June 2022 Newsletter

St Luke’s Home Newsletter

June 2022

When I think of June, I think of Fathers, Watermelon, and Baseball. As we age, those memories become increasingly precious. When I was a kid, my father took us to Tiger Stadium in downtown Detroit on sizzling summer nights. We sat by the flagpole because it was cheap. Sometimes, we had hot dogs and cokes. I loved being with my dad and experiencing an event with thousands of other people all enjoying the same activity. It felt good to be in a diverse environment and everyone wanting the same thing, a Tiger win! Even though there were problems of the time, it was a kinder gentler world than today.

The world is changing, we are faced with challenges that seem insurmountable. But there is one place that feels kind and gentle and that is St Luke’s Home. We are not perfect; we have our issues and sometimes they are loud. But one thing is for sure, we deal with them, and we work to become better, individually and as a community. St Luke’s Home is my Tiger Stadium and I remain humble and grateful for the opportunity to be part of it.

There is a lot going on here: the renovations will begin soon, and we hope to have an open house to share our plans. Be on the lookout for an invitation. In the meantime, enjoy your June and make some new memories.

Elder Activities

May was full of new activity, to include much music with our courtyard concert with Ric and Vic playing classic tunes from Elvis, Kate Wolf, as well as their own (we can expect them back again in the fall!). We had a wonderful afternoon with our pals, The Banjo Blasters and new musician, Gary Jones playing classic American hits on Memorial Day.

Parties and Performances!

The Garden Club is really blooming!

Along with the music, a new calendar of activity has been planned. The book club has returned, lesson-based art instruction added, in-person exercise classes with Brit, as well as the return of Saturday Bingo with National Charity League. Outings too have been scheduled, to include shopping runs to our favorites spots as well as a fun venture planned for The Mini Time Machine in June.

Board of Directors

2022-2023

Congratulations on the new Board Officers for fiscal year 2022-2023. We have exciting plans and a well-organized team dedicated to strengthening St Luke’s Home’s financial viability. The major renovations project already underway is designed to simultaneously reduce maintenance costs as well as improve Elder comfort.

Feel free to reach out to any member of the Board of Directors by emailing Cass Eastham at adminassist@stlukeshometucson.org and she will connect you.

Rio here. I am dictating my story from the confines of cool tiles in the west wing. I am splayed out to feel the coolness on my chin, throat, and tummy especially. It’s official. The dog daze of summer are here. It is called this because the weather is sooo hot, you feel like you are in a daze. Thus, with heat, I splay. My therapist says this is my coping mechanism. I have no idea what she is talking about.

Despite the heat, good things are happening around here. I was thinking back upon a friend I’ll call, Wally. Wally is a private kind of guy. When his humans found Wally, he was literally passed out from the heat. He had been on the streets for a while and his fur was completely matted. He said it was very painful for him. He talked about what he would have given for a drink of water. And guess what? His forever humans are the ones who found him. They not only took him to a veterinarian but got him all cleaned up, and adopted him too! Wally says he had been previously adopted by someone who didn’t realize that when you move you are supposed to take all your family with you. He says the first weeks of his adoption, he didn’t let his humans out of his sight if he could help it. He slept with one eye open. He worked very hard to make sure he was their happiness balm when they came home. He considered that his purpose in life. He would do silly things to amuse his humans. He would get them to throw the ball, accidentally drop treats, and take him on walks. Wally said he always let the humans think it was their idea. It is the classic, “one down, position”. Wally says it took a while, but over time, he came to trust that his humans would always come home to him, and they loved him unconditionally too.

They both had a great time. Braydon later told me he enjoyed the time spent with Angelique because “she was really nice”. Angelique mentioned also how much she enjoyed their time and that it felt good to have a purpose. I think that’s true for all of us.

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