What do folks do at the senior centers? That’s a good question, and the answer will fool a lot of people.

The Council On Aging has senior centers in Franklinton, Pine, Angie and Bogalusa, and they stay busy every Monday through Friday. A lot of seniors have learned that as you arrive at what is supposed to be the Golden Years your activities slow down. Many have also figured that if you sit and wait your health goes from bad to worse, and these seniors look for something to do to keep them busy.

Each senior center has a site director who keeps the activities coming and has a good meal to serve seniors every day. This makes the participants join in and come to act like a family. Friends are made, and as they get to settle in with a certain group at one of the tables they adopt a certain chair as their spot.

Here at our Bogalusa center there are 17 tables, some long tables with eight chairs and the round tables with four chairs that are usually occupied but always with a vacant chair or two at each table.

Every day the site director makes an announcement of coming activities and also the problems some of the missing are having, with prayer requests for the missing ones.

Then we get into the activities.

For several weeks now many of the ladies have been making birdhouses out of empty milk containers and adding all sorts of decorations to the little houses. That has kept many of the ladies busy, while the men are busy discussing politics and all the world problems. At other times many of the ladies and a man or two took a course in how to weave a wicker basket. That came out very well even though some of the older fingers had a hard time trying to find the next hole to weave through. Some are still working on that project and may have some more classes. When these things are complete we can always expect some interesting projects to be introduced.

Another activity that brings a crowd every Tuesday and Thursday are the bingo games. Everyone likes to play for the prizes that have been donated and get real excited when someone calls out Bingo! At other times everyone just visits, talking with one another and acting more or less like a family.

Some of the seniors are clever and come up with puzzles or tricks they use for the seniors. One lady gave me a bar of soap, which was a pretty little oval bar that smelled really good. About two months later she asked me why I had not used the soap. I told her I used it until it was all gone and she said, Well, it didn’t work then did it? I asked what it was supposed to do and she said it was a beauty soap, so I could just say thank you.

Things like this go on with the visits to the center and it keeps everyone entertained. The seniors all really appreciate the centers and thank the taxpayers for the funds that help support the work for the seniors.

The Good Lord has given us all many blessings in our younger years and now in our Golden Years, and we should all remember to thank Him every day with our prayers.

May He bless you all today.