Remember When

These words have an almost magnetic attraction for many of us, regardless of our age. They are a quick way to reconnect with who we were – as children, teens, young adults, and with the years after.

Connecting with positive memories from our past can produce instant pleasure. Case in point: Like so many early Boomers I was a faithful viewer of the original Mickey Mouse Club. And like so many kids in America I wanted to BE a Mousketeer. The kids were cool. They could sing and dance. They had great costumes and tap shoes. They had adventures. And of course, they had those wonderful mouse ears. Young male viewers, I learned after the fact, had their own reasons for watching: girl Mousketeers – especially Annette – dancing in short skirts. I, myself had a 5 year old’s crush on Mr. Burnett of “Spin and Marty.” (That’s me in the picture, on the right, about the time I developed my crush on Mr. Burnett.)

All this came flooding back to me recently when I discovered segments of the show on YouTube. I’m not ashamed to admit that I watched every segment and joyfully sang along to the opening number for Mondays (We are the merry Mousketeers, Mousketeers!), Talent Round Up Day (Saddle your pony, here we go…) and chanted the words that introduced the Mousekartoon for Today (Meeska, Mooska, Mouskateer….). I promptly mailed the links to my sister and we had great fun reliving our memories of the show.

You may not have been a viewer of the original Mickey Mouse Club, but you probably had some program that was very important to you as a kid. Just the mention of it can bring a big smile to your face. And when you have someone to share those memories with, it’s even better.

That’s the reason I created Feel Good Crosswords – To bring smiles to seniors’ faces as they tuned in to positive memories from earlier times. And to make it easy for them to share these memories with a good listener.

The Guide that comes with each puzzle has discussion questions that friends, family members and caregivers can use to encourage seniors to talk about their memories. It also has background information on all the senior-focused and theme answers. So if you’re someone who is significantly younger than the seniors in your life you’ll have information at your fingertips that helps you understand and relate to the memories they share.

The result? Uplifting memories. Meaningful conversation. Fun.

• Did you have a favorite TV or radio program when you were a kid? What was it?
• Do you know which programs were favorites of your parents? What did they tell you about them?
• Have your grandparents or your senior friends/clients told you about the programs they listened to or watched? If not, ask them! It’s a great way to get a conversation started.