SENIOR TIMES SEPTEMBER 2026

THE SENIOR TIMESTM

A publication of The Senior Network

September 2026

Our theme for September is “Country/Western”

GOLDEN NUGGETS

“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job.” — John Wayne

In the Old West a cowboy lived by a “cowboy code” or the “Code of the West”.  Although never written down it was known by all westerns that there was a certain code of ethics expected from each individual.  The code varied a little, but basically these were the ten that all seemed to honor. 

Live every day with courage.

Take pride in your work.

Always finish what you start.

Do what has to be done.

Be tough, but fair.

When you make a promise, keep it.

Ride for the brand

Talk less and say more.

Remember that some things are not for sale.

Know where to draw the line.

While all of these “laws” are sensible and worthy to follow, they are still just rules made up by flawed creatures known as mankind.  They are not perfect and are open to various interpretations.  However, God did provide us with a set of written perfect laws in His word.  “And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  In it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is within them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God has given you. 

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:1 – 17.

Throughout all of history, man has tried to imitate what God has already done. But he always falls short. Isn’t it wonderful to know God will forever take care of His children!

Words Of Wisdom

 “Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.”

Brain Teaser

(answer at the end)

What does this cowboy rebus represent?1 Cowboy Bob drowned Frosted Flakes2 Cowboy Joe buried Cap'n Crunch3.Cowboy Jake threw Rice Krispies off a cliff4 Cowboy John shot Cocoa Puffs

Grandpa’s Sports Stories:

In 1959 Carolyn Clark and her pony Dixie rode into the pages of football history as the first female mascot in professional football. Carolyn was an accomplished horsewoman by the age of ten and daughter of the legendary jockey Willie Clark. She dreamed of starting a riding academy for handicapped children. Her fame as a Baltimore Colt created a touching story of faith, family, friendship and football.   She rode into the Fabulous Fifties as Carolyn the “new cowgirl of the Old West” with the world champion Baltimore Colts. You can almost still hear the cheers and jeers as Carolyn and Dixie face the challenges of new careers on and off the field. 

GRANDMA’S COOKING CORNER

COWBOY COOKIES

Ingredients:

2 c all-purpose flour 

1/4 t salt

1 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 c butter (cubed) 

1/2 c margarine (cubed)

2 eggs

2/3 c brown sugar 

2/3 c granulated sugar 

2 c oatmeal, uncooked

1 t vanilla

1 c chopped nuts 

1 12-oz package chocolate chips (2 cups)

Directions:

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Cream shortenings, eggs and sugars together. Beat well. Add flour mixture, then oatmeal. Add vanilla, nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen. May be made ahead and frozen.

Who’d A Thunk

The Lone Ranger became one of America’s first true multimedia superheroes, shaping pop culture for decades and embodying ideals of justice, courage, and honor. First appearing in 1933 on Detroit radio station WXYZ, the Lone Ranger quickly became a national sensation, inspiring nearly 3,000 radio episodes, multiple movie serials, two feature films, 221 TV episodes, and countless books, comics, and cartoons  His theme music, William Tell Overture, and catchphrase “Hi-yo, Silver, away!” became part of everyday American language The Lone Ranger’s signature silver bullets—never used to kill—became a cultural symbol of his unwavering commitment to justice and life  His origin story, where he survives an ambush to fight outlaws with his Native American friend Tonto, reinforced themes of loyalty, bravery, and the triumph of good over evil.  The Lone Ranger’s masked identity and moral code influenced later characters like the Green Hornet, showing his role as a prototype for modern masked heroes.  Even after the TV series ended in 1957, the Lone Ranger remained a familiar figure in films, merchandise, and public memory. His blend of frontier adventure, moral integrity, and cross-media presence made him a defining symbol of the American West and a lasting part of the nation’s cultural identity.  In short, the Lone Ranger’s importance lies in his pioneering role in American media, his embodiment of heroic values, and his lasting presence in the cultural imagination.

NonProfit of the Month

Western Sports Foundation (WSF)WSF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting Western sports athletes, including cowboys and cowgirls, across all gene disciplines. They offer free or low-cost resources such as:

·       Financial literacy coaching and life skills training

·       Mental health counseling and brain health evaluations

·       Physical health support from therapists, injury prevention specialists, and dietitians

·       Education & career development through scholarships, career coaching, and job connections 

WSF’s mission is to ensure rodeo athletes have access to the same support systems as other pro athletes, helping them succeed in the arena and beyond.

Military Salute

While primarily known as the “Singing Cowboy,” Gene Autry’s career spanned radio, film, and television, often portraying the straight-shooting Western hero. His media presence helped shape the public image of the cowboy, which was closely tied to the U.S. military’s frontier and expansionist image.   Autry served in the U. S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Part of his military service included his broadcast of a radio show for one year; it involved music and true stories. Several decades ago on an early afternoon show featuring Republic westerns, one of Gene's sidekicks said that when Gene told Republic Pictures of his intentions to join the military during World War II, Republic threatened to promote Roy Rogers as "King of the Cowboys" in Gene's absence, which it did. Republic reissued old Autry westerns during the war years, to keep his name before the public.

Humor Me

A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud toward him. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?" The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?" The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Iphone cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Ipad that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves." "That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says the cowboy. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the young man stuffs it into the back seat of his car. Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?" The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?" "You're a Congressman in the U.S. government," says the cowboy. "Wow, that's correct," says the yuppie. "But how did you guess that?" "No guessing required," answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you, you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are, and you don't know a thing about cows. This is a herd of sheep. Now give me back my dog."

REMEMBER WHEN

“A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver…. The Lone Ranger”. “Out of the blue of the western sky comes…Sky King”. “Hey Wild Bill wait for me!” “FURY…the story of a horse and the boy who loved him”. “On King… on you huskies.” 

If you were a kid in the 1950’s and you watched Saturday morning television, you know exactly where these lines come from. The Lone Ranger, Sky King, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, and Fury were as much a part of your lives as Superman, Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, and Sherrie Lewis and Lamb Chop. Along with such fare as Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, Annie Oakley, the Range Rider, Sargent Preston of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Buffalo Bill Jr., these juvenile horse operas were staples of our Saturdays. We usually watched them while we munched on the cereals that were hawked on the shows: Sugar Corn Pops, Trix, Sugar Jets, Cheerios, Sugar Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, Sugar Crisp, Alpha Bits… ah, remember how much Kellogg’s, General Mills, and Post pushed sugar in those commercials? Mars, Tootsie Roll, Hersey, and Nestle candies got their messages to us and we knew their jingles as well as we knew the theme songs for the television shows we watched “N-E-S-T-L-E-S…Nestles makes the very best.” “Kellogg’s Sugar Corn Pops…sugar pops are tops.” “He’s got go power. There he goes…he’s feelin’ his Cheerios”. Tony the Tiger saying “Frosted Flakes…they’re Gr-r-reat,” “The best candy on earth comes from Mars!” 

By the 1960s, because of doctor and dentist complaints, sugar was dropped from most of the cereal names but that didn’t mean it wasn’t in the cereal itself anymore. The commercials seemed to be as important as the shows themselves.

_____________________

SENIOR OF THE MONTH

September 2026

Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus was born in Flatwoods, Kentucky, to Ron Cyrus, a steelworker who became a politician and his wife Ruth Ann. Cyrus started singing at the age of four. His parents divorced in 1966.

Billy Ray’s grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher. Growing up he was surrounded by bluegrass and gospel music as his family were musicians. His right-handed father played guitar, however left-handed Cyrus tried to play his father's guitar, but could not.

He attended Georgetown College on a baseball scholarship before changing to music. He dropped out of Georgetown during his junior year, realized he wanted to become a musician after attending a Neil Diamond concert, and set a 10-month goal to start a career. In the 1980s, he played in a band called Sly Dog, before signing a record contract with Mercury Nashville Records. Sly Dog was named after a one-eyed dog that Cyrus owned.

Billy Ray is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992. Due to the song's music video, the line dance rose in popularity.

A multi-platinum selling artist, Cyrus has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Billy Ray has six children. Miley Cyrus (also known as Hannah Montana) is probably the most famous, even in her own right.

A bit of trivia - The original title of “Achy Breaky Heart” was "Don't tell my heart". It changed after he started performing it and everyone kept asking for that achy breaky song.

Billy Rae said, “Country music will always be about heart, soul, and real life. I'll go with the philosophies of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Carl Perkins. Each of these three great legends gave me the same advice at different times. Each one said, ‘Cyrus, stay true to your music. And be real. Be who you are. Don't be chasing trends. Don't be chasing what's the next thing that's going on. Just be real’.”

Answer to Brain Teaser

Serial Killers (Cereal Killers)

 DATES TO SAVE

Thursday, September 10^th

Golf Tournament

Heritage Golf Course

Wake Forest, NC.

Saturday, October 10th

"Community Connections"

The Villages

Raleigh, NC

Saturday, December 5^th 

“Candy Cane Stroll”

Triangle Town Center

Raleigh, NC.

“Senior Day at the Mall”

If in the Raleigh area, on Friday, September 18^th, please join us at Triangle Town Center for our monthly “Senior Day at the Mall”. The theme is   “Country/Western”. There is continuous entertainment from 11 am until 3 pm. Seating available. Fun, Raffles, Vendors, Networking! Indoor parade at 2 pm. Wear your favorite country/western attire and join us!