I’m not so reluctant, thought I’d be, but on my visits to Del Webb, the active retirement community in Huntley, I’ve found the reason why I’m no longer concerned of my slide into seniorhood. I’ve discovered the GOLF CART, what a way to go!!!! On my visits to my parents’ home in Del Webb, I’ll occasionally find motoring along quietly on the main drag, a guy in a golf cart, driving somewhere. I’m usually driving in the other direction, otherwise, I’d follow him and see where he’s headed. This past weekend was a smorgasbord of golf carts, a parade up and down Del Webb Boulevard. I dropped off my sons, and wife, where my parents were sitting, in a sheltered area, the only shelter Del Webb has off the boulevard. There they sat with Grandma and Grandpa Cohen and waited for candy and the excitement of seeing dozens of fancy decorated golf carts. The threat of rain persisted, but didn’t scare anyone enough to hold an umbrella, except I had a big Del Webb umbrella and there were women, each with a babushka ready to protect their silverly hair from the rain. My kids, always anticipating a chocolate candy or a sucker, walked out in the middle medium and got closer to the action from the other side of the boulevard, packing the pockets of their shorts with tootsie rolls, until they almost couldn’t hold their pants up. The adults sat back watching the energy of the kids racing toward the sweet treats, though my dad, Sid Cohen, a young man in his 80s, had to position himself for a good look at the carts, waiving at some of his friends in their carts. He noticeably held back a wave as the Green Bay Packers golf cart wheeled by, but got excited over the clown cart or the musical cart. I just got into the thing and all of a sudden, the sky let loose of a thousand buckets of icy water….on our heads…….yet, I minimized the damage to my hair by popping open my giant umbrella, pushing it over my dad’s head…and then I looked down and he was looking down, and we saw what used to be a beautiful landscaped area now looking like mud and flowers….and he was reluctant to step over…or maybe he physically couldn’t because it was more of a jump than a step….but I encouraged him because this was the fastest way to get over to the only covering we had, and so dad brought his leg up, and pushed himself over the flowers and the mud and back onto the sidewalk. Though I regretted missing a portion of the golf cart parade, I felt a moment of bonding with dad, holding my umbrella over his head, keeping my 84 year old dad dry so he could use all the energy he had to push or jump over this hurdle to safety. In the few seconds this took, I wondered whether my kids would be in a position to have me in 30 years do something physical…… Before the golf cart parade started, the only thing I thought I’d learn was that seniors seem to have a lot of time on their hands to decorate their golf carts….but what I actually learned was when pushed….even the guys in their 80s can turn the clock back for a few moments and do something physical they’ve not done in 30 or 40 years and I learned this watching a golf cart parade.
Molly J
