Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

“After 14 long months, it was good to be back together again.”

That’s how Catherine Jordan, director of the Colley Senior Complex, expressed the seniors’ fishing trip and picnic at Pike County Lake, Tuesday.

“We were not able to have our annual picnic last year because of COVID-19,” Jordan said. “And, I was a little hesitant to have it this year but, we have been apart for so long and, because it was basically an outdoor event, we decided to go ahead.”

The seniors, about 70 of them, either gathered on Pike County Lake’s long and open porch to play table games and to rock and reminisce with friends or headed to the lake with fishing rod and worms.

“And, several of them caught fish,” Jordan said. “But, most of our seniors just enjoyed being back together again. For some of them, it had been more than a year since they had seen each other. It was a great time of reunion.”

Jordan said some of the seniors chose to wear masks and most practiced some degree of social distancing.

“The only time that we were inside was when lunch was served,” she said. “And, that was in a big, open room.”

Jordan expressed appreciation to Shelia Jackson, Troy tourism director, and Willie B. Williams, assistant director, for their assistance in making the fishing trip and picnic a success.

The picnic and fishing outing was also encouragement for the seniors to get back into the swing of things at the Colley Senior Complex.

“The door to the Colley Senior Complex is open and we invite all seniors, ages 50 and over, to come and enjoy the many activities the senior complex has to offer,” Jordan said. “We have exercise and yoga classes, painting and ceramics and other classes of interest to seniors,” Jordan said. “Everything at the complex is designed for seniors. We encourage the wearing of masks but it is not required and the same for some measure of social distancing.”

Jordan said it is good to be back to some measure of normalcy.

“There are some who are still reluctant to come back and I understand that,” Jordan said. “And, those who have not been vaccinated are put-ting a damper on getting things back to normal.”

Jordan said her prayers are that people will understand that the best defense again the coronavirus is vaccination.

“Even though I was not in the first age group to be vaccinated, I called the health department to ask about any chance I might have to get the shot,” she said. “I was told that sometimes a person would not show up for the vaccine, so, to keep from having to throw the vaccine out, they would call people to come in.”

Jordan considered herself lucky. She was called.

“I was asked if I could be there in two to three minutes,” she said. “I said I would be there in one minute. It was that important to me.”

Jordan encourages those who have not been vaccinated to consider what the protection means to them personally and to the return to some measure of normalcy “for all of us.”