Community

There are many reasons for walking - for health and wellness, to get to places and save gas, and of course, to connect with community! Join AARP Oregon and Rogue Valley Transportation District this September for two great NeighborWalks in the Rogue Valley. Get your steps in, meet new people, and explore Medford and Grantspass on foot. These walks are part of the Oregon Drive Less Challenge.

After a 40-year career teaching voice lessons to students of all ages, and with some assistance from small business development guru, Jackie Babicky Peterson, Fay Putnam began Breath is the Answer. Her solopreneur business provides a service that enables her clients to "find their authentic voice." Fay uses the Alexander Technique--a process that helps people move more mindfully through life's everyday activities--which she has studied extensively, to guide individuals through a series of exercises that allow them to become more aware of how they use their bodies physically, mentally, and emotionally when they communicate orally.

Painted on the wall of the For The Love of Dogs training room is the saying, “A Dog’s Tail Never Lies.” Beneath it, Cocoa, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, looks up intently, at her “mom.” True to Pavlov’s theory, Cocoa’s tail wags patiently and enthusiastically as she awaits the forthcoming treat she’ll be rewarded for good behavior following the sound of dog trainer, Cheryl Flemming’s “click.”

Privacy, anyone?

It’s a universal truth the saying, “Life is what happens where you’re busy making plans.” Before becoming an Encore Entrepreneur, Sunit Rikhi, Founder of Reach for Infinity, LLC, had dedicated thirty-one years at Intel. The type to focus on the here and now, he never gave much thought about doing anything other than the task at hand, which was working on breakthrough technology while developing and managing the projects and teams he oversaw at Intel.

During the process of buying or making improvements to their forever homes, families don’t always consider the concept of “aging in place,” or having a home that is “user friendly” for family members as they age. Diana Zapata, a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS), has incorporated this concept into Zapata Design, the year-old interior design business she started as an Encore Entrepreneur.

J oin AARP Oregon staff and volunteers this July at an AARP Activist & Volunteer meeting near you. Discover what we are doing in your community. Get an update on AARP’s local, state and national outreach and advocacy efforts for the first half of the year and what's ahead.

I wish these written letters could morph into the sounds they signify, then you’d get the genuine sound of . . . what to call it? It’s not really abuse – but it’s not really respect, either, and it shoots to hell the declaration of “dignity,” which many – all, really - LTC facilities claim as their “holy grail.” After all, we are “elders,” with all the sacrosanct connotations the word embraces.

Recherché, a French word meaning of rare quality or elegance aptly describes Encore Entrepreneur, Pamela Burkland, and the line of one-of-a-kind, handmade bags and wearable art she produces. Recherché specializes in bags that illustrate an east meets west design: the bags are made from vintage Japanese Obi, or sashes traditionally worn by both Japanese men and women. A typical obi can measure around 14 feet by 12 inches wide, and may have ornate traditional patterns on one or both sides. The bags that Pamela creates from the obi material are all hand-stitched, and the buttons that adorn them are all vintage making them both modern and timeless pieces for any bag-loving fashonista.

Cheek bones tightly squeezed, lips curved downward, brows furrowed, squinting eyes shifting side-to-side, hypervigilance exploding throughout the dining room. She and her cohorts are on the prowl – not for leaping lions, crouching copperheads, scurrilous scorpions. No! For walkers. The bi-podal choice – nay, necessity – we elderly in my Assisted Living Facility.