycomics.com
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
Our wonderful senior brains
We may all be “seniors,” but
many baby boomers think of
themselves as much younger
than those of us 80 and older.
However, people born in
the ’50s have lived in seven
decades, two centuries and
two millenniums.
The younger set brags about
having the best music, fastest
cars, drive-in theaters, soda
fountains and “Happy Days.”
And that they’re not even that
old yet, just that cool.
I was thinking the other day
how much knowledge and
actual experience is stored
in the brain. The only prob-
lem I have is pulling out that
knowledge. Sometimes, it
can be a disturbing challenge.
The older we get, the more
we become aware of some of
that knowledge leaking out.
You know how when in a con-
versation with our peers or
even with the younger set we
hear ourselves say something
we learned long ago.
Older authors and innova-
tors are no longer an anom-
aly. Sometimes we hear our-
selves sharing an idea, fact
or memory from maybe 50
years ago or more when we
realize the idea may have lain
dormant for many years.
I suspect you remember
Herman Wouk, who finished
his last book, The Lawgiver,
in 2012 at age 97 (Wouk lived
until age 103).
The last book is described
as “A romantic and suspense-
ful epistolary novel about
a group of people trying to
make a movie about Moses
in the present day.” And no, I
have not read it.
Wouk is remembered for
other bestsellers and classics
including The Caine Mutiny,
The Winds of War, and War
and Remembrance.
Some scientists theorize
the average human brain is
95 percent developed by the
time we are 23 years old.
Over the years, they’ve de-
veloped five stages of brain
development: in the womb,
birth to age 6, ages 7 to 22,
ages 23 to 65, and age 65 and
older.
As we mature into what is
often called the golden years,
“critical brain cells are lost in
the area of the brain that pro-
cesses memories.”
So, how do we seniors
combat that fact? No matter
where we study, the answer
to that question is to “reduce
stress, learn new skills, eat
healthy and exercise.”
I have a mental picture over
all these years of my mother
at the ironing board, weep-
ing when news of President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s
death came over the radio.
This is the part of our brain
called “flash bulb” memory,
which we carry with us in the
long-term memory part of
our brains.
John Wagner, the artist
who developed the Maxine
comic strip character, says
his mother and other older
women were his inspiration.
Here’s one of my favorite
Maxine quotes: “The older I
get, the more I ask myself the
really important questions ...
like ‘What did I come in here
for?’ ”
When our flashlight fails,
often it just needs new bat-
teries. Maybe we should re-
member our drawer of bat-
teries – “reduce stress, learn
new skills, eat healthy and
exercise.”
Off the Shelf
by Kelly Knudsen
Summer is near and library heads back to normal
Things at the Warrenton
Community Library are start-
ing to get back to prepandem-
ic operations. We are now
open Monday through Friday
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and
Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This month, we’d like to
welcome Saturn Caronna,
our new library assistant
youth coordinator, to the li-
brary! Saturn is super excited
to bring youth programming
for the littles, tweens, and
teens, back to the library.
A little about Saturn: they
love to play music, read and
write. They like drawing,
painting, and all kinds of art.
They love animals and will
interrupt themself mid-sen-
tence if they see a dog. Or a
bird. Or a snail. Etc. They’re
very excited to meet all of you
and hope to see you at the li-
brary soon!
Saturn hosted an outdoor
storytime on May 11 with the
theme of celebrating differ-
ences. Children from ages 2
years to 7 years enjoyed sing-
ing songs, reading stories and
received a craft to take home
and create. A favorite from
storytime was a book titled,
“Everyone Says Meow” by
Constance Lombardo. Sat-
urn also is hosting a family
storytime outside at 10:30
a.m. Saturday, May 22, at the
library. If you would like to
attend, please call the library
to sign up.
Saturn is also working to
start a committee of teen vol-
unteers to help plan events
for all the teens and tweens
of the Warrenton area.
If you know a young person
between the ages of 13 and 17,
ask them this: Do you feel like
you don’t really have a place
where you can have fun with
your friends and be yourself?
Have you always wanted to
host or attend book clubs,
arts & crafts hangouts, writ-
ing workshops, D&D groups,
or any other activity you can
dream of? If they answer
“yes” to any of those ques-
tions, have them come to the
library at 4:30 p.m. May 27 to
learn more, make crafts, eat
snacks, and get to know each
other.
This is your library, and we
need your help in making it a
place you want to be! Inter-
ested teens can email Saturn
at scaronna@ci.warrenton.
or.us or call us at the library,
503-861-8156, if you have
any questions.
And finally, come to the
Warrenton Library between
10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Satur-
day, June 12, and sign up for
this year’s Summer Reading
Program.
We will be hosting an out-
door kickoff with chalk
drawing, collaborative art-
work creations, crafts, and
games—all in the spirit of this
year’s theme: Reading Colors
Your World. You don’t want
to miss this event!
Kelly Knudsen is director
of Warrenton Community
Library. She has a master’s
degree in library and infor-
mation science.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 2: Here’s to Your Health from CMH
Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen
Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer