January, 2003

SENIOR DOLLAR STRETCHERS
by Mary K. Morgan


A DOLLAR STRETCHER’S RESOLUTION

Interest Rates at a Lifetime Low!
Senior dollars just will not grow.
Now it’s time for my vow to begin,
“I’ll never pay full price again.
I resolve for the year ‘03,
to find a bounty of deals for FREE”.


It’s a new year and the bargains are out there just waiting for you to discover them. Clearance signs are everywhere, but don’t be too quick to part with your dollars. The first wave of sales is a bit of a ploy to separate you from your holiday dollars and gift certificates. Stretch those dollars. Don’t spend until you see the red lines of “final clearance”. All your mother had to look forward to in January were white sales, but you have a bounty of treasures, all with deep price cuts, at your fingertips. Go and spend wisely.

Speaking of treasures, The Saint Louis Art Museum has a spectacular display of jewels in their “Treasury of the World: Jeweled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals “ exhibit. Behold over 300 works from the Mughal period. Feast your eyes on precious stones inlaid in crystal bowels, princely weapons, carved jade and inscribed spinels denoting their imperial owners of long ago. Chances are this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to view such opulence in one collection.
Exhibits are drawn from the holdings of The al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait. Although valued in the millions, you may feast your eyes for free if you visit the museum on Friday and take advantage of Ford Free Fridays. While you are there pick up some informative brochures about other free events such as live music and films. One series of particular interest is their Second Sunday Family Program which is new in 2003. For further information call 314-721-0072.

If you would like to stretch seven dollars into an evening of serious drama, take it to the ticket window at the Loretto-Hilton thirty minutes before curtain time. If seats are available and if you are a senior or a student, or both, the reduced ticket is yours. Currently the Tony award winning play, Copenhagen, is being presented. The dialogue between
German physicists, Werner Heisenberg and his mentor Niels Bohr, at their secret meeting in Nazi occupied Copenhagen will captivate you. Call ahead of time for information on availability of seats, at 314-968-4925.

For those of you who have a bit of polar bear blood running through those veins, a few suggestions. You could impress your friends by announcing that you have joined a group called the WildSide Walkers. Lest they begin an intervention, explain quickly that it is a group of walkers who meet at 7AM on Tuesdays and Saturdays for an early walk through the Saint Louis Zoo. For further information you may call 314-768-5411. Burrr!

Again for the warm of blood, there will be a public telescope viewing of the sky on the second Friday of every month throughout 2003. A viewing of the winter sky is slated for January 10, at The St. Louis Science Center in Forest Park, at dusk. The promotional information says that you will see ”stars, planets , constellations and deep-sky objects”, watch out for those “deep-sky” objects, we don’t want to lose any readers. Call 314-289-4444 for the scoop.

Sport your new holiday gloves and heavy duty thermals and go the the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge to observe hundreds of American bald eagles wintering in our area. If the weather is favorable, to the eagles, you will see them roosting in trees, fishing in the river and soaring overhead. If it takes a formal event to get you there, you are in luck. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Department of Conservation and Trailnet will be sponsoring special programs on January 18 and 19, from 9 AM to 3 PM, including lectures and a hand-held eagle provided by the World Bird Sanctuary. Warming tents and spotting scopes will be available. There will even be Lewis and Clark reenactors. There is some free parking and a free shuttle. If you need particulars, call 314-416-9930. Be sure to bring hot chocolate or coffee, after all it’s January! Take a few friends along and you will have something to talk about besides The Sopranos .

If you prefer to watch the eagles in solitude, dress warmly and bring your binoculars to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge one-half hour before dawn to one-half hour after sunset daily. The bridge will keep these hours through May, 2003, thanks to the generosity of the Metropolitan Parks and Recreation District.

Have fun, save money and expand your horizons!