I may be a senior but I see a business opportunity in Summerland that no one seems to be grabbing! Now that seniors and many others, cannot afford the price of gas to run back and forth between Summerland and Penticton, why doesn't someone start up a regular bus for us?

If a nice little bus did a run 3 times a day, we could all plan our shopping and appointments, etc around that schedule. They'd have a nice little business and we would not feel so cut off.

Just a thought from an old fart in Summerland.

S.O.F. 

“We’ve turned into our mothers,” she stated as she looked at her female classmates of ’48.  She probably should have said, “We look like our grandmothers,” because all of this group consisted of graduates from Rosetown, Saskatchewan High School sixty years ago. All have grandchildren and some have great-grandchildren.

Okay, bear with me and be honest.

Stop reading for a few minutes and think about this question: would you rather be surrounded by frumpy looking "eee, what was she(he) thinking, wearing that?" people, or people who care what they look like?

Times up. I'm trusting that you really thought about this, because if you didn't, you can't jump down my throat for the following opinion piece.

I just came back from shopping. FIrst, in a large grocery store and then in Canadian TIre.

Oh, my Lord. Fat chicks with too tight bras under close-fitting summer tops - I don't know about the front (I don't usually stare there) but from behind, you could see the seams of the bra AND the flesh spilling out around it. Doesn't she know she can go to Sears and have a saleswoman help her get a bra that looks good under  her clothes? Mind you,I'm not raging about fat people here - we've all seen overweight types who look just find in their clothes, right? Just don't put on a 36 bra when you need a 40.

Case two: women my age (I'm almost 65 and in fairly good shape; meaning, I can tuck my shirt in my pants and if I 'suck it in' I look like I have a figure) Anyway, women my age wearing short shorts when they're not on the beach! Here I'm probably going to get you really mad at me - no one over 50 years old should wear anything shorter than their knee caps except in their own backyard, at the pool, or at the beach. There. Even if you are 55 and have thin legs, it doesn't look right. Thin legs actually look just as bad as the chunky stems, skinny legs look like you're starving yourself or sick.

In conclusion - mature women (that's you or you wouldn't be reading this, right?) shouldn't dress like they are 25. Get over it, ladies. We've been there, done that. (In fact I got kicked out of a pub in 1970 for wearing what the owner thought were too short shorts. Honestly!) Not only that - in my opinion, we all look a hellavalot better in capris or slacks, properly fitted bras, and other decent clothes.

Please...don't be so hard on other people's eyes. Look in the mirror before you go out, willl ya?

signed: Notdeadyet 

In the July issue of the Seniors CHOICE the Canadian Institute of Health Research shared its ideas on how to promote healthy aging in Canada - what a joke! If this is what we are paying researchers to do, I'd like my money back. You and I could walk into any senior centre in BC, choose any ten people at random, and get better ideas than this.

One point - they want to work with homebuilders and auto makers to create elder-friendly houses and cars. Get real! This government is not even prepared to support the elder-friendly programs that are in place now. They are not willing to subsidize the long established and very successfuly Meals on Wheels. This program already keeps seniors in their own homes by providing them with nutritious meals and social contact - and they are letting it close. All communities are being forced to cut back, and some,like Victoria, are shutting down completely.

The cost of subsidizing the volunteer drivers for the extra cost in gas would be a drop in the bucket compared to the future cost of rehousing these folks when they are forced to give up independent living.

IDEA- before we spend any more money researching new ways to promote senior independence, let's support the programs already in place and working well, instead of closing them down before we have something better to replace them!

We already know far too well that there are not enough senior facilities for the numbers that need them now. Shutting down Meals on Wheels will simply place hundreds more names on waiting lists, and people will die on those lists!

Join the real world, folks. Do your research in the senior centres and find out what people need NOW, in FACT, not someday in THEORY!

P.A. Okanagan Centre