Connections for Living
October 2015
RAINCROSS DIRECTORS
Executive Director
Kathy Franco
Business Office Director
Jeanne Tedesco
Sales and Marketing Director
Ruthie Daniel
Sales and Marketing Director
Robin Tait
Wellness Director
Jennifer Crick
Wellness Assistant
Amy Kontur
Connections Director
Michele Thompson
Dining Services Director
Tony Greco
5232 Central Avenue • Riverside, CA 92504 • (951) 785-1200
October by the Numbers
Give Your Brain a Break
500. Average number of seeds
in a medium-sized pumpkin. A
low-calorie snack, pumpkin seeds
are high in fiber, zinc, iron, protein
and antioxidants.
17,897. Number of published
comic strips of “Peanuts”
produced by Charles Schulz.
The beloved strip debuted
Oct. 2, 1950.
Five. Number of fingers
(including the thumb) in the wings
of a bat, the only flying mammal
in the world.
Doing nothing can do
wonders for your brain. Whether
it’s daydreaming, letting your
mind wander, taking a short nap,
or relaxing in a peaceful place,
enjoying a few minutes of
mental downtime during the
day is beneficial. Scientists say
when you’re taking a timeout,
the brain takes on vital functions,
such as forming memories and
rehearsing new information
you’ve picked up. And evidence
shows regular mental breaks can
encourage creativity and
improve attention span.
Say ‘Yes’ to
Sweet Potatoes
Take advantage of seasonally
fresh sweet potatoes when you
see them on menus this fall. A
better choice than regular
potatoes if you’re watching your
blood sugar, they’re also an
excellent source of vitamin A,
which can reduce inflammation
in your joints.
Halloween Trivia
(answer P2)
How do pumpkins grow?
Who was the first Wolf Man?
Name of Dracula’s sidekick?
1st wrapped candy in US?
October Birthdays
10/4
10/26
10/21
10/9
A Healing Purr-pose
A purring kitty on your lap is
therapeutic in more ways than
one. Cats’ purrs measure
between 25 and 150 hertz, a
frequency that some researchers
say promotes healing and may
even improve bone density.
Marlyn Vitagliano
Val Catham
Dave Davis
Ralph de la Cruz
Oh, how we love getting outdoors for our
morning exercise.
Raincross Connections - Connecting with Our Loved Ones
ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN
Trivia Whiz
Fun Felines
Cats have been
living alongside
humans for at least
4,000 years. However,
there are a few things
you might not know
about cats, such as:
• Domestic cats,
no matter their
breed, are all
members of
the species
Felis catus.
• In Japan and
Great Britain,
black cats are
considered
symbols of
good luck.
• A female cat is
called a queen
or a molly.
• A cat can travel
for a short
distance at a top
speed of about
30 mph.
• About 200 feral
cats live at
Disneyland,
helping control
the rodent
population.
• A cat’s nose
is ridged with a
unique pattern,
just like a human
fingerprint.
The origin of Halloween is related to a
tribe known as the “Celts” that resided
in Ireland and Northern France. They
used to worship nature, and their life
depended on sowing and farming. In
ancient times, superstitions were taken
very seriously in society. One of the
most popular superstitions was that
winter season brought death. The Celts
believed that the last day of October
marked the end of summer, and
November was the beginning of
winter. The Celts also believed that the
dead would visit them, so they left
delicious food and drinks outside their
homes for the spirits.
Anchors Aweigh
Since the early days of America’s
fight for independence, the U.S. Navy
has carried on a proud tradition of
service at sea in defense of freedom.
A resolution of the Continental
Congress established this branch of the
U.S. armed forces as the Continental
Navy on Oct. 13, 1775, to battle British
warships and support troops during the
Revolutionary War. After the war, the
Navy was disbanded until piracy and
tensions with France led to the Navy
Act of 1794, which re-established a
national navy. Then in 1798, the
Department of the Navy was created.
Over the following decades, the
Navy grew in size and strength. Its
greatest expansion came during World
War II: In 1941, the force numbered
about 300,000, but by the war’s end, it
Answers to Halloween Trivia
1
2
3
4
Vines
Lon Chaney
Renfield
Tootsie Rolls
had increased to more than 3 million
personnel and a fleet of more than
6,000 ships.
Since then, the U.S. Navy has
remained the world’s largest and most
powerful navy with more than
326,000 active duty members,
3,700 aircraft and 430 ships that
include aircraft carriers, cruisers,
destroyers and submarines.
Oktoberfest
Raincross will be hosting another great
Oktoberfest
On Oct. 21, please join us for food, drink
and entertainment!
Michele Thompson
Please join us in congratulating
Michele Thompson
Recently, Michele Thompson was
promoted to
Director of Memory Care.
Michele has been with Raincross for
5 years.
Michele was hired as a caregiver,
and then became a lead,
then a med tech, then assistant to
Director of Health Services, and now
Director of Memory Care.
Michele has a little boy named
Brody, who is as delightful as he
is handsome.
Wit & Wisdom
“I often think that
the night is more alive
and more richly
colored than
the day.”
—Vincent Van Gogh
Kandace, Mae and Jackie
Making Pizza With Toppings.
Mae Raymond just turned 99 years old
in September and is still going strong.
Parking Lot Slurry
NO PARKING ON OCT. 8 AND 9
Just a reminder that our parking lot
will not be accessible on Oct. 8
and 9.
Everyone will have to park on the
street on both of these days.
Some of you may want to ask family
to move your cars to their home until
after the work in completed.
We are so sorry for this
inconvenience.
Thank you,
Kathy Franco
“A man is a very small
thing, and the night
is very large and full
of wonders.”
—Edward Plunkett
“The night walked
down the sky with the
moon in her hand.”
—Frederic L. Knowles
“The cloud shadows
of midnight possess
their own repose.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
Please Welcome our Newest Resident,
Ralph de la Cruz.
Ralph enjoys playing the piano, guitar, and
singing.
“The heights by great
men reached and
kept were not
attained by sudden
flight, but they, while
their companions
slept, were toiling
upward in the night.”
—Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
“So the darkness shall
be the light, and the
stillness the dancing.”
—T.S. Eliot
October 2015
Sunday
Monday
4
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 Columbus Day
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1940: The 40-hour workweek goes
into effect under the Fair Labor
Standards Act.
OCTOBER
1888: The Washington Monument
opens to the public. The iconic obelisk
on the National Mall was built as a
tribute to America’s first president.
1927: Movie history is made when
the first feature-length talking
picture, “The Jazz Singer” starring
Al Jolson, opens.
1936: Boulder Dam—now known as
Hoover Dam—begins transmitting
electricity to Los Angeles.
1959: Thousands line up for the
opening of the Guggenheim in New
York City. The modern art museum’s
unique spiral shape was designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright.
1964: Civil rights leader Martin Luther
King Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
1975: Bruce Springsteen scores his
first hit with the single “Born to Run.”
The song has become a rock ’n’
roll classic.
1984: The Chicago Bears’ Walter
Payton breaks the NFL’s all-time
rushing record, carrying the ball a
career total of 12,400 yards.
1988: The TV sitcom “Roseanne”
premieres.
2007: Comedian Drew Carey replaces
Bob Barker as the host of the popular
game show “The Price is Right.”
2010: Millions of people across the
world watch live TV coverage as
33 miners are rescued from a collapsed
mine in Chile. They had been trapped
for 69 days.