Sam Bauman: Exercise group meets 3 times a week at center

Seniors seeking a less demanding form of regular exercise may want to try the free Resistance Exercise program at the Carson Senior Citizens Center off East Long Street. I’ve seen the program at work several times.

Mary J. Davis and Beverly Edis lead the group, which meets Mondays at 9 a.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. The age level is 60 and up.

These workouts help keep bodies flexible and make them stronger. No money is involved; just show up.

Golden ‘real’ oldies

Those who remember the days of big bands such as Glenn Miller’s and Tommy Dorsey’s can get a whiff of those days at Comma Coffee’s hosting of the Mile High Jazz Band on the second Tuesday night of the month at 7:30 p.m.

This is a real big band, with at least 14 players. The tunes are mostly from the big-band era but modern things get worked in by pianist-conductor David Buglia. Admission is $5 (teens 18 and younger get in free), and there are plenty of funky seats looking out on the band.

The March 11 performance featured local poets reading their works between the music. The cafe was packed, mostly with seniors tapping feet to the beat.

The cafe is a funky place, complete with food and beverages and eclectic furnishings. A life-sized photo of Marilyn Monroe is stuck on the bathroom door (the message is “gentlemen prefer blondes”). Jimmy Dean’s image is on the ladies’ room door.

The cafe is a city landmark and even if the music doesn’t engage you, the setting will. It’s opposite the Legislature Building on Carson Street.

Readers Write

I recently received a long email about papilla fish from China. The writer accused the Chinese of most unsavory production of fish (and other foods), such as raising fish in ponds where the fish were fed with animal waste.

I have no way to verify such claims, but after living for several years in Japan, much of what the writer wrote seemed to fit into the Japanese way of farming, using animal waste for fish food. The phrase back then was “honey wagons” for the carts that suppled the faces to the farms.

I can only suggest when buying frozen fish that one looks for the country of origin (often hidden by listing and American supplier), but always tagged with “China” as the supplier.

CLEANING HOUSE

If you’ve a senior with a drawerful of dead electronics, old cell phones and the like, and want to dispose of them without harming the environment, take advantage of Computer Corps joining with Reno Earth Day to safely get rid of the old stuff.

The Carson City nonprofit organization Corps is joining Reno Earth Day April 27 at Idlewild Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Corps will have a free electronic waste dump at the Reno High School Parking lot, a recycled electronics booth in the California building and information on its Tech Camp workshops, where kids learn how to build computers and seniors can sponsor the kids. Computer Corps is on Mallory Way next to the Nevada Appeal building.

The Corps is offering seniors and others tune-ups and repairs for PCs as well as rebuilt computers and flat-screen monitors, with monitors starting as low as $20. Seniors also can enjoy monitors with discounts of up to $20. Call the Corps at 775-883-2323.

Sam Bauman writes about senior issues for the Nevada Appeal.