Punky Seniors

Senior Moments

Tea for Two (hundred)

Above, background, Members of ESL from left, Amanda Maffei, Mary Scarlata Rowe, Mark DiCampo and Kelly Grill

by Nancy L. Drawe

(Punky)

December 17, 2008 — Tea for two, and two for tea! There were certainly more than two people at the Holiday Tea Party hosted by the Friends of the Seniors held at the center last Wednesday. Once again, another wonderful party for the holiday season was a big success. Oh, and there were surely less than two hundred people present, like there were at the Police Association dinner. But it makes for a nice a headline pun.

Cheryl Perrault and Geri Holland provided entertainment through the Women’s Art Forum—they invited some of their friends; members of ESL (Enter Stage Left) to perform a nice little Christmas concert. Kelly Grill, Mark DiCampo, Mary Scarlata Rowe and Amanda Maffei from ESL sang some popular Christmas carols, topped off with Mark’s solo rendition of “O, Holy Night.” They were WONDERFUL! Everyone enjoyed the entertainment, all the yummy treats, nice hot tea and most of all, service fit for royalty! Thank you to Dolores Ivester, Leda Arakelian, Beth Jacobs, Barbara Beale, Mindy Van Schaick, Darlene Hayes and Ellen Wright from the Friends for doing yet again another awesome job! Leda said, “Even though this is a busy time of the year, we just wanted to do something nice—the seniors really enjoyed it last year, so we decided to do it again.” We’ll all look forward to it again next year!

Carol Mecagni from the Cell phone recycling program would like you to know that the Senior Center is continuing to collect cell phones for Hopkinton seniors, but have also added other items to the list. These may be in working condition or not and include old game systems such as Playstation, x-box, Nintendo, etc., IPods, laptops, digital cameras, and any accessories for these items. Carol says, “This is an important source of funding and our thanks go out to all who drop phones, etc., in the collection boxes. Deep thanks to our collection sites: Advantage Wireless—77 W. Main Street, St. Paul Episcopal Church—61 Wood Street, St. John the Evangelist—Church Street, First Congregational Church—146 E. Main Street, Good Shepherd Lutheran—183 W. Main Street in Westboro, Curves in Hopkinton and Curves in Westboro, Hopkinton Public Library—Main Street, U.S. Post Office—Cedar Street and the one in Woodville, Hopkinton Town Hall.” Now would be a great time to go through your kids’ old video game systems that they don’t use anymore—instead of tossing them out, now you know they can be donated for a good cause!

Don’t forget to get your 2009 Senior Center calendars. Every month has a different photo of a special “happening” at the center and include MANY of the seniors who participated in these events. You’ll definitely want one for yourself and maybe even one for your children/grandchildren so they can see what goes on at the center. They’re only $8.00 each and all sales will benefit the center. It’s a great fundraiser!

A reminder—the center will be closed during the week of Christmas from noon on December 24 (no lunch served that day) and will reopen again on Monday, January 5^th, 2009. During this time, the staff will be able to catch up with office work, the volunteers will get a little vacation and it’s the chance for the place to get a good cleaning. Wow, I can’t believe I just typed 2009, seems like it was just turning 2008, doesn’t it?

Well, the whole reason for me writing the column this year was not only to entertain you with my personal thoughts and stories about the Senior Center, but also to keep you posted about all the upcoming activities and events being held there. As this year comes to an end, I’d like you to know how much I’ve really enjoyed keeping you informed and I hope at times, entertained. I hope you have enjoyed reading them as well. 2009 will bring many new fun and exciting days at the Hopkinton Senior Center. I will close this last column of 2008 by wishing a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all—enjoy this wonderful holiday season with your family and friends. Believe in the magic of Christmas!

The Hopkinton News^TMonline only at HopNews.com

editor@HopNews.com

508-435-5534