Mike Oyama has had many different occupations during his work career. He drove trucks for a while, cooked in restaurants in Waikiki and on Maui, and retired from the UC Davis Primate Center after more than 20 years. A constant in his life, however, has been music.
Rhonda Halushka grew up in San Francisco’s Richmond district surrounded by Asian kids. She fell in love with Japanese culture and moved to Japan after college to teach English. She learned weaving, dyeing, Kimono making, book binding, and how to conduct a tea ceremony. And she learned how to speak Japanese.
Mike and Rhonda are different in many ways, but there’s one thing they have in common — ACC Senior Services.
After retiring in 2014, Mike says he was “floating” for a few months. “Then I got the ACC News in the mail and noticed all of the things going on.” Mike’s first class with ACC was acrylic painting with Zimei. He also learned calligraphy and took many wellness workshops with Jan Polin. Then he joined the Folk Guitar Club. After a few months, he started focusing his energy into music. He started taking an ukulele class with Loretta Lew, and joined the Pocket Pickers. He also joined the ACC Show Stoppers choir.
Rhonda took a different path. She became a school teacher and spent the last 17 years teaching science at James Rutter Middleschool in South Sacramento. Her mother died of Alzheimers, so when Rhonda retired, she made a conscious choice to keep her brain and body active. She wanted to relearn Japanese which she had not used for decades. A friend recommended ACC, and she never stopped going. “I took teacher Nora’s Japanese class as a refresher and, wow, it all came back. As a retiree, I had time to pursue new things, and that’s what ACC offered. In fact, the only reason why I remain in Sacramento is because of ACC.”
On Wednesday, Rhonda volunteers for Meals on Wheels by ACC at the Japanese United Methodist Church. “I see these women there who are so vibrant and active in their 80s and 90.” At the end of her shift she records around 8,000 steps on her Fitbit.
At age 67, Mike Oyama gets around too. He joined other music groups in the community including the Chinese Community Church Ukulele Fellowship, Ohana Dance Group, and the Fremont Presbyterian Church choir.
Mike likes coming to ACC because, “everybody is friendly and you learn a lot of things. I have made a lot of friends here.
At 66, Rhonda describes this phase of her life as a “rebirth.” She says, “I’ve always been a curious person. Now I have time to do anything I want to do. I can travel, take classes, start new hobbies. It’s the best time of my life.”
Add a Comment