In Leviticus 19:32 (NKJV) You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear God.
1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NKJV) Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.
I am a gray headed older woman that loves the Lord God and people. As I have grown older, I wake early, and can’t go back to sleep, even though I would like to at times. It seems I have a built-in alarm clock; it is called a bladder. So, the day begins early for some of us older/gray headed retired people.
We have challenges that we are faced with, our doctors have said to us, “The best exercise you can get is to walk.” That is what I want to talk about/share my voice. We like to walk early, before eating breakfast, taking care of our errands/chores we have for the day.
We have a very nice place to walk at the Jackie Cooper Gym. It is a place that people can go and walk inside. I have walked in my neighborhood, in the park that is down the street from me. But the older I get I don’t need the obstacles that I have faced walking outside.
Spring brings with it many allergies/pollens, and at the end of summer/fall we are faced with redcedar and ragweed that affect us. We have a flat surface, good for walking, it is cool in summer, nice warm in winter and out of the rain when it comes. No potholes or cracked cement, no crossing streets. A nice safe place that can enjoy meeting new people and making friends.
The main problem with the gym is the size.
It would be so much better if it was large enough for all activities daily. Because of the size it is limited to the Yukon people. They have a schedule of what time of the day the gym is available and what isn’t. It would be so nice for us to have a larger place that is on the order of the Mustang center. This way, different activities could be enjoyed without being limited or catered to one special group. Top priority is always pickleball. Time is always made available for them.
In fall of 2022-spring of 2023 when the Yukon schools close because of weather. The gym is closed until 9 am for pickleball. Fall of 2023-no school closing. This second semester of 2024 school closed one day so did the gym until 9 am for pickleball. This is wrong, when the gym is closed and opens at 9 am that is when the start of the day begins. That should be for the walkers. If we choose to get out in the weather or stay in, that is our choice. But our time walking is very important to our health.
This has been brought to City Hall’s paid employees. We have been told, why don’t you just play pickleball. They showed no concern for us walkers. We have two retired military persons that walk daily. There are three men that have had open heart surgery. Several people deal with different health issues. There are people with pacemakers, defibrillators, stints, diabetes, cancer survivors, and Parkinson’s. They come to walk because that is what the doctor has advised them to do.
The elected paid employees of Yukon should realize they are getting older also. We have 12 to 20 walkers, walking from 7 to 7:15 daily. Yukon needs some changes made.
I realize that job positions change, with that changes are made. But it doesn’t mean that the changes made are always for all people, as it should be. That is the case as to how the walkers are being treated today. Thank you, Jan Scott, for the years that you took care of us walkers. You stopped by, came in and checked on us.
This older gray headed lady’s name is Mary Husband, and she is sharing how many walkers feel.
MARY HUSBAND
Yukon
Editor’s Note: Mrs. Husband shared her concerns during the April 16th Yukon City Council meeting.
