{"id":3617,"date":"2013-08-21T16:13:04","date_gmt":"2013-08-21T20:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=3617"},"modified":"2013-09-05T01:27:01","modified_gmt":"2013-09-05T05:27:01","slug":"inside-aurora-im-not-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/inside-aurora-im-not-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"INSIDE AURORA: I’m Not Ready"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Scott Johnston<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have more than a few years to go before I will become a senior citizen, which is a good thing in a way, as I don\u2019t think I\u2019m ready to be one in Aurora.
\nAs we advance in years, we all start to slow down a bit, and take it easy, both mentally and physically.
\nAt least, that\u2019s the theory.
\nWell, from what I can see of our seniors by reading the weekly Senior Scape column in The Auroran, that\u2019s not what\u2019s happening.
\nDespite earning some well-deserved down time, our seniors are not collectively sitting around on the porch in rocking chairs watching the world go by.
\nOn the contrary, they\u2019re dancing, playing pickle ball, going on trips, singing, playing bocce, woodworking, and hosting BBQs.
\nIt\u2019s exhausting just trying to follow it all.
\nSometimes I feel like I need a break after just bringing the groceries in from the car. I\u2019m not sure I could handle all the stuff they do over there on John West Way.
\nSpeaking of their local haunt, they even helped to finance it. Through a series of events several years ago that they developed and ran themselves, they raised a big chunk of the funds that went towards building the Seniors\u2019 Centre. At the time, it seemed like every other week they were handing over another cheque to Council.
\nIf the town\u2019s kids had half as much energy, we\u2019d have a completely built Youth Centre, and maybe a skateboard park or two by now.
\nAs for their obvious organizational skills, I\u2019m not sure I could juggle the dozens of activities the seniors have on offer over at the Centre. I\u2019m usually pleased if I can tackle one item on my weekend \u201cto do\u201d list.
\nNot that all of Aurora\u2019s seniors participate in billiards, power walking, chess tournaments, computer clubs, knitting, euchre, movie nights, badminton, book clubs, photography and theatrical work. At least, not every week.
\nBut it\u2019s obvious from their evident interest in all these things that they\u2019re a lively and creative bunch.
\nAnd they don\u2019t restrict their activities to the Centre. You\u2019ll see them manning booths at the Farmers\u2019 Market, Street Fest, and other special events in town. The always creative floats they build and participate in at the Canada Day and Santa Claus parades every year usually result in a prize or other nod of recognition.
\nAnd they regularly bring home a bunch of medals from various Seniors\u2019 Games and other regional and provincial tournaments in which they compete.
\nTheir woodworkers have also produced for the town everything from nesting boxes to props for the Haunted Forest at Halloween.
\nFor several years they have even written a weekly column in The Auroran.
\nAt least by writing every other week I\u2019m halfway to keeping up with them.
\nSometimes they even invite the town to see them, such as when the Centre plays host to the town\u2019s annual Easter Egg hunt.
\nI\u2019m not sure where they get all this collective energy. If it\u2019s something in the town\u2019s water, I\u2019m not feeling a similar boost.
\nAlthough a ways off, it is an exciting prospect to anticipate being able to participate in so much evident camaraderie and in so many interesting activities, which by the time I\u2019m ready to join them will probably include bungee jumping, advanced calculus and rock climbing.
\nSo, if I\u2019m going to become a senior one day in Aurora, and want to try to keep up with my fellows, it\u2019s obvious I\u2019m going to have to start working now to get in better shape, improve my mental acuity and increase my energy levels.
\nOtherwise, I\u2019m going to be the only one out there on the porch in a rocking chair.<\/p>\n

Feel free to e-mail Scott at:
\nmachellscorners@gmail.com
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Scott Johnston I have more than a few years to go before I will become a senior citizen, which is a good thing in a way, as I don\u2019t think I\u2019m ready to be one in Aurora. As we advance in years, we all start to slow down a bit, and take it easy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-Wl","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 06:43:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3617\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}