Snowbirds are odd ducks
Wanting to escape the cold winter here in Idaho, my husband and I decided to try being snowbirds in Mesa, Ariz. It was mostly a very rewarding experience as the people are friendly and everyone is looking for new friends. I joined the tennis club and played doubles with senior citizens, some as old as 96! We played cards, horseshoes, shuffleboard, went to dances, sing-a-longs and variety shows.
As the five months wore on, I noticed many little quirks of these seniors which made me laugh. I expect one of the most humorous events was the Christmas sing-a-long which was sponsored by a local funeral home. As I read the enormous sign up on stage, I was in disbelief! The sign said in large bold letters, "This event brought to you by Betts Funeral Home, We put the fun in funeral." Here we park model dwellers were facing the grim reaper ourselves in the not too distant future and we needed no reminder of our own mortality. But hey, if they give out free doughnuts, Christmas cookies and coffee, who really cares?
Most of the seniors in these parks are pretty well off and are the owners of a nice home in the cold section of the country and a nice park model, condo or second house in Arizona, so life is pretty good. You may think money was not an object but you would be wrong. These same seniors have golf carts to run back an forth to the club house but they refuse to turn the lights on the carts on at night because - are you ready for this? They do not want to "run down the battery" because the batteries are expensive. They were the biggest rule breakers I have ever seen. They run the stop signs, ride their bikes on the sidewalks, stand in the middle of the street to visit and will only give way to a vehicle grudgingly if at all.
While playing tennis one day with three other ladies, a new gal came onto the court to ask us to change courts because "My friend is coming and she can only play on the court you are all on because she falls on any other court (yes, you guessed it, the courts are identical). We did move rather than have a confrontation. The tennis courts looked like a day in the ER what with all the knee and wrist braces in evidence. Senior tennis is not for sissies you know!
Articles began to vanish from the ladies restroom (namely an artificial flower arrangement.) A fellow aqua aerobics member confided to me, "You know it is the renters doing this don't you?" Her face turned red when I confided that I was a renter and had never stolen a thing in my life. And I further informed her that it was the park owners who break all the rules whereas, we renters follow them because we want to make a good impression and be able to come back next year.
There was an ongoing squabble between the tennis club and some locals over who was entitled to save aluminum cans and sell them. This was a one source of income for the tennis club but some owners would poach cans from the tennis club barrels at night. Woe unto those got caught doing this as their names because an overnight gossip subject and they feared the public humiliation of being put into stocks (that's a joke).
It was a good experience and I suggest you try a winter in Arizona if you like sunshine and quirky seniors.
Sandra Boynton is a Rathdrum resident.