On April 23, 1985, the New Coke formula was announced by CocaCola after taste tests suggested people preferred it. The backlash was so intense that the company brought back the original formula just 79 days later.
Millennium Memo Camelot
Do you know the best location in your home to ride out an earthquake? Do you know where the pillars under your home are? Have you downloaded the MyShake app, alerting you to seismic activity in the area?
These are some of the topics the 19 attendees learned about in last month’s Emergency Preparedness Seminar, sponsored by SPARC, our resident services partner. Given Sahara’s proximity to the San Andreas Fault, we thought this was a timely topic.
The item about your support pillars was interesting, because in a jolt, they may come up through the floor. That sounds dangerous, doesn’t it? The speaker also discussed what should go in a “Go Bag,” including a water bottle that filters water.
One tip from the Seminar: the best earthquake kit is the one you actually remember where you put it.
What Else is Shaking
• SPARC, our resident services partner, held another Sound the Alarm event on March 21. That’s after the deadline for this Memo, but I’ll report next month on just how many of you got your FREE Smoke Detector installation.
• Talk is cheap, you say? Not at Sahara, where we’re about to spend $1,500 on the Clubhouse PA System. We also spent
Millennium Memo Continued...
$7K for new Pool & Spa heaters and $3K on extended Security Camera coverage. Your Rent Dollars at Work!
• A reminder: residents are responsible for cleaning the Clubhouse after their functions parties, bingo, card games, dominos and for cleaning the Kitchen from food & crumbs.
It’s great that so many of you enjoy the Clubhouse, but it isn’t the Staff’s job to clean up after you. Tom & Crew thank you for your cooperation.
• Finally, we’re giving this month’s Kudo to Tom, Juan & Betto for cleaning up so quickly after the heavy wind & rains from the recent storms. You can imagine how much work THAT was. Thanks so much, guys.
In Case You Were Wondering
Q. Why did the baby chick cross the road?
A. To meet with her peeps.
Have a Happy Easter and a fun St. George’s Day (April 23).
George Turk
Happy Easter
Manager’s Corner
Events outside of Sahara Park
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (April 10-12 & 17-19, 2026) - Held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, this massive festival is a top-tier global music event.
Stagecoach Country Music Festival (April 24-26, 2026) - Featuring major country artists like Lainey Wilson, Post Malone, and Cody Johnson, the three-day festival brings dancing and western fun to the desert.
Joshua Tree Music Festival (April 24-26, 2026) - Smaller, intimate, multi-day music experience located just outside the Palm Springs area.
• Palm Springs Pride Big Gay BBQ (April 24-26, 2026) - Celebration of diversity and community
• Desert Rodeo (April 25-26, 2026) Annual rodeo event in Palm Springs area
CLEAN HOMESITES
• Please clean up around your home; remove weeds and all of the stored items from the driveways and carports.
• Weeds will dry out and become fire hazard. Items stored outside of the home offer excellent hiding places for wildlife and storing anything outside of the home or the shed in itself is a violation of the rules and regulations of the park.
CLUBHOUSE USE
Please, please, please!!! Do clean up after yourselves. Food crumbs and food waste, spilled drinks are constantly left all over the clubhouse after events, games, TV watching, or similar activities. It is the responsibility of the residents and their guests to leave the clubhouse clean after any event. The park staff’s job chores include deep clean the clubhouse monthly and they do an excellent job of that, but they cannot be present 24/7 cleaning up and it should not be expected of them either. They not hired to play housemaids. If someone uses the clubhouse for any purpose, that someone should make sure that their presence is not marked by uncleanliness.
PETS OUTSIDE
Please make sure to pick up all droppings while walking your dog and dispose of it properly.
TRASH DISPOSAL
• Please follow the set rules for discarding your trash and unwanted items. Deposit household trash in bags in the brown containers, recyclables in the blue container, and food waste in the green containers.
• Please do not put any unwanted furniture, décor, or other item into the trash enclosure. This only gives the maintenance staff more work to remove these items.
• Please inform your gardener that the landscaping debris must be deposited in the green waste truck behind the park office. Similarly, advise your contractor or handyman that construction debris must be taken out of the park for depositing at the appropriate city dumpsites.
Previews
I very often like to believe I have some control over the rhythm of my day – when things happen and how smoothly they unfold. Yet life has a gentle way of reminding me that not everything is within my control. Even something as familiar as the arrival of our magazine, which some look forward to each month to catch a glimpse of what’s happening around Sahara Park, can occasionally be delayed by unforeseen circumstances.
What I can control and how I respond (trust me not always easy), what are the alternatives that I’m willing to consider. Sometimes changes simply nudge me to look at things differently – especially when my glasses feel a bit smudged, and I don’t want to budge easily. If the printed magazine arrives later than expected, I might have to try reading it online instead. That may or can be a bit of a techno – challenge for someone who enjoys the old tactile pleasure of holding the pages, but it’s another way to stay connected. Now and then the journey reminds me to stay flexible, remain open to a different path, and keep moving forward. In the end, it simply comes down to the choice I make.
We’ll continue doing our best to share event information clearly and on time through the chalkboard, the monthly Camelot magazine, flyers on the bulletin board near the pool and inside the clubhouse where many sign up for events. zine delivery get back on track arriving at the beginning of the month as opposed the end.
And who knows…all this talk about change might inspire someone to write a short article on getting unstuck, adapting to life’ can present. So many possibilities. Any volunteers?
You can view the monthly magazine digitally.
Here’s how you do it?
• Go to www.millenniumhousing.net
• Click on Communities
• Click on Sahara Park
• Under the “More Info” section—Click on Monthly Magazine
• Click on the picture of the magazine. This will bring you to the publisher’s website where you can enlarge the magazine by clicking on this symbol and enjoy.
ThemanyfriendsshemetinSouthAfricacontinuetostayintouchwithherthroughWhat’sApp. Her adventurousspirittookhertotheHotAirBalloonRidesinTemecula,andaliveperformancebyDiana Rosslastyear.Ramonalooksforwardtoeachday,andbelievesinlivinginthepresentmomentasshe carriesonwithherlife.Inherposthumouspoemtoherhusband,shetakeshisadvice
After Ramona s sudden loss, she began writing poems as a way to give voice to her grief. In the quiet moments when the weight of loss felt overwhelming, she turned to words. She wrote not for an audience, but for herself and slowly, tenderly, the writing helped.
For the past year, our magazine has had the privilege of sharing Ramona’s Widow’s Walk.” Through her words, she opened a deeply personal window into her life after the sudden loss of her husband Bill in July of 2003 - she was 57 years old. They celebrated their 25th anniversary at the home of a dear friend who lived at the Movie Colony area of Palm Springs. Ramona found herself facing the kind of grief that reshapes a life.
In time, she chose to channel that grief into something meaningful. She enrolled in a writing class and began putting pen to paper, giving voice to emotions that were often difficult to express. What emerged was poetry raw, reflective, and profoundly honest.
Her writing has been present, resonant, and deeply heartfelt. Each poem carried the weight of love, loss, and remembrance. Many of us have felt that same deep loss of someone dear, and through Ramona’s words we found connection, understanding, and even moments of healing. Her willingness to share such a personal journey with our community has been both brave and generous.
Sadly, this chapter is coming to a close.
After nearly ten years in Sahara Park, Ramona has decided to begin a new chapter moving about an hour and a half away to be closer to her children and grandchildren. In a touching bit of timing, she first arrived here around April nearly ten years ago, and this April she will once again set out on a new adventure.
While we will miss her presence and her powerful words shared with us in these poems, we are grateful beyond measure for the journey she shared with us. Her “Widow’s Walk” reminded us that even in the deepest grief, there can be reflection, resilience, and eventually, renewal. Her poems will remain part of the stories of Sahara Park, and we thank her for trusting our community with such a tender chapter of her life. Ramona, we wish you much joy, comfort and beautiful new memories in the years of your next chapter living closer to your family.
Shift
A subtle shift is taking place
A softening of the pain
The drawing of acceptance Of the thing I cannot change
Time
Seven months today you were taken away to another time and place
I still miss your face and the way we shared a space But a calmness has set in
Sometimes a silly grin as I watch the day begin
Truth
Acceptance comes then hides I know she’ll return
For I have seen her face and she has seen mine
Change of Address
Your mail keeps arriving Though you’ve passed away
We have two homes You and I No need to forward
Postage too high
Fixed
A power failure highlights my ineptitude
The thermostat keeps running Malibu lights are on during the day and off at night
Blinking lights from the radio and microwave mock me
Triumph is mine when I reset clocks throw away the radio and unplug the lights
Smart Ass, Memoir of a Mouthy Girl
By Emily Sayre Smith
From the beginnings set in 1950s Texas to the final triumphant chapter in 1979, Smart Ass is a compelling book that finds the reader bargaining for “just one more chapter” before having to put the book down.
Emily Sayre Smith, a gifted storyteller, shares an experience so many of us born in the 1950s share; our frustrated, overqualified mothers who were expected to go back to the kitchen after helping win the war and our fathers who struggled with the banality of the workplace and their preset roles of breadwinner and head of household.
That frustration often spilled over into anger and violence or profound depression and withdrawal. If they were too sad or too angry they were told to pull themselves together; that there was a pill for that, or shock treatment – and the effect on our generation, who seemed to have everything, was profound. Turbulent times were varnished with a bright veneer that left our generation questioning our parents’ entire values system.
Readers who share a timeline with Ms. Smith will likely recognize similar events and even the props of her childhood, such as the rear-facing seat in the family station wagon. The familiarity was so strong that my occasional reaction was that she and I shared the same parents and must have grown up in the same family.
We were a generation whose parents didn’t hide their fights, would yell in public, slap a smart mouth at the dinner table, and sometimes went a little off the rails – or entirely off. We were told we could do anything but had better not think we knew more than they did. To their amazement we rebelled, tore down, rebuilt and reshaped our world which, in a way, was exactly what they brought us up to do.
We found our own ways, often with little guidance. Smart Ass lets us follow along on Emily’s journey toward independence and self-understanding. Ms. Smith shares the navigation of her childhood, adolescence and coming of age, always with humor and some laugh-out-loud moments, but also with tenderness. The stories, told in narrative, stand on their own and are worth going back for a second reading. The entirety lets us know, and ultimately love, Emily’s mother and father as well as her sisters, grandparents and others, and make us look forward to continuing their story in the sequel.
Farewell Snow Birds BBQ / Entertainment 12 noon 50/50 raffle
Tuesdays
At 6:15 pm
COMMUNITY
PARKING LOT
Took place on a bright and sunny February 14th….
The wind storm came only a few days after parking lot sale, luck or fate? Remember the haboob the year prior?
Tasty Tidbits
Lemon Icebox Pie
Looking for an easy dessert for your Easter Dinner menu? Look no further.
Ingredients:
1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 lemons, juiced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Whipped cream for garnish (optional)
Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until fluffy. Add condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest; mix until smooth.
2. Pour lemon mixture into crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
3. Garnish with whipped cream and mint leaves if desired.
4. Slice and serve.
Puzzles and Word Games you
Paul Revere Southern Flower
Adams Belfry
Boston
British
By land
By sea Church
Concord
Dawes
Firing
Grenadiers
Hancock
Horse Lantern Lexington March Midnight North end Patriot Paul Platoon Revere Revolution Ride Signal Silversmith Troops
Warren
Across
1.Computer memory units
5.High school class
8.Need for fishermen
9.Regrets
11.Jason’s ship
12.“Cogito, ___ sum”
13.It isn’t silver or gold
15.Long, long time
16.Some baby toys
21.Cosmetic additive
22.Hokkaido people
24.Poet Angelou
25.___ tide
26.Battle of Britain grp.
27.Opens a door
Down
1.CEO’s degree
2.Make, as money
3.Garbage in, garbage out
4.Unhearing
5.Largest island in the world
6.Circular domed
dwelling
7.Prefix with phone
10.Costa del ___
14.Jersey call
16.Battering device
17.Winged
18.Spanish painter
19.In ___ of
20.A breeze
23.Bull markets
How to solve sudoku puzzles
April Sudoku
No math is required to solve a sudoku. You only need logic and patience.
Simply make sure that each 3x3 square region has only one instance of the numbers 1-9. Similarly, each number can only
appear once in a column or row in the larger grid. The difficulty on this puzzle is easy.
The headline is a clue to the answer in the diagonal.
TRIVIA TEASER
I Feel Like a Number
1.What actor was offered the role of 007 for The Living Daylights, but lost out due to his contractual obligations for the TV series Remington Steele? a-Colin Firth, b-Tom Selleck, c-Pierce Brosnan, d-Stellan Skarsgard.
2.What number was assigned to the captive title character on TV's The Prisoner? a-2, b-3, c-5, d-6.
3.Zero, Plato and Killer are friends of the title character of what comic strip? a-"Beetle Bailey," b-"Betty Boop," c-"Little Iodine," d-"Zippy the Pinhead."
4.Who played the former Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager? a-Jeri Ryan, b-Roxann Dawson, c-Jennifer Lien, d-Suzie Plakson.
5.Who played Number Two, the head henchman of Dr. Evil, in the Austin Powers movies? a-Will Patton, b-Bill Campbell, c-Robert Wagner, d-Samuel L. Jackson.
6.What rock band had a 1980 hit with the song "Hey 19?" a-Blood, Sweat & Tears, b-Steely Dan, c-The Edgar Winter Group, d-ZZ Top.
7.In 1963, Charles Schulz added a new kid to the "Peanuts" neighborhood whose name consisted of what number? a-3, b-4, c-5, d-7.
8.Zero Mostel won a Tony Award for his performance as the title character in which Broadway musical? a-Jesus Christ: Superstar, b-The Music Man, c-Pal Joey, d-Fiddler on the Roof.
9.Which title TV character had a best friend named Six? a-Hannah Montana, bBlossom, c-Punky Brewster, d-Moesha.
10.Maxwell Smart was Agent 86 on TV's Get Smart. What was the number assigned to his partner-wife, played by Barbara Feldon? a-13, b-24, c-36, d-99.
QUOTES
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.
Martin Buber
No idea is final.
Taika Waititi
I would unite with anybody to do right; and with nobody to do wrong.
Frederick Douglass
I feel that we're all lighthouses, and my job is to shine my light as brightly as I can to the darkness.
Jim Carrey
Happiness is a simple, frugal heart.
Nikos Kazantzakis
In a dark time, the eye begins to see.
Theodore Roethke
Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier.
Sri Chinmoy
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
Kurt Vonnegut
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.
George Harrison
The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on.
Julia Alvarez
I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.
Carl Sandburg
For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.
Carl Sagan
The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
Richard Bach
The lighter side
Psychiatry seminar
Psychiatry students were attending their first seminar. It was on emotional extremes. The professor wanted to establish some parameters, so he asked what they would say was the opposite of joy.
"Sadness," replied Mr. Nichols.
Ms. Biggs defined the opposite of depression as elation.
"And Mr. Martin, what is the opposite of woe?"
Bubba replied, "I believe that would be giddyup!"
The speeder
A man is stopped by police for speeding and the officer asks him for his license.
"I don't have one," the man says. "It was taken away for drunk driving."
So the officer asks for the man's vehicle registration.
"I don't have one," the man says. "This car is stolen and I've murdered the owner and stuck him in the trunk."
At this point, the officer calls for backup and in no time 10 police cars surround the stopped speeder.
The sergeant on the scene approaches the car and orders the man to open his trunk. He does and it is empty. The sergeant then asks for the man's driver's license. The man pulls out a valid license and vehicle registration.
"I don't get it," the sergeant says, "My officer here says you told him you had no license or registration and that you stole this car."
The man shakes his head and says, "I bet that liar told you I was speeding too."
Answer to 'I Feel Like a Number'
1-c, Pierce Brosnan 2-d, 6
3-a, "Beetle Bailey" 4-a, Jeri Ryan
5-c, Robert Wagner
6-b, Steely Dan 7-c, 5 8-d, Fiddler on the Roof 9-b, Blossom 10-d, 99
