by Tom Conger

As is our custom, my kids, grandkids, and I converged in Seattle to spend the Christmastide with their stepdad at his lovely place in Issaquah. This time we all flew in—nine of us from different locations, all on separate flights, arriving just before a substantial snowstorm. They all stay at his home, and I with old friends in Bellevue, thus were only able to actually get together for a few hours on Christmas Eve plus some “quality time” the next day. Then off we all flew like the down of a thistle.

On December 28, I awoke with a very sore throat, mild headache, body aches, and a low-grade fever (101°). Inasmuch as I had spent 10 hours the prior day waiting for my (1-hour) flight back to Medford, then marching back & forth on the tarmac, in the rain, as the airline shuffled planes on us, eventually flying almost to MFR before diverting back to Portland because “a cargo door had not latched properly,” I figured I had the flu, or possibly strep throat. We had all been vaccinated, and the kids boostered, so thoughts of Covid were vague at best. But during the day, I learned that the kids’ had each tested positive before reporting back to work or school. And I suddenly found myself so sick I couldn’t even get out and get tested. Somehow, another day went by – lost forever, a blank. Or was it two days?

A friend called. “Are you OK?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“NO!”

“OK. But I’m going to call every day to make sure you’re alright.”

“Just let me go back to bed.”

And so she did. Every day. I had to d-r-a-g myself out of bed to answer the phone.

One day, I just couldn’t make the effort when the phone rang. Mistake. The troops arrived in the form of Bob. Muttering imprecations and holding on to the walls for support, I wobbled slowly and carefully to the front door. Blearily, I motioned for him to go away through the screen door, and I staggered back to bed.

On New Year’s Eve, I dragged self out of bed and drove to the Fred Meyer parking lot, where I heard drive-by testing was being done. Once I finally located the test site (reportedly “amply signed”—there were no signs whatsoever) and drove around until I found what appeared to be the end of the line, it was obvious that, at the rate the line was moving, there were several days’ worth of cars waiting to be tested. I drove home and took a nap.

Next day (New year’s Day) I learned that Valley Immediate Care was offering test with no wait, so drove to the VIC facility at Barnett & Ellendale, and received prompt service—and equally prompt results: I had Covid. These tidings were promptly relayed to Melissa Preston and Belle at the front desk.

The report forms did not identify which strain/variant of the infection I had. And by then my temperature had returned to 98.6°. But I was far from “cured.” The sore throat had dissipated with the fever, but several MD friends had suggested Mucinex, to relieve any congestion I might be experiencing (had an occasional little hack—what I’d call a “nervous cough”); so, when dear friend Nancy called from her PT session and asked if there was anything I needed from the Manor Mart, I requested Mucinex. Seemed to get some relief from that OTC Rx, and eventually consumed the entire packet plus about half of a refill.

By then, symptoms were mostly a relentless sense of fatigue—no energy whatsoever—and I found myself dozing off repeatedly. As I was mostly just lying in bed reading, the spontaneous naps were facilitated. This did not seem to interfere with night-time slumber, so I figured there was no harm in nodding off at will. But it was damned annoying. I kept having to reread to figure out where I had been before I dropped off.

But time was passing. It had been over two weeks since the symptoms had first appeared and I had tested positive. During this interim my neighbor Cleve, who had gathered my mail while I was out of town, was also fielding items from my box in the Manor; this help was greatly appreciated. Hope you have a neighbor who would do likewise.

Slowly I began to notice that I was feeling less ”foggy” with each passing day, and was able to perform small household chores. I could fix myself something to eat and wash up afterwards without needing to lie down and rest afterwards. I was still not taking my accustomed daily walks, especially as I like to go early in the day—but it’s been cold out…! Some brilliant soul suggested I walk later in the day. 

My medical service is at the VA clinic in White City, and they did not receive their booster serum until December, my shot scheduled for 1/18. By last Tuesday, I was feeling as close to normal as I could recall, and the booster itself had no side effects. I now face the ordeal of getting back onto my walk regimen—am going to have to start slowly, and adjust the to time frame to the afternoon, at least until we get out of the 20s in the mornings.

Other than that, there’s not much advice I can offer: if you somehow get exposed, and actually contract the infection, there’s little you can do other than rest—and keep isolated from others = easy in the independent cottages, but more of a task in the towers. Malama pono!

by Tim Miller

BILLIARDS (aka POOL) AT ROGUE VALLEY MANOR

Gosh, it sure is a lot of fun to play Billiards here at Rogue Valley Manor!

Well, here’s my story and how I got involved.

I arrived at the Manor a little over a year ago; so many fun things to do here…tennis, pickleball, bocce ball, golf, lawn bowling, table tennis, line dancing, exercise classes and soooo many board games and other activities. All designed to keep us healthy and happy!

What else to try out? As I was visiting the Manor downstairs, I came across some folks playing Billiards.

I remember in my youth playing “pool” and some hit and miss pool at other times in my life. In fact, we had a pool table in our attic for few years. It was nice, but boring. I seldom had anyone to play with.

Just before arriving at RVM, I was playing pool quite a bit where we lived at the Eagle Crest Resort.

I said to myself “what the heck.” Let’s start playing pool again. So much fun and good folks to help me along, thanks to Dan, Butch, Rita and Diane. Very soon I started researching and practicing pool again.

Now I go down and play pool any old time I like. Who cares if it’s rainy, too hot outside or 5am in the morning? The tables are always available. And, WOW, what great tables. I feel like I am playing in a very luxurious Country Club. The tables are the highest quality and they were just refurbished to “like new”.

I can remember as a kid playing on a table in the back room of my barber shop. The table was ancient and I think it even had bumps on it, and it sort of leaned to one side.

Sometimes it’s just a lot of fun to go down and play a solo game by myself or maybe just practice a little (I can sure use the practice). The other day I called a friend I hadn’t seen in a while and we are going to get together soon and play some Billiards. Maybe we will contact a couple of other players listed on RVM Billiard website and play some team Billiards.

After playing for a few months in the “Ole RVM Billiard Parlor,” pretty soon I was playing a fairly decent game again. No expert, but I was having fun and feeling a certain degree of proficiency. I have always enjoyed my passion for sports by sharing (instructing) with others whatever expertise I had learned (Judo, Tennis, Boating and Pickleball). Living in a Senior community…Billiards was the ideal place to start lessons in Billiards.

Beginner Billiard Lessons have started at Rogue Valley Manor! Over the next few months, we had about 20 students complete the 2-hour Beginner Session (learning the fundamentals). Interestingly, 14 of these 20 students were women. The great thing about pool is that the male has NO physical advantage. There have even been a few students who wanted to take their lessons a step further…6 of them are now enrolled in an advanced pool mentoring program (3 ladies & 2 men).

In a couple of months, we will have open enrollment of our next Beginner Lessons…watch for it on MyRVM. STAY TUNED!

For more information about Billiards at RVM, contact:

Dan Curtis (X6899) dbcurtis@gmail.com Co-chairperson for our Billiards community; or

Butch Findley (X6161) bf6695@gmail.com Co-chairperson for our Billiards community; or

Tim Miller (6891) tennistim2@gmail.com Instructor

Visit our Website at: RVM Billiards

Interesting History of Billiards

It evolved from a lawn game similar to the croquet played some-time during the 15th century in Northern Europe. Play moved indoors to a wooden table with green cloth to simulate grass, and a simple border was placed around the edges. Initially, the balls on the table were hit with a mallet. Later the “pool cue’” evolved which allowed more precision hitting.

The term “poolroom” now means a place where pool is played, but in the 19th century a poolroom was a betting parlor for horse racing. Pool tables were installed so patrons could pass time between races. The two became connected in the public mind, but the unsavory connotation of “poolroom” came from the betting that took place there, not from billiards.

In the 1920’s, the poolroom was an environment in which men gathered to loiter, smoke, fight, bet, and play. The rooms of today bear no resemblance to those of the earlier times. Until very recently, billiards was completely dominated by men. In the past, it was very difficult for a woman to develop billiard skills because male players, her family, and friends usually did not support her efforts. These situations have changed…women are now accepted as equals with men in Billiards today.

“Billiards” is an all-inclusive term. It includes any game played on a billiard table, with or without pockets. These various games include snooker, pocket pool, etc.

In mid-November, drivers at RVM encountered barricades and detour signs on some of the campus roads  The reason — a dress rehearsal for snow-and-ice season, with the  employees practicing getting onto campus via the “Snow Route.” The Snow Route (shown in the map below) is designed to keep traffic off of the steepest streets, which experience has shown are difficult or impossible to negotiate under slippery conditions.

Traffic control is set up and manned by the Security Department, while road clearing is handled by the grounds team of Facilities Services. Jens Larsen, Director of Security, explained that Transportation is also involved in shuttling staff up or down the hill when RVM Drive is closed.

When asked about the decision and set-up process, Jens said “We sometimes pre-stage road barricades that direct this route if we know bad weather is coming, but the timing always depends on the time of day and what staff is on the hill when the weather hits.”

The plan is to divert all employee traffic in and out through Mira Mar and the South Village. Conditions may dictate closing parking lots and additional roads depending on the nature of the event. Ice is typically a bigger challenge than snow, because it just hits without any visual clue that it has arrived.

RVM has a snow hotline (extension SNOW-857-7669), primarily for staff to call before driving to work.  However, residents can also use it to determine current conditions. The road controls help ensure the safety of residents as well as staff. When conditions are poor, One Call Now is used to try and warn staff and residents to NOT venture out unless it is an emergency, and notices are also programmed on Channel 900.

The Grounds team is well equipped for plowing, scraping and salting, but the time required to restore normal safe travel conditions will depend heavily on the nature of the event and the staff available to work on it. When roads and walks are treacherous, residents are urged to stay home if at all possible, and to use Manor Transport if they must go out.

If you would like to download a PDF of the map, CLICK HERE