Seniors Woodbridge: Mock wedding lightens mood

Last week was quite a bad week with the Metro train wreck, plane crashes and the deaths of several big personalities — Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays. These people all made an impact on our lives one way or another. They will be missed.

Not to make light of these events, but thank heavens for the Senior Centers Mock Hillbilly Wedding to lighten the mood a bit. A lot of planning went into this wedding, especially all the double entendres. For example, when the father was prodding the bride, Nancy Holland, up the aisle to the preacher, Lana Toby, (who arrived on horse back) and her intended, Ron Saxe. Daddy was using a large wooden spoon and saying he was “Paddlin’ Madelyn Home.” The whole bridal party was dressed to the nines in hillbilly fashion, complete with overalls, shotguns and moonshine jugs. They proceeded up the aisle to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell.” The mother of the bride had a dead rabbit to prove that the bride was “again” pregnant so she “had” to get married. Of course the couple’s other children: the oldest daughter and the twins were in attendance with the extended family. It was recorded for posterity by a “cousin” of the groom. Hopefully copies will become available of this momentous occasion. After the wedding there was a luncheon of fried chicken, tater salad, coleslaw, biscuits and fruit. Lunch was followed by a toast with champagne then came the cutting of the wedding cake, which was decorated with a replica of the hillbilly outhouse complete with the quarter moon on the door. Nice work on the cake, Kathy Ferguson. All very apropos for these Appalachian folk.

Seated at my table were Bette Graham, Pat Malley, Dene Nichols, Anna Washington, Joyce Wilson and Pat Prochnow. We all enjoyed the mock wedding festivities and the chance to catch up with old friends.

Now the question is: Do we senior citizens hams know how to have fun or not? Here is more upcoming fun for seniors.

The next bus trip is to Harrington, Del., on July 6. Contact Genie Lee at 703-492-0075 for more information.

There is a trip to the Hilton Casino on the second Tuesday of every month. You can reach Corinne Potvin at 703-670-6356 for additional information.

Vicki Graham, director of ACTS, will present “What causes ‘fireworks’ in your life?” on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Graham will challenge us as we look at who the people are, or what the circumstances are, that cause our “fuses” to be short and send us off like fireworks. We will discuss ways to handle situations in a healthy manner.

Social Security outreach available

Do you have questions about Social Security benefits? If you do, call the Senior Center at 703-494-5136 to set up an appointment to meet with claims representative Julio Alvarado. He will have office hours at the senior center on the second Friday of every month at 12:30 p.m. He can provide information, answer questions and provide instruction in using the Social Security Online Web site. Alvarado is bi-lingual in English and Spanish. If you are approaching retirement, presently receiving benefits or would like to apply for benefits, this is a great opportunity to get information.

Woodbridge Senior Center upcoming events

- Monday: Lifetime Fitness, computer class, wood carving, euchre, chat and paint, bingo, drawing, walking club, ceramic techniques, lunch of Tilapia fish

- Tuesday: ping pong, crafts, Stand Tall, 10 a.m. computer class, Wii bowling, Latin music, Spanish, 11 a.m. “What causes ‘Fireworks’ in your Life,” Stand Tall, stamping, horseshoes and lunch of hot dogs with fixings

- Wednesday: TOPS, lifetime fitness, ceramics, Tai Chi, 10:30 a.m. blood pressure, crochet/knit, pool, pinochle, Skip-bo, Texas Hold’em, 1 p.m. Friends Meeting, Scrabble, woodcarving, Bunco and lunch of chef’s salad

- Thursday: Stand Tall, ceramics, Fitness II, Bible study, ESL, bridge, stamping, quilting and lunch of stuffed shells

- Friday: Lifetime Fitness, jewelry class, blood pressure, 10:30 a.m. to noon Sing-a-long with Angel, 12:30 p.m. birthday celebration, 12:30 p.m. Social Security Outreach, walking club, line dancing and lunch of salisbury steak.

The Woodbridge Senior Center is at 13850 Church Hill Drive, Woodbridge. Call 703-494-5136.