Senior Living Section
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A hearty helping of volunteers At 6:30 a.m., when most people are snug in their beds asleep, Bob Osborne and Diane Jones are hard at work, manning the assembly line. For several hours they slice, dice, scoop, dump, scrape, transfer and bag. No, they don't work in a factory or sweatshop - they are among the 50-odd SCV Senior Center volunteers who willingly donate their time to put together more than 400 meals a day for housebound seniors all over the Santa Clarita Valley. For Osborne, it's a five-day-a-week job, and for Jones, three. Such dedication is appreciated by many, including Robin Clough, the Senior ... |
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Seniors face the challenge of computers Though computers can open up a world of possibilities in terms of education, shopping and social life, learning how to use one can be daunting. If you're older and didn't grow up in the "computer age," the prospect of starting from scratch and learning the lingo and layout of a Mac or PC might seem insurmountable. But with the help of dedicated teachers like Gail Eisenberg, seniors from all over the SCV and beyond are getting tuned in to the virtues of computers and finding out how they can enhance and transform their lives, sometimes in unexpected ways. "Seniors don't ... |
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A life of modeling, acting and now drawing Sara Thomas perches elegantly on a stool in her living room as she talks about her life. Her soft voice trills through her airy apartment as the afternoon light accents her high cheekbones. Her slender arms are gracefully folded over her lap like a sphinx. Considering her eloquence and carriage, it's no surprise that the 72-year old Thomas used to be a model and actress. She recently returned to the stage after many years of raising children and caring for her husband, bringing her full circle from her days in New York in the 1950s and '60s. A native of ... |
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Guiding visions and focusing on the positive Every Thursday at 2 p.m., rooms A1 and A2 of the SCV Senior Center are overflowing with happy people. They sit attentively in rows, mesmerized by the words of Dr. Michael Holt. Well, they're not literally mesmerized, but they are clearly happy. Though Holt is a certified hypnotherapist, he comes to the center to teach guided imagery techniques to seniors to help them combat stress, anxiety and negative thoughts. Though many people think that senior citizens lead an easy, carefree life filled with leisure activities, travel and socializing, that's not an entirely accurate picture. The flip side of retirement is ... |
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A care-full life For more than 40 years, Saugus resident Hjordis Bakke has watched the Santa Clarita Valley grow up. In fact, you could almost say she's raised it. In those years, she's raised her own children, of course, but also provided licensed, in-home childcare to successive generations of other children. In fact, at times, she has cared for the children of folks she cared for when they were young. But more than that, Bakke has been instrumental in creating a child-friendly SCV. She was one of the founding members of the Family Day Care Association of the Santa Clarita Valley, became its ... |
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Deep space to retail space: an electric life Jim Pontius may be grounded in Friendly Valley Village nowadays, but for years he had a bird's eye view into deep space - and boy does he have some stories to tell. Pontius, 71, lives quietly in the gated retirement community. A retired retail electronics company owner, he spent the first part of his working life at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, where he worked on dozens of the early space exploration missions. After studying electronics and radio communications at community college in Glendale in the 1950s, Pontius first went to work for the old AT&T. He stayed there ... |
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When is it time for seniors to stop driving? Driving can be treacherous under the best of circumstances, but as we age it can become even more so, as our senses decline and our reaction times slow down. Statistics show that the total number of accidents involving seniors is lower than for other age groups, but the number of accidents per mile driven is actually higher. And when collisions happen, 60 percent can be attributed to failure to yield right-of-way or while making a left turn, 15 percent to unsafe lane changes, and 10 percent to failure to stop at red lights or stop signs. Senior citizens face distinct ... |
