page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast

trips with her, but prefers to stay on the family farm. Herchildren enjoy sightseeing trips, but now have families of theirown to consider.Kay is married to Thomas Wicker of Macon. They havethree children, and Kay is a stay-at -home mom who keepsher college degree above the washer and dryer in the utilityroom to remind herself of her accomplishments. The oldestson, Ken, and his wife Kim have two children and reside inReidsville. Ken has been employed for over twenty years atGeorgia State Prison and is a licensed embalmer and funeraldirector. Kevin, the youngest, and his wife Kathy live in Douglaswith their four children. He works as a County ExtensionAgent.“We have nine grandchildren, ages thirteen to twenty-five,”Tatum said. “They’ve been scattered out all over Georgia,but we get to see them pretty regularly. And we still host familyevents, especially during the holidays.”Lyndal’s other interests include being the only clerk in thehistory of the Pineview church. She put together a historybook, full of pictures, to celebrate the institution’s fiftieth birthdaythree years ago.“That was a very fulfilling thing for me,” she remembered.“It’s hard to describe how I feel about that church. My daddyand those people loved it so and worked so hard to get itstarted.”The Tatums also hosted a foreign exchange student fromGermany for a year. He recently returned with his new wifeto celebrate Thanksgiving with them.Lyndal has also contributed to historical articles for localnewspapers and magazines. These have included her perspectiveson her church and the Tattnall County Courthouse.She has been many places, but still lives less than ten milesfrom her first home. She remembers curling up with that Aliceand Jerry reader in her bed at night, dreaming of places shemight someday go.Holding that volume in her hands, she said, “This littlebook, I first saw it when I was in third grade. When I camehome with it, I read it that night, and we read it in class. Icould not put it down. I would say, ‘Oh my gosh! I want to gothere one day.’ I was entranced with the places I read about. Igot in my mind back then, that when I was grown I wanted togo and see these places with my own eyes. That was alwaysin the back of my mind, that I would do that. I just didn’tknow how.” πCommon Discounts Available to SeniorsToday's seniors mightcringe at the escalating costsof necessities such as prescriptionmedication andeven higher utility bills, andunderstandably so. However,savvy seniors can save by takingadvantage of a host of discountsexclusive to the thoseover the age of 65.• Travel perks. Many seniorslove to travel, and caneven do so at heavily discountedprices. Larger hotelchains often offer seniors discountsas high as 10 percent.Unfortunately, many U.S.domestic airlines, facinghigher fuel prices and dwindlingbusiness due the globaleconomic downturn, ceasedoffering senior discounts in2009. However, certain airlines,including SouthwestAirlines, still offer discounted52Mature Living Winter Editionrates to seniors. These discountscan be as much as 10percent. It's also common forcar rental agencies to offersenior discounts.• Transportation. Manycommunities provide heavilydiscounted, if not free, ratesto seniors for public transportation.Consult with your localgovernment to determineif you qualify for senior discounts.• Food. Grocery storescommonly offer discounts toolder customers, and manytimes you don't even need tobe a senior citizen to qualify.In general, chains offer seniordiscounts, including specialdays for seniors to shop, toanyone over the age of 55.Restaurants are also known tooffer senior discounts, andoften these discounts extendbeyond "earlybird special" discountsof yesteryear.While earlybird specials stillexist, many chainrestaurants offerdiscounted pricesto seniors regardlessof time of day.In many cases,these discountsaren't listed on themenu, but it neverhurts, and typicallysaves, to ask.• Arts and culture.Seniors lookingto spend a dayor night on thetown and take insome culture cantypically do so at a discountedrate. Museums and NationalParks typically offer discountedadmission to seniors,as do movie theaters and evensome concert halls.