New Scotland Senior News for Friday, October 16, 2015

Did you know that Rensselaerville and Westerlo residents have access to a Senior Bus? It makes weekly trips (usually on Thursday) to grocery stores, and occasional forays to dens of iniquity for penny slot machines and other games of chance.

Transportation may also be arranged for necessary medical appointments. Call Town Clerk Victoria Kraker at 797-3798 for more information. 

An addition to the Guardian Society’s fall calendar is coming on Nov. 30 from 9 to 11 a.m.  They will be presenting a free program on brain health.

Research suggests that lifestyle may have a much more significant impact on brain health than was previously thought. The combination of good nutrition, physical activity, mental stimulation, not smoking, and a varied social network all contribute to improved brain functioning.

The presenters will be Richard Holub, M.D., and John A. Fairbank, P.A., from Neurological Associates of Albany.  Come and learn some specific things you can do to improve your brain. 

Register online at http//www.albanyguardiansociety.org, or call 434-2140.  All Guardian programs are held at the society’s offices at 14 Corporate Woods Blvd., Suite 102, in Albany. 

Speaking of brains, I was reading a book today called “The Autistic Brain,” and was once again struck by the concept that human behavior seems to have as many degrees of variation as hair color.  Just like you can have hair colors from platinum through red to jet black, we can have degrees of sociability, or shyness, or aggression. 

Even severe conditions like “multiple personality” (known to the shrinks as Dissociative Identity Disorder), could be seen as an extreme example of normal behavior. You’re not the same person with your grandmother or auntie as you are with your American Legion buddies or closest girlfriend, but that’s normal because it’s the same recognizable “you” underneath, and you can control the changes. 

Take one more step down that line, and those different aspects get separated, and can’t communicate with each other.  It seems to me that, in many cases (not all, of course), it’s a matter of degree rather than kind.

When I was much younger, I believed that insanity might be caused by oversensitivity; I thought that perhaps some people went crazy because they couldn’t filter out enough of the environmental noise and stimuli we all get exposed to. 

The book’s author, Temple Grandin, mentions that overstimulation is a problem experienced by some autistic people. Dr. Grandin (she has a Ph.D.) is herself autistic, which makes her perspective fairly unique.

She has specialized in designing livestock-handling equipment and structures for meat processors (yes, that’s an intentional euphemism), based on her own life experiences as an autistic person.  It seems we keep finding more and more biology behind our psychology. Maybe some day we will be able to adjust the brain-chemistry imbalances that cause some folks so much trouble.

Menu

But now, to give your brain a rest, we have the lunch menu for next week. Swap tales with friends, and enjoy a lunch that you don’t have to cook.  Doors open at 11 a.m., and lunch is served promptly at noon.  Mondays and Tuesdays are games and cards (some of us have resurrected Canasta!), and of course on Friday Nancy Frueh plays live music for our enjoyment.

— Monday, Oct. 19: Chicken with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, peas, whole wheat roll, milk, and fruit cocktail;

— Tuesday, Oct. 20: Hungarian goulash, noodles, broccoli, rye bread, milk, and sugar cookie;

— Friday, Oct. 23: Chicken cacciatore; peppers, tomato sauce, penne pasta, baked tomato, whole-wheat roll, milk, and lemon pudding. 

Please call 24 hours in advance to 872-9400 to reserve lunch.  Email , or sign up when you come in.

Tell us how many are coming, your name, and your telephone number.  If you’d just like to come and help out, give Mary Moller a call at 861-6253, or email her at , and put “volunteer” in the subject line.

Lunches are provided by Helderberg Senior Services, the Albany County Office for the Aging, and the Peter Young Housing Industries and Treatment Culinary Program. The Hilltown Senior Center is located at 1360 Helderberg Trail (Route 443) in Berne. 

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