Hilltowns Senior News for Friday, February 10, 2017
I remember when my smug, ninth-grade self began taking French in school, and what a silly language it was to me. In translation, the French would “make” a walk, instead of “taking” a walk. But wait a minute. Who do we “take” the walk from? Did somebody else own it before I took it?
“Making” a meal I understand, but how does covering a piece of furniture with cloth equal “making” a bed? We “play” games, and kids “play,” and some folks “play” the horses, so is everything that’s fun “play?”
Playing football doesn’t look like a lot of fun to me, unless you’re a masochist who enjoys getting beaten up, and, if gambling away money you can’t really afford to lose is considered “play,” then we have a somewhat warped value system if you ask me.
We “do” the dishes, but why does that mean the same thing as “wash?” We don’t “do” our hands when we wash them, and if a lady “does” her face, it means she’s “putting on” makeup. Putting on? Like making fun of?
It would be more accurate to say “applying” makeup, except “applying” also means to submit an application. I never had to ask anyone (except my mother) about permission to wear makeup.
We can “have” a cold, or a good dog, but we don’t “have” tired, we “are” tired. But I have a meal, I “am” not a meal. Some of the things we can have are invisible, like an attitude, or an idea, but others are real, concrete things, like sofas.
We use the sofa to “take” a nap, but that has the same problems as taking a walk. I can “do” my hair, or apparently anything else that implies a physical change or activity, but we seldom “do” our beds.
The spelling is just as bad. Eenuf is spelled enough, and det is debt. Even the rules are not always ryt (right). I before E, except after C, except in words like weird, where the rules don’t apply. “Sounding like A’ is OK, but look at the words that supposedly sound like A: neighbor (nayber) or weigh (way). Who decided that “eigh” should be pronounced “ay?”
We could blame it all on the fact that this country was built by immigrants, both legal and illegal, who each brought their own contributions to our linguistic mish-mosh. What do you expect when you take a perfectly good language like Mohawk, or Algonquin, and start adding “Thees,” “Thous” and “prithees” brought my folks from Merrie Olde England or “Geseundheits” from Dusseldorf?
What a mess! It’s no wonder that new Americans have such an awful time trying to learn the polyglot goulash we call American English.
Maybe we should start over. “Hello” in Mohawk is spelled “Shé:kon,” and pronounced “Say-goon.”
Coming up
February is North American Inclusion Month, National Bird Feeding Month, Grapefruit Month , and Worldwide Renaissance of the Heart Month. This week is International Friendship Week, National Secondhand Wardrobe Week, and Random Acts of Kindness Week. Lincoln's Birthday and Oglethorpe Day are all on the 12th. The 13th is Clean Out Your Computer Day and World Radio Day.
Extraterrestrial Visitor Day, Ferris Wheel Day, and Valentine’s Day are the 14th. Lupercalia, National Gum Drop Day, and National Hippo Day (I thought that was for Christmas!) are the 15th, and National Almond Day is the 16th. The 17th is National PTA Founders Day, World Human Spirit Day, and Champion Crab Races Day. We end the week with Cow Milked While Flying In An Airplane Day, and Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day.
The senior shopping bus will make its next trips to Wal-Mart and Whole Foods on Feb. 22 and March 8, 2017. Call CDTA at 437-5161 two days in advance to arrange for pickup.
The Hilltown Seniors will meet again on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Berne Senior Center. The meeting will be followed by the usual scrumptious potluck lunch, so be sure to bring your plate and silverware! There is also an upcoming trip to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park on April 5. Lunch will be at the Caterina DeMedici Restaurant, and cost is $50 for members and $70 for non-members. Call Shirley Slingerland at 797-3467 to sign up.
The Rensselaerville Senior Citizens’ Club meets the second Tuesday of each month at noon for lunch at the Medusa firehouse (28 Route 351, Medusa). Bring a dish to share, and eating utensils; coffee and tea are provided. The cost is one dollar.
Hilltown Community Resource Center will continue their lunches on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month through the end of April. A freewill donation may be made at the door. The entree for Feb. 23 will be ham and scalloped potatoes.
The Valentine’s Day party at the Berne Senior Center is coming on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and we are having shrimp scampi. Add a box of chocolates for your snuggle-bunny, and you have the holiday sewed up.
Menu
— Monday, Feb. 13, chicken with peach sauce, broccoli, brown rice, wheat bread, tapioca pudding, and milk;
— Tuesday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s party! Shrimp scampi, spinach, wheat bread, apple crisp, and milk; and
— Friday, Feb. 17, grilled muenster cheese sandwich on wheat bread, tomato soup, coleslaw, apple juice brownie, and milk.
Doors open at 11 a.m. and lunch is served promptly at noon. We also have transportation to and from lunch! Just tell Linda Hodges when you call with your reservation.
Does your writers’ group, bearded dragon fanciers club, or cat costumers society need an easy place to meet? Why not meet at the Senior Center? Come have lunch, and then get together with your friends! There’s plenty of space, and the center is open for all of us. We already have games, dominoes, and cards after lunch on Mondays and Tuesdays, so join us.
Please call Linda Hodges 24 hours in advance to 872-0940 to reserve lunch, or 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, call Linda, send an email to , 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.