Qi Ruhong: Essays on Life – Entertainment for the Elderly

Qi Ruhong: Essays on Life – Entertainment for the Elderly A few days ago, I traveled to Las Vegas for three days with my senior friends. After returning, several people...

Qi Ruhong: Life Essays - Entertainment for the Elderly A few days ago, I went to Las Vegas for a three-day trip with my senior friends. After returning, several friends who did not participate always like to ask: "Was it fun?" I always smile and answer: "It's clear that I am going to play, of course it is fun!" Because I go to play, not to go to work, I am free and "no boss", there is no pressure, no responsibility, and my body and mind are naturally relaxed and comfortable. Probably because of the large number of participants this time, the two groups of senior citizens advanced vigorously and came back laughing and joking, which satisfied the tour guide of the "Specially 4-U Tours" company. They used their flexible business acumen to pursue the victory and kept up their efforts. They organized a three-day tour to the small gambling town of Laughulin and booked it at the River Palm Resort. After rest, we set up the gaming and exposition array, and welcome everyone. We will set off on September 24th, with senior elder Situ Cun still leading the team, and there will be a lively scene again. For me, since it’s been two months and I don’t plan to go to Casino again, I will choose other entertainment options. For those of you who haven’t been there before, it’s a good idea to go there. If you’re interested in hunting tigers or playing cards, it’s okay to go there. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that you must not be addicted to gambling. Participate with an entertainment and game mentality, and everything will be fine. After all, there are many “fun” things there. When I say "fun", some people don't agree with it and think it has no special features and is ordinary. Just seeing others go and wanting to follow them is a herd mentality and a herd effect; but if others are having fun, you may not be happy when you go and come back. If this is the case, it is an individual issue and has nothing to do with the purpose of organizing tourism and entertainment activities. In fact, a traveler, especially an elderly person, must know how to seek his own pleasure and devote himself to enjoying the wonderful features of the journey. Unless you encounter some unexpected and unpleasant harassment, it is an unexpected and exceptional occasion and cannot be counted. The key lies in your own state of mind, and the most important thing is to welcome the arranged program optimistically. There is a very meaningful poem often circulated by the Vietnamese: "What joy can a person have when he is depressed about the scenery?" (người buồn cảnh vui đ鈛 bao giờ?). The meaning is that if a person is depressed, all scenery will not be joyful. The reason is simple. The scenery has no expression. Look at those man-made buildings. Even the most beautiful ones are lifeless. All kinds of flowers and trees are plant types that are swayed by the wind and cannot walk actively. As for the fish, insects, birds and beasts everywhere, running, flying, crawling and squirming, they are so unfamiliar. They open their eyes and look at them without emotion... Just think about it, if the elderly are not willing to devote their spiritual attention to such an environment, they will feel bored even in high-end entertainment venues. Take my cousin Xiuqing as an example. She is devoted to her work on weekdays and rarely takes leave from work. She is willing to work overtime to earn more wages. However, once she goes on a trip, she enjoys it to the fullest and puts her heart and soul into it without giving up any food, drink or entertainment. This time I went to the casino for three days. Every day she happily welcomed various activities. I never heard her complain about losing money. She has a very cheerful attitude when playing slot machines. She always appreciates the wonderful machine. She puts in the banknotes, looks at the money she plans to bet, selects the number of winning horizontal and vertical lines, presses a button with her finger, haha, the mirror screen wheel rotates, watching the remaining pattern, the jingling jingling sounds, the sound is clear and sweet, she is so happy: "Ah! I win again." If the image interaction is not enough and the machine lies quietly, she will lament with regret: "Hey! I almost won the lottery!" After playing for two or three hours and losing money, she also explained: "It was fun. It was worth spending some money to play for so long! I treated it like renting a game console to play." Her free and easy play is worthy of others' imitation. Of course, people should not frequent gambling establishments, and there is no benefit in overindulging. However, I have seen that many elderly people from the United States like to go to Casino for entertainment, linger there, and forget about the outside world in the casino. I have been to Los Angeles many times, and I have also seen many Chinese elderly people waiting in front of the free bus stop to go to the casino. When I inquired about the reason, they are old, retired at home, lonely and bored. Everyone thinks that there is no place more suitable for the elderly to have fun and relax than Casino. In fact, Chinese seniors have many choices when it comes to entertainment. In Phoenix, although there is no lively Chinatown and it is relatively dull, if you want to kill time, you can still make appropriate arrangements. For example, if you join the Phoenix Senior Citizens Association, in addition to your period, there are five days a week of activities, including singing, dancing, playing mahjong, playing chess, table tennis, doing aerobics, doing Tai Chi, practicing model poses, learning English, taking naturalization courses, etc. If it is not convenient to participate, you can go to the Leisure Elderly Building, which organizes singing classes, Cantonese folk arts, music performances, and sometimes karaoke. Birthday parties are also organized on the first Sunday night of every month to celebrate birthdays together, and there are also mahjong battles. In addition, you can also go to the Memorial Building to meet some old friends who live there and find some entertainment in speculation. Or engage in individual activities, such as meeting friends who like to chat to go to a teahouse to drink tea, a sparrow hero going to a friend's house to rub a few laps of hygienic sparrows, a chess player finding an opponent with a prancing horse or a chariot, and musicians gathering with close friends to satisfy their interests. Of course, you can also be a lone ranger, "go alone to have fun, and find a companion when you are lonely"; you can surf the Internet alone and be a person on the Internet who browses the world... All in all, in terms of entertainment for the elderly, in addition to the so-called casinos that mainly focus on gambling, there are also many places for entertainment and boredom. As long as you know how to choose, there is no need to worry about not having a good place. If you are really busy and bored, you might as well call me and invite me to accompany you to the teahouse for a cup or two and chat, haha!