Village seniors welcome summer with a festive lunch at the Croton Yacht Club.
Eating, drinking (soft drinks), gambling, and chin-wagging were the main activities at this exclusive event, open to those who have ripened to full maturity (60+ years.)
Despite the heat, or perhaps because of it—the Croton Yacht Club is nicely air conditioned—some 70 members of Croton’s Senior Club gathered on Friday, June 21, for their annual “Welcome Summer” lunch. It was a lively event, as are all Senior Club activities, such as the weekly Friday meetings at the Municipal Building or bus tours to far-flung places such as the New York Botanical Gardens.
(Full disclosure: The Chronicle’s editor is a senior AND a member of the Croton Senior Club, but still swears by the accuracy of this report.)
The event was presided over by the Senior Club president, Bob Anderson, a former Croton trustee and, perhaps most importantly for this group, a former schoolteacher. Anderson, wisely realizing that seniors can sometimes be as badly behaved as children, admonished some members for showing up without reserving in advance. He also issued firm instructions about how to line up at the food table, including which side to be on if you wanted an American sandwich and which side for an Italian sandwich.
We were shocked—shocked!—to find out that there was gambling at the event. Raffle tickets were on sale, and the three winners pocketed not insignificant amounts of cash with various percentages of kickbacks to the Senior Club. Actually, the raffle is also carried out at the regular Friday meetings, where the club takes a 50% cut. That’s how the seniors were able to have a sumptuous lunch, complete with cake for dessert, for only $5 a head.
Although the Croton Senior Club is an exclusive group, it’s not quite as hard to get in as one might think. All you have to do is make it to 60 years of age, pay your dues, and admittance is pretty well guaranteed. For the details please see this link.
Perhaps the great poet Pablo Neruda captured the spirit of the Senior Club best in his poem, “Ode to Age.”
I don't believe in age.
All old people
carry
in their eyes,
a child,
and children,
at times
observe us with the
eyes of wise ancients.
To read the rest of the poem, click on this link. And if you do not yet qualify to join, we hope you live long and prosper until the day you do. The Senior Club awaits you.
To share this post, or to share The Croton Chronicle, please click on these links.
Comments policy: Please be polite and respectful.