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Shirley G.
Shirley G. has lived in
Santa Monica since the early 1940s. She is a widow whose
husband passed away about three years ago. All of her
immediate family lives out of state and are scattered
throughout the U.S. She celebrated her 96th birthday
on May 14, 2004. Shirley G. has used WISE Transportation
since March 2000. After her husband's death, she was
dependent upon public transportation for all of her
transportation needs. However, as she became frailer
and began having trouble walking, she needed to find
a less expensive and simpler and safer way of getting
around. Her search led her to WISE Senior Services and
the Dial-A-Ride vans. Shirley says that the van service
has been the perfect answer for her. She is able to
maintain her independence: she gets to go to all of
the places that she needs to travel and is indeed grateful
for the courteous, comfortable, and safe service provided
by the WISE/Dial-A-Ride transportation program.
"The van service
has been the perfect answer for me"
Shirley also stays active attending
Emeritus College in Santa Monica. Since 1978, three
days a week are devoted to a myriad of classes at the
college. Her field of interest is very broad; however,
her passions are English Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare,
and Greek Mythology. Recently, her hearing began to
fail. Rather than view this change as a disadvantage,
she converted it into an opportunity to learn another
skill and started lip reading classes this past semester.
Shirley enjoys live theatre, but does not feel safe
to venture out alone at night and cannot afford many
of the entertainment activities. Therefore, she is grateful
to join the group theatre outings provided by the WISE
Transportation program.
Shirley contributes her well being and graceful aging
process to four things that she lives by: optimism,
resilience, a positive attitude and gratefulness. When
left alone after her husband passed away, she made a
list of all of the things for which she is grateful.
She continues this practice on a regular basis. She
is very grateful for friends, good neighbors, and especially
for her two daughters, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Although they live in other states, they maintain excellent
contact with her and make every effort to insure that
she is not lonely.
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