Bonnie and I leaned intently over the puzzle at the Luverne Senior Citizens Center.
We were waiting for our church’s monthly food giveaway to begin and we had time to kill.
And there, on a small round table, was a puzzle. It had lots of flowers — pink ones and orange ones.
We found ourselves leaning in closer to get a better look. Darned pieces were kind of small. I slid my bifocals lower on my nose to get a better look.
Brows furrowed and lips pursed, we looked for the piece with the purple edge.
“I can’t seem to find it,” Bonnie muttered.
“You said you’re behind it?” I asked.
“No. I can’t find it,” she muttered.
“Oh, good. I don’t mind it either,” I replied.
As Bonnie and I worked on the puzzle, I started to reflect on what is wrong with young people today. They just don’t know the meaning of hard work. They don’t know the value of a dollar and the music they listen to is just too darned loud.
“I found it!”
My reflections were interrupted by Bonnie announcing she’d found the puzzle piece with the purple edge.
I’m not saying Bonnie was showing off, but it seems to me she didn’t have to make such a big deal about it. I would have found a piece, too, if there wasn’t so darned much noise in the room.
An uncomfortable rumble in my bowels made me wonder if I should cut back on the fiber supplements. But the arthritis in my hip quickly made me stop thinking about fiber.
“I don’t know why we have to have such hard chairs,” I observed as I shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t have any trouble with the stairs,” Bonnie replied.
All the bright pink and orange flowers in the puzzle began to make me dizzy so I considered a walk around the room. Walking helps my hip pain and also my stiff knee.
I pushed my bifocals back to the top of my nose and adjusted my compression stocking for a stroll around the room.
“Boy, it’s nice that the town has a place like this for old people,” I thought. “I hope they still have it when I get old.”
***
Join me and other “old people” at 7 p.m. Monday, April 1, at Grand Prairie Events to help raise money for the new Generations (Senior Citizens) project.
Senior Center puzzle offers glimpse of the future
Lead Summary
By
Brenda Winter, columnist