In The Community
Activities within and for the RVM Community
RVM Newcomers Group…
by Asifa Kanji*
Asifa Kanji
…Is a group for folks who have moved to the Manor in the past 12 months, and for seasoned residents who would like to get to know the new residents.
Would you like to meet and talk story with other Newcomers?
Would you like to connect with seasoned residents?
Then this is the group for you.
Monday walkabouts
This informal group meets every Monday at 3pm at the Plaza to walk, to talk and enjoy each other’s company. You can walk as fast or as slow as is comfortable. You can walk as long or as short as you want. No reservations required — Just show up with your masks and walk or stroll in twos or threes. It’s not organized, it just happens naturally.
Both Newcomers and seasoned residents are welcome to join.
Monthly get-togethers for Newcomers only.
We get together on the first Wednesday of every month from 3-4:30 pm. Because of COVID, we are presently meeting on ZOOM, but hopefully in the coming months we’ll be able to meet in person, outdoors or indoors, depending on the weather, the size of the group, and the county guidelines for group get-togethers.
We usually invite a member of the Resident Committees or Admin to give a brief (10-15 minute) talk on different aspects of life at the Manor.
If you would like to join in, you would be most welcome. Please send an e-mail to AsifaKanji@gmail.com to receive your invite, ZOOM or otherwise.
Socialize with Seasoned Residents
This is an opportunity for Seasoned Residents and Newcomers to get together socially — over a glass of wine, dinner, tea, or whatever works for you. The maximum size would be four.
Dennis Murphy is the match-maker. If you are interested in participating in this opportunity to make new friends, please call or email Dennis directly at extension 6076 or at dqmurphy@yahoo.com.
*Asifa Kanji grew up in Tanzania and Kenya, was schooled in England, fell in love and followed her heart to America in 1975. She has been a teacher, a henna artist, a computer programmer, a dilettante, a care giver and a traveler who loves to write. She is a new Manor resident, having moved to the Rogue Valley from Hawaii with her editor, her publisher, her chief art critic, and her husband.
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Previous Posts:
- Neighbors-2 (Claudia Macmillan), 2. Cat people (Joni Johnson); 3. Neighbors-1 (Daphne Fautin); 4. YANA (willi Zilkey
Neighbor coincidences Part 2
by Claudia Macmillan
Several years ago, husband Jim and I were on a RVM tour bus, traveling back from Salem, OR. Seated across the aisle, were Peggy and Jon Russell. In a moment of light conversation, Peggy asked where I was born. “Trenton, New Jersey”, I replied. “Me too”, she said. She asked, “What hospital?” “Mercy” I said. “I was born there too” she said. Reaching for more, I asked her if she knew the name of her mother’s obstetrician.
Incredulously, there was another match! We tried to see if our birthdates were close..Were we in the nursery at the same time? But Peggy was born a couple of months before me.
By this time Jim and Jon were laughing and rolling their eyes, becoming bored with our little match game, but they love to recount the story years later…Two little Jersey-girls, coincidentally moved to Oregon and RVM.
Cat People Helping Cat People Helping Cats
by Joni Johnson
Salome Sato started something wonderful about three years ago. She created a registry for cat owners who were going on vacation and needed sitters for their babies. By the end of those three years, she had about 35 people on board. Some of them owned cats and wanted occasional help, some of them had cats and were willing to take in short-term boarders and some were just people who loved cats and were willing to cat-sit even though they no longer had a cat of their own.
In order to be placed on the registry, each interested person has to fill out a registration form which includes questions about their cat- breed, temperament, age etc. That is Salome’s part. After that, it is up to the interested party to find their own sitter from the list. The registry is still working.
Click on this link to see if you are still on the registry. Names for Cat List If you are interested in removing your name, please contact Salome via email at salome789@gmail.com or by phone at 808.232.8541. If you are interested in adding your name, please fill out the registration sheet attached to this link ‘20.10.25 – CAT REGISTRATION FORM rev. #1 and send it to Salome via email or call her to do it by phone. Once you are added to the registry, you will get your copy and then when you are in need, you have your people to contact.
Someone sent a joke around today and it was too good to just pass up so I am putting it here and I know you will understand:
This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her dog. It was obvious she thought her dog understood her. I came into my house & told my cat. We laughed a lot.
What Do You Know About Your Neighbors?
by Daphne Fautin
One day when Scott Wetenkamp and his wife, Jean, were walking by our cottage, I remarked on his University of Illinois t-shirt. Jean responded that he was born in Mercy Hospital! I was shocked, saying “I was, too. And Sharon Wileman did her nursing training there!” All in little Urbana, Illinois. As I told Scott and Jean, when I visited Urbana a decade or so ago, Mercy was just a small stone appendage on a giant Carl Hospital that had been added to the original structure – twice!
Then I recalled that Cora Lee Seale told me she was born in Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming, where my sister and brother were born (I tell people I had the good sense to move to Wyoming when I was three months old). The hospital where they were born (I recall she said that she had been the first baby born in that building) is no longer there – a new Ivinson Memorial Hospital has been built at the eastern edge of Laramie (which is where my mother died).
These coincidences are not just coincidences – they are links among us all. Any others for Urbana, Illinois, or Laramie, Wyoming? Any other products of University schools? Let us know – or better yet, do you have even more improbable coincidental connections? If you do, enter the contest. (use the comments form below). We’ll publish the results, and figure out some sort of prize for the most extreme coincidence.
YANA
(A program by residents for residents)
By Willi Zilkey
A good friend left flowers at my front door the day Bob died. I’ll never forget that act of kindness. In 2018, she and I decided to extend this thoughtfulness to everyone who experiences a loss in our community. The group was named YANA, You Are Not Alone.
A creative photographer in our community prints note cards for us and another resident artist rendered the photo we use on our cards to reflect the sadness we share.
One member of the team, the Canary, notifies the appropriate team member of a death in our community. Another member happily creates a small flower arrangement. A note of sympathy is written to accompany the flowers. Contact with the grieving resident is made to acknowledge their loss and ask for a convenient time to deliver the flowers and note.
This is a simple kindness. It is our privilege to let grieving residents know they are not alone. When one of us leaves, we all grieve.
This worthwhile project is sponsored by the RVM Residents Council.
Several years ago, husband Jim and I were on a RVM tour bus, traveling back from Salem, OR. Seated across the aisle, were Peggy and Jon Russell. In a moment of light conversation, Peggy asked where I was born. “Trenton, New Jersey”, I replied. “Me too”, she said. She asked, “What hospital?” “Mercy” I said. “I was born there too” she said. Reaching for more, I asked her if she knew the name of her mother’s obstetrician.
Incredulously, there was another match! We tried to see if our birthdates were close..Were we in the nursery at the same time? But Peggy was born a couple of months before me.
By this time Jim and Jon were laughing and rolling their eyes, becoming bored with our little match game, but they love to recount the story years later…Two little Jersey-girls, coincidentally moved to Oregon and RVM.
In circuit class Bert Bamforth and I began chatting about places we’d lived. When I was in high school in Ft Collins Colorado (circa 1966-67) I worked at Hested’s Dept Store evenings and weekends. It turns out that Bert was regional manager (I forget his exact title) for all the Hested stores in that area.