Senior Scoop with Pat Browning

Take the bus and leave the driving to us. “Big Rob,” our Ford Starcraft bus, can be seen around town Mondays through Fridays. Big Rob gives seniors door-to-door service to the Robertson Activity Center, plus Friday trips to Wal-Mart, Target, Homeland -- your choice as long as it’s in Yukon. The fare is only $2. Add an extra dollar if you’re going on to Wal-Mart or other shopping spot.

Big Rob is a 14-passenger Ford Starcraft bus with retractable seat belts and a wheelchair lift. Every day after lunch Big Rob delivers seniors to their homes, wherever they may be. His theme song could be
the John Denver classic, “Country Roads, Take Me Home.” Darrell Janko is our ever-helpful bus driver.

Daily activities, such as the Quilters Club, Hot Heels Tap dancing, the Sign Language Club or Arm Chair Exercise, plus hearty luncheons, are the main attractions, but each month offers some special trips.

Wednesday, Nov. 10, it’s the American Banjo Museum in Bricktown. The museum contains more than 300 instruments, the largest collection on public display in the world. Examples include replicas of primitive banjos developed by African slaves in the Old South, Minstrel Age instruments from the 19th century, post WWII instruments used in bluegrass and folk music, and the museum’s core collection of ornately decorated banjos made in America during the Jazz Age of the 1920s and 1930s. Big Rob leaves the Robertson Activity Center at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $8 plus lunch.

Tuesday, Nov. 16, Big Rob takes us to the Kickapoo Casino in Harrah from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The newly refurbished casino promises to be a real treat, with $27 in free play. That’s $20 free as our first time bonus, plus $7 for showing up on Senior Citizens Day. The Kickapoo offers a variety of slots plus table games such as Blackjack and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em. If you really must stop to eat, the Redfork restaurant offers pizza and burgers or regular dinner fare. Bus cost is $6. Sign up soon, as those 14 seats go fast.

Tuesday, Nov. 30, we’ll visit the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum, a high-tech, interactive museum which focuses on telling Oklahoma's story through its people. Big Rob leaves the Robertson Activity Center at 9 a.m. The cost is $10, plus lunch on your own.

There’s more, much more, going on. You can pick up the monthly calendar and menu at the reception desk. You can also look it up on the Internet at: www.robertsonactivitycenter.blogspot.com.

The Robertson Activity Center is at 1200 Lakeshore Drive, phone number 350-7680, open Monday through Friday except for holidays. In November, the Center will be closed Thursday, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day and Thursday-Friday, Nov. 25-26 for Thanksgiving. Two for the price of one note: Yukon’s library – the Mabel C. Fry Library – is in the same building with the Robertson Activity Center.