November is National Diabetes Month

Did you know that November is National Diabetes Month? The slogan for this year is "Stop Diabetes". To find out how you can help click on the link below.

Also, November is National Family Caregivers Month. To find out more about family caregivers or if you are a family caregiver and want to know more click on the link below.

The pretty lady in the photo on your right was the caregiver to the gentleman in the picture. Both are gone now. Both were ear friends.

http://www.diabetes.org/

http://www.nfcacares.org/

"Do You Know The Way To San Jose?"

The title of this blog is kind of corny but when I last flew to San Jose, California several people on the plane were singing that old tune. I'm sure that song put San Jose on the map for a lot of people. Now, I believe it's called "Silicon Valley". What a beautiful valley it is! When you are flying into San Jose, California you see a city with huge gorgeous mountains surrounding it. I never grow tired of seeing it from the air. Unfortunately I've never taken a picture of it. I must try to remember to do that on my trip out there next week.

On your right is a photo of a random airport. After a while all the big airports start to look the same.

I have flown into San Jose, California several times. The first time was when my husband and I flew out to see my late son graduate from language school in Monterrey. Vinny was in the Army then and attended the school in Monterrey for a couple of years. I took a whole slew of pictures of his graduation but my luggage was forever lost on the flight home and the undeveloped films were in my checked bag. I've always been very bummed out by that. Especially now that Vinny is no longer with us. I have posted a photo of Vinny sitting on a bench in one of Saddam Husein's palaces in Iraq. That's where he went after he graduated from language school. He learned Arabic and went to work for a company called SOSi.

Back to my story..... the second time I flew to San Jose, California was last August. Air Companions was hired to accompany a developmentally disabled woman from San Jose to Virginia to visit her brother for a week. When the week was over Air Companions accompanied her back home. It was great fun and she was a wonderful to travel with. I feel like I made some new friends. Her family was wonderful, too.

Next week I will travel back to San Jose, California to once again accompany the developmentally disabled woman to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with her brother and his family. I will be able to be home for Thanksgiving with my family and will fly back to Virginia on Saturday, November 26 in order to accompany my new friend home to San Jose on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it.

More to come after my trip. Meantime I hope you all have a very wonderful Thanksgiving.

Day of Wellness Fair

On a beautiful fall morning, the last Saturday of October, Spectrum Generations hosted the 2nd annual "Day of Wellness" fair. The theme of this year's fair was "Learning and Making Connections". The fair was held in the Rockland High School gymnasium from 9am to 12 noon. All the exhibitors represented, in some way, a business or service that encouraged good health and promoted increased independence for the elderly and disabled. One of the big draws this year was the offer of a free flu shot to the first 200 hundred people who showed up on a first come first serve basis.

Some of the vendors represented were ASK for Home Care, Kno-Wa-Lin, The Knox County Triad, Maine Division for the Blind, New Hope For Women, Sentegration, Inc., Rockland Library, Coastal Medical Clinic, and the Knox County Health Clinic. As you can see it was quite a diverse group and I have only named about have of the vendors.

There were also several work shops offered throughout the event. In fact, there were 5 in all. The subjects ranged from helping seniors stay in their homes to fall prevention to scam artists. And, it was all free! What a wonderful community service the Wellness Fair has turned out to be for the community and for the businesses represented to network with each other.

Air Companions has been pleased to be a vendor for the past 2 years. Air Companions held a drawing for an overnight bag filled with goodies. Many people stopped by the table to sign up for the drawing which took place. At the end of the fair one of the neighboring vendors drew off a winner. And the winner was Gloria Whitehouse of Rockland! She is pictured here on the right holding her prize. When I delivered the overnight bag to her I asked if I could snap a photo of her and she agreed.

All in all it was a great day for Air Companions and I suspect for Gloria Whitehouse!

Speaking of Turkeys.......

Even though Halloween is in a few days I've been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving and turkeys. I live in Maine and the turkey population has certainly grown over the past 10 years. I see turkeys everywhere! In fact, the picture on the right is a snapshot of a flock of turkey's walking down my driveway. They don't usually hang out around my house but one afternoon I looked out the kitchen window and happened to see these turkeys taking a stroll down the lane that leads to my house. It was a very interesting sight.

I like turkeys. I wonder if the turkey population has spread throughout the US like it has in Maine. If anyone out there knows the answer please let me know.

About a year and a half ago I attended a baby shower a few towns over from the town I live in. Most of us arrived early as it was a surprize shower. While waiting for the guest of honor to arrive we stood around outside and visited with each other. Apparently, this tom turkey who lived next door became curious about what was going on and mosied on over to check things out.

His owner discovered he was missing and came over to the grange hall where the shower was held to retrieve her pet. But, the turkey did not want to go home. He was enjoying all the attention. Finally, Jenna, the expectant mother, showed up. She was surprised about the shower and she wondered who invited the turkey. We all got a good laugh out of it.

Finally, we all went inside the grange hall to celebrate Noah's upcoming arrival. I'm sure he will get a kick out of hearing about how a turkey came to his baby shower!

My sister, Stacey, lives in Maryland. She has a farm and is raising turkeys for other people's Thanksgiving dinners. Dday for these turkeys is coming right up. Stacey has a blog called Fresh MacKenzie if you want to check out what's going on at her place.

As I said at the beginning of this blog, Maine has a huge population of turkeys now. My husband and I have a running joke about this. One of us will say to other one, "I saw some of your family today. They were walking through a field." :) Tune in next time for a story called "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" It's a story about Thanksgiving. Happy Halloween everyone. Be safe.

Air Companions Travels Downeast

A little over a week ago Air Companions was asked to transport a lady from Midcoast Maine to Downeast Maine; almost a 2 hour drive one way. Air Companions was very happy to do this job as the company wants to branch out to ground transportation as well as accompanying people in air travel.

So, late morning on a rainy early autumn day we set out for Penobscot Nursing Home in Penobscot, Maine. Despite the weather the ride was quite enjoyable as we drove along the coast and the Penobscot River. I had not been over the new bridge to Verona Island since it was built. It is quite a bridge to see! Also the leaves were just beginning to change color and the countryside was beautiful!

The lady I transported suffers from a rare and very disabling disease. She becomes car sick fairly easily so I kept a keen eye on her and tried hard to make the ride smooth as possible. One mile from the nursing home she started to complain of feeling ill. Fortunately we made it with no incidents.

The nursing home is large and somewhat run down but the front of the building over looks the ocean which is a stone's throw away. The staff working there were friendly, welcoming and helpful. We arrived at lunch time and the staff immediately set my passenger up with a light lunch. The nurse's aides were eager to find out about their new patient and the charge nurse took time to show me around, gather information and answer my questions. I felt like I was leaving this lady in good hands.

On the way back home I called the family to let them know I had delivered their loved one to the Penobscot Nursing Home. They were very grateful. I wished them well and asked them to keep in touch. I then took my time driving back to the Midcoast taking in all the beauty Maine has to offer.

It's Been Too Long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What can I say?! I know I should be good at this and I am for a while then something happens and before I know it its been weeks or even months before I write another blog. I simply have to get better at this!


I love poetry and Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite poets. Before I started this new blog I flipped through a book of Mr. Silverstein's poems to see if I could find a poem befitting what I want to say. The name of the book is "A Light in the Attic". Well, I found several. Here goes......

Something Missing

I remember I put on my socks,

I remember I put on my shoes.

I remember I put on my tie

That was painted

In beautiful purples and blues.

I remember I put on my coat,

To look perfectly grand at the dance.
Yet I feel there is something

I may have forgot---

What is it? What is it?....

Of course he was talking about his pants but that's how I feel about my poor little blog! Here's another Shel Silverstein poem.....

Overdues

What do I do?

What do I do?

This library book is 42

Years overdue.

I admit that its mine

But I can't pay the fine---

Should I turn it in

Or hide it again?

What do I do?

What do I do?

Haven't we all been there? Sometimes you just want to hide but eventually we all have to face the music.

Finally, I came across the next poem. It doesn't have anything to do with getting things done in a timely matter but its message is very timely indeed. See what you think.....

The Little Boy And The Old Man

Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."

Said the little old man, "I do that too."

The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."

"I do that too," laughed the little old man.

Said the little boy, "I often cry,"

The old man nodded, "So do I."

"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems

Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."

And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.

"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

If you would like to know more about Shel Silverstein I have put a link to his web site. It's worth looking at. http://shelsilverstein.com/indexSitehtml

This photo is a picture of my dad and my grandson. They certainly are not the types to be ignored and they both are happy people. I love this picture. I think it's a classic of an old man and a little boy.

Thanks for reading my blog. I promise to see you soon! :)

Older Americans Connecting the Community

The title of this blog is the theme for this year's Older Americans Month. Check out the web site www.agingcarefl.org/whatsnew/olderamericans.

It has a great article about Older Americans Month.

Air Companions loves to connect the community with older Americans. In fact, it's a very large part of Air Companions business! People are living longer and healthier lives. Older Americans remain very active well into their 70's and 80s.

My father is an excellent example of this. He will be 75 years old this month. Dad connects with his community better than anyone I know. He is very politically minded. He worked hard volunteering on Governor LePage's campaign and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Each week Dad volunteers at the VA in Togus as a shuttle bus driver. He is also very involved with his church. The picture above is of Dad a few years ago. He is surrounded by 3 of his 5 grandsons of whom he derives much joy.

My sister, Molly, owns a transportation business and Dad works for her. He drives a school bus every weekday in the afternoon. He also helps out at the garage and runs errands for Molly as she needs him.

Dad has retired but he doesn't let that slow him down. I'm very proud to call him my father.

For more information on the Older Americans Act enacted in 1965 go to www.elderguru.com/what-is-the-older-americans-act-oaa-and-what-does-it-do/.

When I Am An Old Woman

Not only is April National Humor month it is also National Poetry month. I thought it fitting to post one of my favorite poems in honor of National Poetry month. I have loved this poem since I was in my early 20s and now I'm getting close to being the old woman in the poem. :)

When I Am An Old Woman

I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and a pickle for a week,

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We will have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.

My great grandmother Annie Pease is pictured on the right. She has been gone many years but I remember her well and loved her much.

April is National Humor Month

Even though this picture isn't hilariously funny I bet it will bring a smile to your face. And there is a lot of truth to the caption. Think about it

What a Great Day!

The Penobscot Bay Business Expo was a very fun and successful day. My good friend, Carol Pettee, and I were very busy talking to the many wonderful people who stopped by the Air Companions booth to find out what we were all about. As you can see I snapped a picture of Carol talking with someone.

If you own your own business I highly recommend you join the Chamber of Commerce in your area. The networking possibilities are endless and it's a good way to get to know the business community. I've never regretted joining the Penobscot Bay Chamber of Commerce. I just wish I had done it sooner!

As I said, we had a great time and got a lot of good contacts. I also got to see lots of my business friends that I hadn't met up with for ages. That's always uplifting. Beth McKinney of Coastal Creative won the overnight bag filled with goodies that Air Companions gave away. I was pleasantly surprised when I won a gift certificate to the Rockland Cafe given away by Philbrook and Associates Book Keeping. Beth McKinney is pictured on the right holding her prize. Air Companions also gave away lots of candy; chocolate of course!

I just want to say thank you to everyone that stopped by the Air Companions booth. We loved meeting you and you helped make our day extra special. Please don't hesitate to contact Air Companions if you would like to know more about the services we offer. We would love to talk with you.

Penobscot Bay Business Expo

Air Companions will be at the Penobscot Bay Business Expo on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at the beautiful Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine from 3pm to 7pm. We would love to meet you and tell you all about our services.

Tell us you read this blog and you will receive a 15% discount when you use Air Companion's services. Give us a referral that turns into a customer and Air Companions will pay you 10% of the profits from that customer.

The Penobscot Bay Business Expo is a very fun and informative event. There is not charge to get in. So come on by, you'll be glad you did. Don't forget to stop by Air Companions and say hello!

On your left is a photo of Camden Harbor taken last summer at my friend's daughter's wedding. Camden Harbor is, of course, part of Penobscot Bay. What a beautiful place!

A Few Helpful Sites

I wanted to take the time to share some of my recent finds in helping folks help their folks or anyone who is taking care of the elderly.

Here is a site with many resources for aging parents and elder care.

Here is another blog on eldercare.

Here are some tips on travel for the disabled.

We hope this helps makes a smoother life for you whether you are caring for your mom in your home, managing an elderly aunts care in assisted living or traveling yourself.

Happy Spring!