Fun under the age of 80
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Rumor has it that Beaver County has the second highest concentration of senior citizens in the United States (next to some county in Florida). Big shock. The speed limit signs around here might have "55 MPH" listed on them, but the working speed limit is somewhere in the teens.
See, locals complain about there being nothing to do. "Beaver County is boring," they say. Or, "This place is dumb. Let's go to Pittsburgh." Okay. These words usually come out of the mouth of people under the age of 30. But they're wrong.
Beaver County has LOTS to do. Never a dull moment-- if you're retired, that is. Bingo halls are around every corner. Retirement homes dot the landscape to the horizon (you don't have to leave to play bingo there). There are also lots of nice places to eat in the area, at least. Older folks like to go out to eat, right? Oh yeah, public parks and yard sales and matinee shows at theatres and social halls are always dominated by teetering, staggering seniors. George Romero hails from western Pennsylvania; is it any surprise he makes zombie movies?
But back to the fun thing. I don't like the "whaaa no fun here" complaints. It even plagues Geneva students (I won't get into that in this post). Oh no, Beaver County is boring! There's nothing super exciting here to occupy my attention!
Get a grip. There's plenty to do. Or, lemme guess, do you need some sort of giant teen/early 20s-geared fun palace to divert your attention? I guess our society equates fun with going to raves and re-enacting Budweiser commercials. Go to Pittsburgh, then. You can have fun anywhere if you put your mind to it. Sometimes all it requires is yourself. I have fun sitting down and using my imagination. Or playing an instrument. Or drawing. Or watching birds. Or watching the sun set. Sure, I have a blast doing complex fun things with tons of people, but it's not a requirement. There's also more than a few little parks, coffee shops, mom and pop eateries, historical landmarks, and pretty places to sit down and watch nature. Oh, right, that stuff is boring. I forgot, I guess.
So if you constantly complain about how lame it is in BC, put your money where your mouth is and move. I'm sure there's a non-stop P. Ditty party waiting for you somewhere else. And lots of glitzy malls you can roam around in while talking on your cell phones to someone two feet away.
I even plan to leave someday. Maybe a writing or music job will take me out of here. But I'm trying to enjoy what is in Beaver County instead of being upset about what isn't. For now I'll stay put with the old people and make my own fun.
posted, with grace and poise, by Jason @ 6/29/2005 04:01:00 PM,
