Nothing beats May in Spokane

The merry month of May is my favorite – it has Bloomsday, Mother’s Day, Gonzaga’s graduation and my own birthday. Actually, I share this birthday month with my close friend, Sheri Barnard. Some people still think of Sheri as the mayor of Spokane and I don’t find that too surprising because she symbolizes the friendliness, goodness and integrity which we want in our elected officials.

Up to your knees in literature

The Moran Prairie Annual Book Sale is not until June 4 at Moran Prairie Center, but volunteers are needed to sort books before the sale. If you have a few hours to donate any Saturday this month, call Mary at 443-6663. They are also accepting book donations. Proceeds from the sale will be used to purchase multimedia equipment for the new Moran Prairie Library, which is under construction.

Good news from the state capital

The Washington State Legislature has completed the budget and it contains some good provisions for seniors.

Nick Beamer, director of the Area Agency on Aging and Long Term Care, says: “There were no cuts in programs like Copes; there were wage increases for in-home workers; and a new program, Kinship Care, was funded. An important inclusion was mental health parity for everyone who has comparable coverage for medical care.”

I will continue to report on senior budget news as it comes in.

It is especially good to see the issue of mental health being taken seriously when it comes to seniors.

Too often, it seems that people mistakenly assume that mental illness is a normal part of aging. May 22-28 will be observed nationally as Older Americans’ Mental Health Week in an effort to show that mental illnesses are real, common and treatable.

The Older Women’s League has sponsored research which estimates that “approximately 5 percent of older adults have a diagnosable depressive illness and another 14 percent have significant symptoms of depression. Eleven percent of adults over age 55 have an anxiety disorder. Sometimes mental health deteriorates in response to the presence of physical ailments, such as stroke, Parkinson’s, arthritis and diabetes.”

Most adults over 65 know little or nothing about depression and those over 85 have the highest suicide rate in the country.

Interestingly, movies have been helpful in shining a light on the aging population with films such as “On Golden Pond,” “Harold and Maude” and “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood.” But we need more than movies and so in that light the Legislature’s approval of mental health parity is a very important step.

Imagine

Don’t miss the unusual Spokane-based magazine “Imagine.” Created by Editor in Chief Kate Corkery Spencer, it’s published four times a year, and its goal is “to make personal growth and community outreach not only meaningful, but contagiously fun.”

The magazine features nationally known contributors, the look is glossy and sophisticated and it is worth reading more than once. Check it out at www.imaginemagazine.net.

And to close with a few lines from Howard Nemerov’s “May Day Dancing”:

The kindergarten children first come forth

In couples dressed as little brides and grooms.

By dancing in, by dancing round and out,

They braid the Maypole with a double thread;

Keep time, keep faith, is what the music says…

And all the parents standing in a ring,

With cameras some, and some with only eyes,

Attend to the dancing’s measurable rule,

Bemused, or hypnotized, so that they see

Not seven classes of children, but only one.