Hilltowns Senior News for Thursday, November 3, 2016

I love mysteries, especially the ones that are described in the genre as “cozies.” Those are the ones set in English manor houses, with fluffy old dears like Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple of St. Mary Meade.

I prefer the amateur detectives, who rely on perception and reason in place of advanced technology. The mental exercise is fun, but most of all I crave the sheer delight of escape. I want to be transported to somewhere (and somewhen) nostalgic, comfortable, and pleasant, with just a touch of the archaic.

The victim is never someone you really care about; as a matter of fact, the victim is often most deserving of an untimely demise. Meanwhile, one can wander among the portraits in the gallery, and admire the family crests and armaments on the walls. There must, of course, be a large, slobbering hound somewhere about the place, and servants, so you never need worry about dirty dishes and the residues of exotic poison.

I understand that other types of fiction provide their own kinds of escape, and perhaps the defeat of an international conspiracy makes us feel more secure in today’s uncertain world. It is always preferable and satisfying when the bad guys lose.

Gritty “true crime” stories are exciting, and, although I appreciate detail, and am not terribly squeamish, a line-by-line autopsy of a mutilated corpse is too realistic for my personal jaunts into fantasy.  Many years ago, I went to a movie about a massacre in the old West. My friend and I left feeling as though we badly needed a drink, and were not at all sure that we could have kept one down.

Since then, I believe I can count on one hand the number of depressing films I’ve deliberately seen.  Fiction that is set in the real world only reminds me of the real world itself, and that is what I’m trying to leave behind.

I’ve been a disaster worker, and I was in Kosovo. If I need heightened awareness of the incredible pain and cruelty we humans are subjected to, I can get it every day on the news.

For my respite, I prefer cryptic messages, velvet draperies, moving bookcases, and the reappearance of relatives long thought dead. A knowledge of hieroglyphics and organic chemistry is always a plus, along with obscure customs from dying civilizations. Safe from the rain and creeping fog outside, I can snuggle deeper into my wing chair by the fire, adjust my lap robe, and ring for tea.

Coming up

“Oswego tea” was popular in Colonial times with both the original inhabitants and the immigrants from England and Holland. November is American Indian Heritage Month, Family Stories Month, Historic Bridge Awareness Month, and National Memoir Writing Month. The coming week (Nov. 6 to 12) is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, National Young Reader's Week, and International Dyslexia Reading and Literacy Week. Election Day is the 8th, as is Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day. World Freedom Day is the 9th , Veteran's Day is the 11th, and Fancy Rat & Mouse Day is the 12th.

Crafts after lunch on Tuesday, Nov. 15 will be pinecone zinnias. Make a bowl of them for the holidays!  For December, we will be making snowmen after lunch on Dec. 6.

There is a bus trip to Cooperstown on Saturday, Dec. 17 to see a production of “A Christmas Carol” at the Farmers Museum. The bus will leave at 10:30 a.m.  We will stop for lunch at Mel’s 22 restaurant (buy your own), and then on to the performance at 2 p.m.  Cost is $12.50 per person. Call Karen Schimmer at 872-2544 to reserve a seat.

Menu

The lunchtime menu for next week at the Berne Community and Senior Services Center is here, and we have tea as well as coffee. Doors open at 11 a.m. and lunch is served promptly at Noon.  We also have games, dominoes, and cards on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Remember, there will be no lunch on Friday, Nov. 25 (day after Thanksgiving).

— Monday, Nov. 7, rosemary chicken, sweet baked yams, California blend vegetables, wheat bread, mango chunks, and milk;

— Tuesday, Nov. 7, pork roast with gravy, roasted red potatoes, carrots, wheat bread, warm sliced apples with cinnamon, and milk; and

— Friday, Nov. 11, lemon garlic fish, mashed butternut squash, pineapple orange juice, hash brown potatoes, rye bread, chocolate mousse, and milk.

Please call Linda Hodges 24 hours in advance to 872-0940 to reserve lunch or arrange transportation. You can also email her at: , or sign up when you come in. Tell us how many are coming, your name, and your telephone number.  If you’d just like to come and help out, give Mary Moller a call at 861-6253, or email her at , and put “volunteer” in the subject line.

Lunches are provided by Helderberg Senior Services, the Albany County Department of Aging, and Senior Services of Albany. The town of Berne Community and Senior Services Center is located at 1360 Helderberg Trail (Route 443) in Berne.