It has been another eventful year, filled with changes both expected and unexpected. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a force with which to reckon. We moved our bi-monthly coffee group to our version of a “hybrid” meeting. We meet online to hear from a guest speaker on the first Wednesday and meet outdoors at various coffee venues on the third Wednesday. 

Our book group (NEW this year!) is meeting monthly via Zoom, with plans to meet in person as weather permits. And, our movie discussion group will reconvene in the New Year. 

On December 1st we hosted our first in-person Holiday party after two years of celebrating online. The turnout reflected our desire to be together – 100% attendance. We shared family traditions and enjoyed holiday treats. Our newest members met many of our volunteers at the party, so now they can put a face to a name when a volunteer calls! 

Villages are an antidote to social isolation and SLO Village continues to help people connect, whether it’s a friendly phone call, a visit, or a note in the mail. We’ve all learned how important technology has become to help us connect with our loved ones.  Please call our office if you would like help with your computer, cell phone, or tablet. We want to help you get connected and stay connected.

SLO Village is looking forward to a year of innovation and growth with new board members, new volunteers, and new programs. Stay tuned. We can't wait for 2022!

Happy holidays, 
Kerry

SLO Village’s Own Dr. Dolittle 
By Randy Murray 

In the legendary 1967 film “Dr. Dolittle,” Rex Harrison sings the Oscar-winning “Talk to the Animals.”  

“Walk with the animals, talk with the animals, grunt with the animals, squawk with the animals,” he intoned. 

What you might not know until now is that SLO Village has its very own Dr. Dolittle, and her name is Sharon Chandler. 

For more than a decade, she was the woman who did it all for Lion Country Safari, the drive-through animal park in Laguna Hills that attracted millions of visitors from 1970 to 1984. 

Sharon began as a receptionist and secretary but rose to positions of responsibility for marketing, sales and public relations, traveling throughout this country and to South America and Europe to create interest among travel agents and tourist transportation companies in making the park a destination for their clients. 

And as often as possible, she had an animal in tow. 

She has ridden elephants, walked tigers down boulevards in Los Angeles and fended off a chimpanzee in her office. 

If she didn’t quite talk to the animals, she came to understand and appreciate them in what some might consider a really fun job. 

The elephant ride came during a half-time show at an LA Rams game. 

“It was a cute baby Asian elephant with course hair,” Sharon recalled. “The elephant had to keep his head up or I would have fallen off.” 

“’Up, up,’ I commanded, holding on for dear life.” 

She walked in many parades and presided over many stage presentations. Most of the time,  

“I would have an animal with me,” she said. 

She credited the stage experiences for helping her overcome her innate shyness. 

An yes, there were times when things went awry. 

She recalled working the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival with a 7-month-old lion cub. She immediately broke out in a rash and learned that she was allergic to lions. She observed that lions are not the cleanest cats in the jungle. 

Early on when she was new with the company, a man came in with a chimpanzee and ask her to watch it for a minute. “Don’t give him eye contact,” the man warned. 

“I didn’t feel safe,” Sharon said. “I ran to my office. The chimp followed me. I was in there, and he was in there sitting on my desk. The phone rang, and he lost interest in me.” 

“I didn’t like chimpanzees much,” she said. “They’re kind of icky.” 

She later worked as a technical writer for a company called American Hospital Supply where she was assigned to the cardiac division and recalls researching and writing about artificial heart valves. At the time, there was interest in using tissue from pigs to create the valves. And so she continued her long professional association with animals.  

Born in Alameda but growing up in Auburn Hills and the Central Valley, Sharon is a seventh-generation Californian. Her great-grandfather, an East Coast ship captain, began the migration to California about 1849. The family, named Turner, largely settled in Merced and Mariposa counties. 

Sharon moved to San Luis Obispo about 10 years ago. Her daughter and son-in-law, Kathryn and Ryan Teale, live in Paso Robles and have given Sharon two granddaughters, Emery, 11, and Ainsleigh, 6. 

Sharon, who considers herself primarily a writer. earned a BA degree at Long Beach State but has pivoted from “right brain to left brain” and, with the aid of an AA degree in interior design, is helping people in her neighborhood and others with color concepts and space design. She is considering offering her talents to members of SLO Village. 

She has been a member of SLO Village since a caretaker talked glowingly to her about the organization. She has used it for transportation and for help in her garden. “I have a lot of flowers, mostly in pots,” she admitted. 

“SLO Village is perfect for me.” she said. 

And does our own Dr. Dolittle still talk to the animals? Well, yes, one at least, a 13-year-old cat named Little One. According to Sharon, they talk all the time, and she assures us the conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue.  

In Memorium of Marion Wolff
May 8, 1930 - August 31, 2021  

SLO Village and the community lost a warrior and friend when Marion passed from her earthly life on August 31, 2021.  She and her husband Paul have been active members of our Village since October 2018.  

Marion was an outspoken advocate for justice. She and her family were victims of discrimination in Nazi Germany. Her family fled Germany for Austria looking for safety, but Austria soon fell to Hitler. Marion, just eight years old, unknowingly registered herself for the "Kindertransport" and found herself living with a Quaker family in England.   

With constant badgering from Marion, her Quaker family finally obtained a visa for her mother to come to England as a domestic.  By this time, Marion had forgotten all her German, and she and her mother had to communicate with the help of a dictionary. 

Many years later, Marion and Paul (who also escaped Nazi Germany) each ended up in San Francisco. They were set up on a blind date that resulted in 61 years of marriage, three children, and six grandchildren. 

Marion worked for a nonprofit, Friends Outside, which helped inmates stay connected to their families. On one occasion, she got to see how it felt to be on the other side of the bars when she was jailed for crossing the “blue line” in a protest of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.   

Marion’s love, in addition to Paul and her children, was her garden where she spent many happy hours. Because of this, she said she could never really get all the dirt out from under her fingernails. 

We highly recommend viewing Lives Well Lived (a documentary), which includes Paul and Marion’s story.  We also recommend reading Marion’s wonderful book, “Shedding Skins.” It is a pure delight of autobiography, poetry, and funny stories. 

Marion's fight for justice, her optimism, and her laughter will be sorely missed, but long remembered.  - Sally Kruger, Board Membe

I wish I knew you when I was young… 

I love old letters… old journals… old forgotten scraps of paper tucked into books… It’s insight into other minds and thoughts and lives. 

This week was a little different, though. The old letters were my own. 

Before the internet, when long distance phone calls were so expensive as to require scheduling and budgeting, writing letters was just the normal thing to do when you were far from loved ones. 

My mom sent me pictures of bits and pieces of some letters she unearthed. 

The letters are almost a journal. Almost a book. There’s a mountain of them. I was away – altogether – for almost a year… and I’ve always been verbose. They tell a story of homesickness, of search for identity – cultural and personal, of finding a place in the world, of inter and intrapersonal dynamics, and of narrative and framing. How I chose to word heartache and joy showed a pattern that I am not sure I knew was that well established at that age. 

It was fascinating. In a wonderful-and-terrible-all-at-once way that only those who’ve somehow looked their former selves in the eye can know. 

I felt neither pity nor embarrassment for my younger self. What I felt was too unchanged from that self and, somehow exposed. Unveiled. Bare. 

I called my mom and asked her to bring the letters when she next comes to visit. I haven’t read them in 25 years. I don’t think I’ve ever read them at all. I just wrote them. Folded them. Mailed them… and yearned for responses. 

While I read the snippets my mom had sent (no longer through snail mail, but in an instant whatsapp exchange), a Revivalist song my husband introduced me to was playing in the background. “I wish I knew you when I was young…” I laughed the first time I heard it. He did know me when I was young. In fact, we met at about the same time those letters were written. I was 14-ish. The radio (I was in a coffee shop) seemed to play into the memory lane mood. 

I’ve been known to say that I think I am – we are – all the selves we have been. I love getting to know people and learning about their past selves and understanding their journey into becoming who they are. 

I’m looking forward to “meeting” my 14 year old self again. I think she might have something to teach me. Or maybe remind me. I may have forgotten. As we do. 

3G wireless networks are scheduled to shut down next year, which will prevent older cell phones that utilize these networks from making or receiving calls or using data services. In addition to cell phones, other connected devices such as certain medical devices, alert systems, and security systems that use 3G network services will be impacted. 

Although most people have devices on 4G or 5G networks, the shutdown will likely disproportionately impact older adults and low-income individuals, who may be using older phones, life alert systems, and other devices still on 3G. iPhones older than the iPhone 6 will no longer work for calls and data. Medical alert devices, watches, and home security systems that utilize 3G may also be impacted.  

SLO Village can help you identify if your cell phone or tablet needs to be upgraded, whether your Emergency Response System (e.g., “Lifeline”) will be affected, and more. You can log into your accounts to check whether they use 3G and contact your carriers to determine if their device will be affected. If you would like assistance with this or have any questions, please call our office, 805-242-6440.  

Each mobile carrier (Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) has different dates for the planned shutdown, with AT&T scheduled as early as February 2022. The Federal Communications Commission has a consumer guide with more details. 

For people with limited resources, this change could present challenges if they have to spend money on new products. Some carriers are offering free or discounted replacement phones. Older adults and low-income individuals may qualify for the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which could help them get discounted, updated devices.   

Thank you to the National Center on Law & Elder Rights for providing this information. 

It was wonderful to see so many members and volunteers at our Holiday party! We all met someone new and said hello to someone we had not seen in a long time. A great time was had by all.

Our villagers were asked to bring a food item they traditionally enjoy at this time of year. Little did we know how many regions, countries, and ethnicities would be represented. We enjoyed delicious holiday treats from around the world.

A big "Thank You!" to SLO City Church for letting us use their multi-purpose room to host our Holiday party. They set up the tables, chairs, tech, and even recorded holiday music for us – at no cost to SLO Village. We are grateful!

If you missed the SLO Village Holiday Party, we hope you will consider attending one of our upcoming activities.
 
Upcoming Activities and Events! 
 
December 14 at 10 a.m. Book Club via Zoom, featuring winter-themed poems followed by a fun activity of writing a poem of your own.

December 15 at 10 a.m. Coffee Live! at Coastal Peaks, 3566 S. Higuera St., San Luis Obispo.

January 5 at 10 a.m. Coffee & Conversation presents, “Who Will Speak for You? Tips on Choosing an Effective Surrogate” via Zoom. Presented by Althea Halchuck, Surrogate Consultant, Final Exit Network. Check the SLO Village calendar for more details. Exit Network.  

January 11 at 10 a.m. Book Club via Zoom, check our calendar for the new book of choice. 

January 19 at 10 a.m. Coffee Live! Location to be determined.

Check our website calendar, your email, or call the office (805-242-6440) to receive links to online presentations.
 
Stay tuned for our upcoming Spring Fling!

Would you like to make a tax-saving gift to SLO Village as part of your year-end giving plan? Perhaps as part of your plan, you’d like to make or increase your annual giving to SLO Village or honor a friend as a holiday gift? There is a smart way to do it! 

If you are 70-1/2 or older and have an IRA, consider making a gift that will be directly transferred from your IRA to SLO Village by your IRA custodian (such as Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, or other). These tax-favorable gifts from your traditional (non-Roth) IRA provide you with real benefits, allowing you to: 

Satisfy part or all of your IRA’s annual “required minimum distribution”  

Reduce your income taxes 

Donate up to $100,000 to your favorite charities from your IRA(s), tax-free, each year 

Provide essential financial support to SLO Village. 

You do not need to itemize federal income taxes to make one of these gifts and save on your taxes. 

Making these tax-saving gifts is easy! Just instruct your IRA administrator to make your gift directly to SLO Village, Tax ID #81-2165670, and to mail the check to our office at PO Box 15038, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406, or put this information on the form preferred by your IRA administrator. And be sure to do so well before December 31, 2021. 

Thank you for your generosity! 

- SLO Village Board of Directors 

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is still available to eligible households. Looking to enroll? Do so today! You will find more information on how to qualify and enroll below. 

Important Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Updates 

Congress recently created the Affordable Connectivity Program, a new long-term, $14 billion programs, which will replace the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. This investment in broadband affordability will help ensure we can afford the connections we need for work, school, health care, and more for a long time.   

Households enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program as of 12/31/21 will continue to receive their current monthly benefit until 3/1/22. 

What's Changing? 
More information about actions current Emergency Broadband Benefit recipients will need to take to continue receiving the Affordable Connectivity Program benefit after the transition period will be available in the coming weeks. The FCC is seeking comment on the changes enacted in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will be adopting rules for the Affordable Connectivity Program. Please stay tuned for additional updates. 

About the Emergency Broadband Benefit 

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is an FCC program to help families and households struggling to afford internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new benefit will connect eligible households to jobs, critical healthcare services, virtual classrooms, and so much more. 

The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. 

The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.