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Story Core: Meet Charlie
Charlie served in the Air Force during the early years of the Vietnam War. Stationed with a medical unit in Japan, the bright spot of his service was learning about the culture of Japan. He has continued that love of learning, and now he has the time and opportunities to continue honing old skills and learning new ones. How? Participating at Roma Berry’s Active Senior Center, and you make it happen.
“Now, I’m in class for the joy of learning something new, and being part of a close community.”
Creative writing was the first class Charlie took at Roma Berry. “I’ve always enjoyed writing. We took many trips as a family, and I would journal and sketch to remember the experiences.” Currently, the drawing class helps Charlie refine his love of sketching. “I’ve always had a hard time with faces, and I look forward to improving that skill.”
In the storytelling class he joined, each person tells about themselves or something that happened in their life.
“That has been such a great way to get to know other members. You can go around the center and talk to people, but this provides a structure for each person to share something personal.”
Two new classes that stretch and challenge Charlie are guitar and improv. “I thought I would give guitar a try. It’s available and is covered in my membership. The improv class is so much fun, we spend most of our time laughing. How many people would try that on their own? Here you can try new things, no one is critical, and there is no judgement, only support.”
Charlie mentioned that he looks forward to coming to the Active Senior Center – he loves the connections. “If you come here and all you do is play cards, that’s great because you are doing it with other folks. I never would have tried improv or learned how to play the guitar. But actually, it’s all about the camaraderie and community. I love it here.”
Discover More Stories
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Meet Marybeth
LIFE’s SeniorLine recently received a call for help from a diabetic, 82-year old woman. Marybeth, had been shaking so badly she dropped and broke her blood/sugar monitor. The insurance company wouldn’t pay to replace it, and she couldn’t get through on the phone to her healthcare provider while their network was down. So, she called LIFE’s SeniorLine crying, scared, and frustrated.
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Meet Linda and Chris
What does a hard-working, new to Tulsa, single professional do when a parent needs 24-hour monitoring? Dr. Christopher Allen would say, “Word of mouth is probably the best way to find services, no matter what you are looking for. Several of my friends recommended LIFE, and I couldn’t be more pleased, honestly.”
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Meet Janet and Gil
Like so many other people who take on the role of caretaker for a loved one, Janet had no advance preparation or training. Fortunately, she was referred to LIFE’s Caretaker Support Program. “I didn’t know about senior daycare, I didn’t know about PACE. I didn’t know about any of it. But through talking to Erin (LIFE, LPC and case manager), she guided me in the right direction.”