The Lighter Side (June 1999)

1. When I announced the next move, Daughter in the Valley, one of the ladies at the Senior Center started singing “Down in the Valley.” This resulted in the whole group singing along! (Except for me, I didn’t know the words).

– Sharon Sirkis

2. After a discussion of how habit is the enemy of old age, I encouraged the members of Aspenwood Senior Living Community to try something new. “I’m going to keep poking at some of you to try new things,” I said.

One spry lady lit up and said, “I’m reading a book about how they’re poking an elephant and making it bleed.”

“Does that mean I need to stop poking at you?” I asked.

“No,” she said, “You need to bleed us some more!” (She still retains her sense of humor from her days as a police officer).

– Sharon Sirkis

3. Having set up a new TCC course for seniors at the local recreation center, I showed up for the first class only to watch a steady stream of seniors march past my classroom. They were on their way to bingo next door. Final result – Bingo: 200, TCC: 0.

– Noel Altman

4. During a TCC practice session one of my 6-months pregnant students said, “When I don’t do the movements correctly my baby kicks me!”

– Joyce DeGidio

5. A student called me and said she couldn’t attend tonight’s class. She confessed that she hadn’t done her practice today, (she practices regularly), and she could really feel the difference it made. As she went on to tell me how edgy she felt, she suddenly broke into laughter. “I just felt my neck,” she said, “And I just noticed I’ve put my shirt on backwards!”

– Sharon Sirkis