Senior Gatherings

I attended the Ventura Council for Seniors meeting at 9:30 and found it mildly interesting. A woman named Suze Montgomery chairs it; my widder dinner friend, Barbara, had mentioned the other night she's a friend of hers. Suze said that senior citizens make up 27% of Ventura's population. That's quite a large percentage and there are a plethora of organizations, county, state, and private on or for seniors. Sometimes officials are tone-deaf to their needs, though. The speaker was a guy from the fire department who talked about a program on how to help yourself in case of an earthquake. This is a six meeting course open to all and those who successfully complete it go through a "graduation" and are given a backpack with various supplies. There was quite a bit a enthusiasm for it until the man blandly announced that it meets at the county services building from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Don't these people know that older people can't, or find it difficult to, drive at night? The only place I'll drive at night is to Ellen's or Yolanda's because the routes are straightforward and I know them perfectly. Anyway, Suze asked if the department might consider having one for senior citizens during the day; guy will check and get back to her. The meeting broke up a little before 11:00 and I decided that, instead of driving right home, I'd go to the senior center for their regular lunch.
Now this was worth doing, pricey though it is, so I paid my three bucks (heh, heh). I started talking to a woman named Barbara, who turned out to be a frequent visitor. She invited me to sit with her and we were joined by Betty (who looked to be about my brother, Jim's age--ninety), Holly, and Marie, both of whom looked younger than senior age to me. We started chatting and I found out the Barbara lives right next to the park on Poli Street, where I often stop to drink in the view. Holly crochets little animals, some of which she had with her--the kitty is really cute--and was very congenial. Marie is a movie buff and we have many of the same favorites, such as Chinatown, Fargo, The Godfather I and II, and others. She said she often goes to the theatre in town and that certain showings are only five bucks for seniors. We decided to get together some time and exchanged e-mail addresses. The food, as ever, was good; salad, iced tea, and a main course of beef and broccoli on rice, with mixed veggies; peaches on yogurt for dessert.
Marie said she had lived all her life in L.A. and Betty suddenly came to life, saying she had, too. Her father was a dentist and they lived near--Wiltshire Boulevard? Hollywood and Vine? Can't recall, but I recognized it was a famous area. Loved to hear them talk about the City of the Angels in the olden days.
When I got home, Marie had already e-mailed me just to remind me we had met at lunch. I wrote her back, suggesting we get together, maybe for lunch and a movie. Speaking of movies, today I want to see Michael Moore's Where to Invade Next, playing in Camarillo about 10 miles away. Hope I can get there all right.