Serving Our Seniors Magazine Jan - Mar 2021

Diet: He eats donuts every morning – except on Saturday. That’s when he eats eggs. It is something he has been doing for 30 – 40 years and he sees no need to stop, now. On the weekends he cooks from scratch. When he gets in a pickle about how to make something he will call his daughter. Other than that he is self-taught. He knows how to cook using an air fryer, crockpot, toaster oven, microwave or a regular oven. He is best known for his Crack Chicken and his Chili. Philosophy on Life and Aging: Curious by nature, Grover didn’t have any difficulty adjusting to retirement or growing older. “I have enough hobbies that I can keep myself busy day and night, if I stayed with them all.” “I plan for the day. I don’t look any farther than that day.” He tells me he has always been like that. “I might not be here tomorrow, so why plan for it? I’m fancy free. I have got to be able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it,” he said. For Grover, age is just a number. As long as he has his health, his age will not define who he is, nor will it decide who he befriends and what he will or will not do with his life. We can all learn a valuable lesson from Grover Ritter. Grover, continued from page 7 Phyllis is a rural widow, who lives alone. She has adult children who live three hours away and they work full time. She has friends, Nancy and Candy in a similar situation. Their question is... “Who can help us, if we are home and sick with Covid-19?” The answer is scary… No one. Erie County has been experiencing a nurse’s assistant/homemaker shortage for over five (5) years. Despite the demand, this occupation is low paying and most employers do not compensate for mileage, nor gasoline, when traveling from home to home. With Covid-19, this occupational shortage has only gotten worse. It’s a problem everywhere in the United States. This is not unique to Erie County. Despite limiting in-person interactions, each of the three ladies say they still feel very vulnerable. All three attend the same church and recalled two church members who were home and sick with Covid-19. The ladies said, “They were so weak they could not lift their head off the pillow. Fortunately, they had spouses who cared for them.” Being part of an active church does provide some support. If they were ever ill, and the church was made aware, someone would bring them food. “For those who are truly isolated,” said Phyllis, “My fear is someone will end up dying of dehydration, because they couldn’t get up to get a drink of water.” Their question, “What do we do?” has provoked Serving Our Seniors to develop a pilot project, in an attempt to identify isolated Erie County residents, ages 60+, should they be home and sick. If you are aging alone, we want to hear from you. What would you appreciate to keep a pulse on you in a Covid-19 environment? Send Serving Our Seniors your suggestions to: Mail@ServingOurSeniors.org , Serving Our Seniors 310 E. Boalt St, #A, Sandusky, OH 44870 or leave a message on our voicemail at 419-624-1856. AGING ALONE: What If We Get Covid-19? By Sue Daugherty Phyllis Nancy Candy 9