Please make sure the doors to the clubhouse are securely closed when you leave. On Thursday, May 9th, Stacy entered the big room to clean and found some intruders. There were 2 turkeys in the big room and they had left their droppings on the floor. She got them out but then had to clean the mess they left behind.
It only takes a few seconds to make sure the door is closed behind you. Thank you.
Sue Eytalis, Board President
There’s a song extolling Ireland’s “forty shades of green” by Johnnie Cash. Look around us; doesn’t it seems like we have forty shades of green or more? Look very closely at the hillsides surrounding us. The grassy hills are a tender spring green, soon to be exchanged for a summer coat of tawny golden brown. But for now they’re that unique spring green.
The new leaves on the trees now budding out are a gentle soft green almost yellow-green and some of them are clothed in white and pink flowers. Mixed in with the new green are the greens of the more mature trees: mid-green, brownish green, even deep maroon with a green-black undertone. Many hades but all variants of green.
Behind, on the hills are the evergreen trees, mostly spruce or fir, but all shades of deep forest green. These trees stand sentinel, framing the valley hills. They hold everything together and provide a perfect picture frame.
Think about it. Aren’t we like the trees? We have the “old” timers in Timber Valley. They remember all that went into the earlier days of the park when members washed the windows and mopped the floors in the clubhouse. They are the evergreens, framing, holding the park together. Still standing strong.
The mid-greens have been here awhile. They volunteer, take part in things and rejoice in joining together. Some of them suffer from “burn-out”, trying to do more than their share.
Then we have the “newbies”. They’ve come into the park in the last couple of years and are still coming as older members leave. Some of them have jumped right in and are participating and helping out, some while still on the AWL. But there are others who say, “We’re retired. We didn’t come here to work. Let someone else do it.” Or words to that effect.
It takes all the forty shades of green to make our hillsides beautiful. It takes all our members, old, mid and new, to keep our park thriving and moving on into the future. Is it too much of a stretch to say: when all participate and do their share, our park will be more beautiful and worthwhile? We are the forty shades of green.
By Jackie Deal
Tinka opened her eyes and pushed away the blanket of leaves that covered her. She looked around, testing the temperature. She stretched lazily as her gossamer wings unfolded and caught a beam of sunlight. She smelled the rich earth and all the scents and sounds that heralded the start of spring. Excitement overtook her as she thought of all the new births to come. Continue reading
We lost our beloved Timber Valley member, Sally Hunt. Sally passed on Monday evening, April 29. Sally and her husband, Jim came to Timber Valley on October 23, 2014. She was a kind, generous and compassionate woman with many talents including sewing, quilting, machine embroidery, crocheting, glass etching, and many, many different crafts. Sally was a much loved member of the Sit n Sew group where she shared many of her talents, Sally would help anyone and everyone. She was active as a member of the Welcome Committee’s Contributing Members. Many of you have welcome gifts made by Sally. She never met a person she could not talk to and make welcome. Countless moments of joy and happiness with Sally were shared by many of us in the park.The half-pint carton of milk reposed innocently on the kitchen counter. Aha! Just enough for my breakfast smoothie. I grabbed it up, pushed, pulled, pried, cussed Continue reading
Yay …It’s May! Henrietta Hedgehog is sitting pretty in her window box with green-grass colored bows, a bluebird of Happiness and her friends, the butterflies. Warmer weather should be just around the corner. Remember to take in the little sign … Enjoy the Simple Things!
Kim Watkins
It looks like we might get a one year reprieve as market conditions are not very good for the timber industry this summer. A number of local mills are shut down and the rest have cut back on their log purchases. The owner of the property next door to our southern border told me last week that he’s almost certain the logging next to Timber Valley is off for this summer.
As we learn more, there’ll be further updates.
Thom
by Fred Prout
Sometimes your life seems to go in one direction. Always forward. A super highway. Doing things. Going places. People. We collect people. And places. Like a bee collects pollen. Life on cruise control. New places. Different people. Eyes always focused ahead. What’s next? And new? The older we get the faster we seem to go. Time condenses. We perceive it differently. Sometimes we look back at people and events of our life. We smile, and look ahead to the endless highway. No need to feed the gas. Hit the brakes. It’s all automatic. Cruise control. Endless highway. Until…
SPEED BUMP
The other day I heard that a dear friend was ill. Very ill. It hit me hard. We had some adventures together that are indelibly written in my memories. Willie saw my reaction to the news. The shock. A good friend very ill. She reminded me that a burden shared is halved. A laugh shared is multiplied.
Suddenly, more news. Larry didn’t make it. This is the first time I have ever said Larry without also saying Phyllie. They were, are, a unit. An extension of each other. I know everyone who knows them will feel the same.
RV Days
Of the tens of thousands of people we meet, a very few are truly special. Can make us laugh. Or cry. I know my tears will mix with those of many others who spent time with Larry and Phyllie. When you share laughter with someone, it changes you both for the better.
Back in the RVing days, Rita and I stumbled upon a membership RV park. Through sheer luck we got an opportunity to volunteer to work on the activities. That’s how we managed to meet some really great people. Friends. Especially Larry and Phyllie.
TRAILER TRASH
Part of the job was helping with the entertainment. After setting up for the amazing Walt Quigley (the best Roy Orbison ever) we came up with Trailer Trash. We would have Walt play Tequila, and Rita and I would encourage (drag) people from the audience, bounce around like fools and sing the only word in the song. Well, duh,”Tequila “. Larry and Phyllie were always first up and helped more and more people to join in. They were always willing accomplices to whatever insanity was devised. They always added to everyone’s enjoyment.
TOM JONES
Dick and Charlotte were also friends of Larry and Phyllie. If you ever need to define class, look no further than Charlotte. Beautifully dressed, not a hair out of place. The perfect person to pull off a prank. You would never imagine her capable of doing it. Well, the three couples got together to make some laughs. We went to the local thrift store and bought a pair of ladies bloomers. Size XXXXXXXX. Larry got Walt to sing a Tom Jones song. As he started to sing, Charlotte summoned all her dignity, walked down the center aisle and tossed said bloomers up to Walt on the stage. To his credit he didn’t miss a beat.
SLICES OF LIFE
A few shared moments in our lives. A friendship is born. With very special people. Although I am sharing these words with everyone, they were written for Larry and Phyllie. Phyllie, I know you will have many happy memories of your life shared with The Big Kahuna. Hopefully these words will make you smile. You two touched many lives. Probably more than you know.
Love you guys. You will stay in our hearts forever.
Fred Prout
One thing’s for certain at The Home For Senior Delinquents. Every day is a new adventure. Breakfast this morning. We have a buffet breakfast that starts at eight am. Some of our folks get there ten to fifteen minutes early, so that,1) they get their fair share,2)they can get their fair share and load up their walkers for later, or never, or for the cat. 3) They have important stuff to do. Like napping.
This morning, Fran, our wonderful cook had to hand out two pieces of bacon per person. See, the people hovering in line are like vultures. Waiting to strip the bones of their prey. Somehow an entire pan of bacon can disappear within minutes. It’s bad enough when the inmates load up their walkers, but, the highest flying and deepest diving are the caregivers. See, some of our inmates are somehow infirm. They hire people to assist them in various ways. Some of these caring individuals swoop in and take enough food for the inmate, themselves, and their seven starving grandchildren. It seems that bacon can turn people into pigs. How’s that for irony?
I could fill a lot of pages describing our various people. Today I’ll concentrate on: The Villain, The Driver, Three Housekeepers, and The Hero.
Walking out of the dining room, I heard Joan. raging at Ronnie, our driver.
So as not to give the wrong impression, I understand that Joan was happy and said nice things. Once upon a time. It could have been when Truman was president and the world changed. “That’ll fix ‘em “ she might have said.
To describe Joan as a vicious, vituperative harridan might be extreme. Or not.
It’s been said that if her walker could fly, they might reconvene the dunking in Salem. Massachusetts, not Oregon. And not donuts.Sorry if I misled you.
As I walk to the elevator Joan is still barking at Ronnie. He’s getting her wrath because for the last six weeks we have had no one on the front desk. Hey, bacon ain’t free you know.
“ I got a call that my housekeeper is sick, she screeched. Time to check the rabies tag? You gotta tell them that I demand that somebody come up and change my sheets and make my bed. Towels. I want clean towels too. And my floor. They gotta clean it. I got rights. I pay my rent. You tell them to get up there now. And another G.. D… thing, tell the kitchen not to let anyone sit in my chair in the dining room. I’ve been here…
Elevator door opens. Inside are three housekeepers, rolling carts, and all. As they start to get out, I, the hero after all, block the door, walk in, backing everyone up, and tell them they are all being kidnapped. For their own good.
I explain that Joan is on the warpath and wants all of your heads. So, up to the fifth floor we go. Three Housekeepers, three rolling carts, and one hero. We all go our separate ways. Another potential disaster averted.
Just another day at the Home For Senior Delinquents. Hey, I just had a thought. Maybe I should have gone over to Joan, opened her walker and handed her eight or nine pieces of bacon to calm her down. What do you think?
Fred Prout
by Jackie Barker (lot 130)
The whole world seems to be going crazy. Road rage, looting of stores by gangs and Karens beyond count are in the news every day. What can be done to stop these insane behaviors?
Perhaps the easiest is to go back to the basic foundation of nearly all religions. They speak of how we should treat our fellow beings. If before you yelled at the driver of another car that annoyed you, you think of how it makes you feel if that driver yelled at you, you then make the world a more peaceful place by smiling instead.
If the looting gangs should think of the Daoism teaching before tearing up a store, “Regard your neighbors gains your own gain and your neighbor loss as your own loss”. Would they still cause all the damage? Probably not, think of how much goodness would be in the neighborhood.
And all the Karens of the world should listen to the Judaism lesson. “That which is despicable to you do not do to your fellow and the rest is commentary, go and learn it.” That would stop a lot of the public confrontations over parking spaces and fence lines and children laughing and playing. Ah, blessed peace and quiet.
Other examples are everywhere.
Buddhism, “Hurt not others with that which pains yourself”
Judaism, “That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it”.
Confucianism, “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire”.
Of course, then one most of us know, the Christian Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Such a brilliant plan for a peaceful life.
Donald W. Pfaff, PhD. Neuroscientist remarked “If it’s really true that all religions have this ethical principle, across continents and across centuries then it is more likely to have a hardwired scientific basis than it was just a neighborhood custom’. Wouldn’t it be great if some powerful entity would just flip the switch and turn it on in all minds?
Peace brother.
Jackie Barker
3/15/24