Living Large: WINDING UP OR DOWN?

We are less than 2 weeks away from our departure from Yuma and the winter months just seem to have flown by. At the beginning of March, we saw some people leaving and then there were more around the middle of the month. On March 15, we had a Murder Mystery Dinner sponsored by The Palms Resort for all the seasonal volunteers known as the Poco Loco (a little bit crazy) Club. We were part of that group due to our volunteer efforts at the burger bashes and the dinner was a great event.

We were treated to free cocktails and hot hors d’oeuvres before the dinner and then we had the introduction of the Murder Mystery details as we settled at our tables. The cast was small as they focused on audience participation for the entertainment. It started with a fellow with a gun (the hit man) bursting into the auditorium, who was then shot by a detective who was following him. The detective then proceeded to question various audience members to get more information and he soon discovered a theme when he asked “what do you do for a living?” As most of the people attending the event are retired, the response was “nothing” which led to a number of jokes about the unemployment situation and the recession in the USA. There were an additional 2 murders during the meal and various clues were shared with everyone to help in solving the mystery.

Each table provided their best guess on “who dunnit” and it was a surprise for many to find out that someone close by was a murderer. We had one at our table and didn’t even know it. Perhaps it was the good food and company that kept us distracted from the task at hand. The event was attended by about 100 volunteers and there are more in the total group, some who had already gone home. It was such a great success that The Palms is planning a whole Murder Mystery Week next year where the prize is a trip to Hollywood and a tour of Universal Studios.

We had a leaky radiator this past week and took it to the local dealer for servicing under warranty. It wasn’t just a loose hose or clamp, the radiator itself was failing so they replaced it at no cost to us. What a great deal and we’re so thankful that it was discovered while we were just “out and about” down here and not towing the trailer on some remote highway in the middle of Nevada.

We played both golf and pickleball this past week and enjoyed ourselves very much. Again, we are seeing people leave town on a daily basis. One couple had their trailer and truck all hooked up in the parking lot at the recreation centre for a couple of hours of pickleball before heading down the road. Now that’s dedication!!

Today, we went to the Burger Bash here and it was a very lively event.

The band was good and some people were having such a great time that they started bumping people into the swimming pools with their clothes on and jumping in themselves. Of course, some were willing to do it and others were a bit more reluctant. Great fun—who knew that you could be a kid again when you retire?