Senior Citizen Centers - Food and Stealth Parking

[josephusminimus]

Even most small communities in the US have Senior Citizen Centers.&nbsp; I've never been inside one, but I've driven past a thousand of them, known a lot of people who frequented them, and I've always intended to have a cheap meal at one, but always forgot.<br /><br />The ones at Zuni Pueblo, Grants, NM, and Placitas, NM, I noted at one time or another, had vans and/or RVs parked in the parking lots, even though the centers were closed.<br /><br />Meals are usually served for a relatively small price at these centers, I've heard from senior friends the one in Placitas charged $1.50, and I see on the website the one in Kerrville charges $3.00 per meal.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dietertseniorcenter.org/nutrition.html">http://www.dietertseniorcenter.org/nutrition.html</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.dietertseniorcenter.org/SM Dining Room Deck 2.JPG" alt="" />

 

[yesican]

...and not a smile on any of them...Nope, not the life for me!<br />Rae

 

[Mortisha]

Not old enough yet LOL&nbsp;

 

[josephusminimus]

...and not a smile on any of them...Nope, not the life for me!<br />Rae

<br /><br />Eating's probably just a serious matter for them.&nbsp; The people I knew in Placitas, NM, who ate at the Senior Citizen Center were fairly jolly folk, interesting to converse with outside where I knew them.&nbsp; Maybe the center had rules about smiling to keep them from offending one another.

 

[mockturtle]

Maybe the center had rules about smiling to keep them from offending one another.

<br /><br />LOL!

 

[dborla01]

&nbsp;Funny response about not smiling. We treat quite a few older folks as part of our work and some are easy and some are difficult. I, as with alot of folks when younger, could not relate to old folks but as I age, I can sympathize&nbsp; more to their concerns, fears, etc. I consider senior centers as an honorable way to eat and generally feel as belonging to a community. Darrell. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />

 

[josephusminimus]

&nbsp;Funny response about not smiling. We treat quite a few older folks as part of our work and some are easy and some are difficult. I, as with alot of folks when younger, could not relate to old folks but as I age, I can sympathize&nbsp; more to their concerns, fears, etc. I consider senior centers as an honorable way to eat and generally feel as belonging to a community. Darrell. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" />

<br /><br />Darrell:&nbsp; I'd guess the type people a person would encounter in Senior Centers would vary a lot from place to place, depending on, for instance, the surrounding community attracts a lot of retirees, how far it is from medical facilities and that sort of thing.&nbsp; Kerrville has a middling high percentage of retirees and the folks pictured at the meal serving reflect the types of folks of that age group you'd encounter in grocery stores, etc.&nbsp; It's a community of golf courses, retired businessmen, retired military, retired professionals, but interestingly, a surprisingly large group of aging outlaw bikers of the Bandito clan.<br /><br />My sense is that the people using the Kerrville retirement center are a step further along in the life experience than would be found, say, in Alpine, Texas, Fort Stockton, or Silver City, New Mexico.&nbsp; The people depicted in the picture have the look, to me, of folks with health issues, possibly in physical pain, just waiting for the grim reaper.<br /><br />Up the road a way, say in Monahans or Comanche where it's a long way to a hospital the people in the centers would almost certainly be in better health, and their faces would reflect life still to be lived.<br /><br />As for whether eating in a senior citizen center is honorable, or isn't, I suppose it's an issue of ethical interpretations and personal self-regulation.<br /><br />My personal thought is that when hungry people eat they're generally fulfilling a demand by nature to do so, and that the life experience carries a moral and ethical obligation for them to do it if they can get food.&nbsp; Whatever honor might be, and how it relates to human beings&nbsp;ingesting food isn't a philosophical issue I've examined carefully.

 

[Ricekila]

O / P -- I'd like to eat there ---- do they have a kids table <img src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" />

 

[dborla01]

Interesting response, Joe. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />. PS.&nbsp; I was thinking of the discomfort the more senior folks' who see us professionally, experience orally, which is the domain we work in at our Practice. We try to help them to achieve at least a minimum improvement in chewing ability. We provide a more reasonable alternative, monetarily, to more traditional providers. However, perfect oral care would include implants, which are costly. PSS. Think I strayed off of the topic here, sorry if I created controversy earlier in my comments. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/nono.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /> PSSS. We also visit retirement homes in conjunction with our work, thus we see scenes such as the above, rather frequently. Darrell.

 

[josephusminimus]

Interesting response, Joe. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" />. PS.&nbsp; I was thinking of the discomfort the more senior folks' who see us professionally, experience orally, which is the domain we work in at our Practice. We try to help them to achieve at least a minimum improvement in chewing ability. We provide a more reasonable alternative, monetarily, to more traditional providers. However, perfect oral care would include implants, which are costly. PSS. Think I strayed off of the topic here, sorry if I created controversy earlier in my comments. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/nono.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" /> PSSS. We also visit retirement homes in conjunction with our work, thus we see scenes such as the above, rather frequently. Darrell.

<br /><br />Darrell: You might be innocent and I might be the one strayed off topic.&nbsp; These matters don't have obvious boundaries.<br /><br />Out of curiosity, have you ever noticed RVs or vans parked in the parking lots of senior citizen centers during off-hours?<br /><br />I'd thought, at least, that would be a matter of interest to folks here of all ages who discuss stealth parking issues.

 

[dborla01]

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hi again Joe. Have not seen vans, etc parked at retirement centers after hours in our area, although they may be present. We live in an area of high population density, Portland Oregon area, and it is hard to get a handle on who is doing what at any given time. With the cost of living here being sky high, and a large degree of anonymity being a given, there may be a lot of below the radar screen living arrangements in our area. Darrell.<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />

 

[papas34]

My buddy takes his 80+ year old mother to lunch 5 days a week. I have gone a number of times with them, the senior center has good food, they welcome everyone of all ages and always have donated foods that they freely give out......boxes of donuts, fresh veggies and fruits, bread of all types.

 

[bk2valve]

Not so much in TorC. Although there are many places around town to overnite and the RV parks are cheap....<br>Bri

 

[mad*sparrow]

I had a good friend that was 75 who invited me to lunch and it was a place like this. People were extra plesant and the food was wonderful. Inexpensive and near home cooking. What more could you ask for? I did not however notice rv's in the lot.