Thanks to my friend Sara, this has been floating around the internet in Senior Citizen mail boxes and she thought I’d find the humor, which I will share with you.

Christmas at Rock-Away Rest

Twas the night before Christmas at Rock-Away Rest,

and all of us seniors were looking our best.

Our glasses, how sparkly, our wrinkles, how merry;

Our punchbowl held prune juice plus three drops of sherry.

A bed sock was taped to each walker, in hope

That Santa would bring us soft candy and soap.

We surely were lucky to be there with friends,

Secure in this residence and in our Depends.

Our grandkids had sent us some Christmasy crafts,

Like angels in snowsuits and penguins on rafts.

The dental assistant had borrowed our teeth,

And from them she’d crafted a holiday wreath.

The bed pans, so shiny, all stood in a row,

Reflecting our candle’s magnificent glow.

Our supper so festive — the joy wouldn’t stop –

Was creamy warm oatmeal with sprinkles on top.

Our salad was Jell-O, so jiggly and great,

Then puree of fruitcake was spooned on each plate.

The social director then had us play games,

Like “Where Are You Living?” and “What Are Your Names?”

Old Grandfather Looper was feeling his oats,

Proclaiming that reindeer were nothing but goats.

Our resident wand’rer was tied to her chair,

In hopes that at bedtime she still would be there.

Security lights on the new fallen snow

Made outdoors seem noon to the old folks below.

Then out on the porch there arose quite a clatter

(But we are so deaf that it just didn’t matter).

A strange little fellow flew in through the door,

Then tripped on the sill and fell flat on the floor.

Twas just our director, all togged out in red.

He jiggled and chuckled and patted each head.

We knew from the way that he strutted and jived

Our social security checks had arrived.

We sang — how we sang — in our monotone croak,

Till the clock tinkled out its soft eight-p.m. stroke.

And soon we were snuggling deep in our beds.

While nurses distributed nocturnal meds.

And so ends our Christmas at Rock-Away Rest.

fore long you’ll be with us, We wish you the best!

Be Kind to your children for they will pick your nursing home!

author not listed

21 June 1938-12 December 2011

Words by his son Curtis D. Tucker
Two families lost someone yesterday. One family lost a long time dad, husband, uncle and brother that had aged into his 70′s, while another family lost a faint memory of someone frozen in time, a 30 year old man captured only in a few vintage photographs and videos, smiling and unaging. With the remote chance of ever crossing paths now forever closed, may you rest in peace Tilford Neal Tucker. Condolences go out to his wife Monica, his daughters Jodi and Jeni and the entire Tucker family.

Hug your crumb crunchers today as I will surely hug mine, be sure they know you love them and take care of any unfinished business before it’s too late.

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes  and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Holiday dinner
Stay off of your thighs!

Happy Holidays Everyone!
(author unknown)

I walked out the front door and onto my screened porch and thought I was walking into an oven.  It almost takes your breath away. So my summer was here and I missed it.

Joanna is having a neat blog fest where anyone can post their summer happenings and then read everyone else’s.  She had some very funny happenings.  In fact some of hers sounded sort of like mine.

1.  She mentioned being somewhere with the temp over 100, well not to be out sweated….I have spent the last three weeks, sitting in my car at the edge of a grassy field in a park with no trees within 5 miles, watching and waiting while my 8 yr old grandson learned the fine art of football,  wearing a real helmet and full pads, in 110 degree heat……..the things granny’s do for their grandkids.

2.  I sat hidden in my house under the ac while it has been some 54 days of no rain and over 100 degrees everyday.  Will it ever rain again?  I did have 4 drops today on my windshield until the cloud moved.

3.  There will be a “new Sheriff” in town at my daughters house after the first of October.  My daughter who is getting married (again) and catch this:  to her love when she was in college some 26 years ago.  He has been trying to run into her for those 26 years and finally they landed on the same Facebook page a year ago.  Oh my it’s nerve racking for him to get used to two teenagers and an 8 year old, at his age and never had children of his own!!!!!

4.  Since I am in my “older years” as they say and I have a terrible back and bad leg which causes me to fall flat on my face now and then, I finally gave in to some outdoor exercise.  I got myself a three wheel bicycle so I can ride with my grandson and not fall over and break my hip or something else.  I would really hate to have to be cared for by my newly married daughter and her “true love” …..she would never forgive me.

5.  I have spent an enormous amount of time watering my dead grass and rose bushes, and not achieved anything but a larger water bill.  This heat has killed all the flowers, bushes and grass all over town.  There are a few who still have grass but they are the people with the big bank rolls and can afford underground sprinklers that seem to be on all the time.

Well that’s about all I can think of.  This seems to have been a totally wasted summer having to stay inside.  Or maybe not, grandson will be playing real football this year.

P.S.  be sure and click on the big 7 above and check out Joanna’s summer.

Jeff Mullin is a favorite writer at my local newspaper.  His thoughts on today’s college freshmen hit home since we have one in our family this year.  I’d like to share his outlook on “The world according to today’s college freshmen”.

August 23, 2011

Enid News and Eagle
ENID — Each generation has its own unique cultural touchstones — people, places and events that bind people of that age group together.

People of a certain vintage point to the Jazz Age, flappers, bathtub gin, the Crash of ’29 and the Great Depression. For another group, it was Pearl Harbor, Frank Sinatra, “Loose Lips Sink Ships,” rationing and VE Day.

Still others can relate to the 39th Parallel, Buddy Holly, Sputnik and James Dean, while those of a more recent minting have vivid memories of Duck and Cover, Dealey Plaza, Kent State, the Beatles and the Summer of Love.

Of course, each generation’s cultural touchstones might be a unifying point for people of one age group, but they also serve to illustrate the vast chasm that exists between themselves and those of younger generations.

 Take, for example, the group of scrubbed-faced, eager young people who have just entered their freshman year of college. A record 4,000 of them began the school year Monday at the University of Oklahoma, while Oklahoma State welcomed 3,900.

 Today’s college freshmen, for instance, have never called anyone using a rotary dial telephone.

They haven’t, that is, according to the annual College Mindset List compiled by Beloit College of Wisconsin. 

This year’s crop of freshmen, who average 18 years of age, weren’t alive when George H.W. Bush was president. Say “Read my lips, no new taxes” to college freshmen and they will look at you blankly. They know Bush 41 only as the father of Bush 43, George W. And Jimmy Carter? He’s the nice old fellow who travels the world making sure elections are fair and overseeing disaster relief efforts. Go so far as to mention LBJ to one of today’s freshmen and they’ll assume you mean Miami Heat star LeBron James.

They have no idea why O.J. Simpson is famous, except for the fact he is always in trouble with the law.

 They have grown up with the Internet, bike helmets, women Supreme Court justices, Amazon (the Web retailer, not the South American river), Chicken Soup for the Soul, the Food Channel, electric cars, charter schools and Martin Luther King Day. They never sat on a Sears catalog to make them taller at the dinner table.

 Remember the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” in which Matthew Broderick’s wise guy high schooler decides to skip school for the day? For this year’s freshmen, Bueller could be their dad.

 This year’s freshmen didn’t grow up wanting to Be Like Mike. They were 10 when Michael Jordan retired for good in 2003. And today’s freshmen think Arnold Palmer is simply a drink combining iced tea and lemonade.

  In their lifetimes, fake Christmas trees have always outsold real ones, the phrase “been there, done that, got the T-shirt” has always been in use, grown-ups have always argued about health care and taken baby aspirin for their hearts and George Stephanopolus has always worked on television rather than in the White House.

 For these young people, “Cheers” has always been in reruns, nurses have always been in short supply, couples have always broken up via texting or Facebook, and the only significant labor disputes they have experienced have come in professional sports.

 There are always differences between people of various generations. I came along after World War II, have always lived in a home with indoor plumbing and television, remember when Hawaii and Alaska weren’t states and grew up watching “Captain Kangaroo” and idolizing Mickey Mantle. 

In the end, those things really aren’t important. Each generation has its own cultural touchstones and experiences, but we are bound together by our shared history.

 Today’s college freshmen may have been just 8 years old, but I’ll bet they can tell you where they were and what they were doing on Sept. 11, 2001, just as those of previous generations have vivid memories of Nov. 22, 1963, and Dec. 7, 1941.  

Next time you have a family gathering, turn off the TV and computer, confiscate the smartphones and laptops and start telling stories. Tell this year’s college freshmen about poodle skirts, Nehru jackets, leisure suits, Camelot, Joan Baez, troll dolls, “The Peter Principle,” ration books, Woody Herman, Dr. Spock, zoot suits, Howdy Doody, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull,” streaking, Skylab, Carl Sagan, Valley Girls, Milli Vanilli, hobo jungles and Ogden Nash.

  And they can tell you about the things that are important to them. When you strip away all the cultural stuff, the things that are really important to them are likely the same as those cited by their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

 They want to be loved, they want to pursue their dreams, they want to change the world, they want to be successful, they want to be respected, they want to do the right thing, they want to leave things better than they found them.

 Which is just a long way of saying they want to be happy.

 And that desire binds us all, no matter our age or cultural experience, whether we grew up listening to “The Shadow” on the huge radio in the corner of the living room or watching “The Shadow” on a smartphone.

Mullin is senior writer of the News & Eagle. Email him at jmullin@enidnews.com.

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