If you attend the Wednesday dinners I’m sure you have seen and even used those small “Reserved” cards. We have those available for two reasons. First, everyone tends to have “their place” to sit wherever they are; in church, in a restaurant, at home and at the Senior Center. Second, everyone wants to sit with particular friends or relatives.

But do those cards turn off new people? Perhaps, so over the years many ideas have been suggested. The easiest is just to have no saving of seats. Any unoccupied seat is open to whoever wants to sit there. Then there is the idea that each table would be filled one at a time. Everyone coming in would take the next available seat at a table until the table was filled then the next table would be filled. How about getting a seat number when you enter? The numbers would be drawn randomly from a bucket so everyone would be spread out across the dining room. Another suggestion was that you could not sit with your spouse.

Now I think you’d all agree that these ideas would not work. They are means to get people to mix and socialize with others, but this is not the way to make that happen. In fact it would probably have the opposite effect.

When it was determined that it might be beneficial to get people to know one another, name tags were introduced. To make sure everyone wore their nametag, a person was assigned to remind those who were not wearing one. The particular person who took this assignment happened to be a very friendly and fun-loving person. She took on the title of “Sheriff” and set a fine of ten cents for each time you did not wear your nametag. This worked and was fun for at least a while, but it was all due to the personality of the Sheriff. Was it beneficial? Probably not.

Then there was the idea to use “Greeters” to make sure new people found a seat and regulars felt welcomed each time they attended a meal. Again this worked sometimes but it was more due to the personality of the assigned greeter. The overall effect was that some new people were missed and some regulars were annoyed.

I think there is a Maine attitude (and perhaps it is a New England attitude) that says you do not intrude on a person’s space unless invited. Some people feel that they want to be with others but do not want to have to engage in conversation at all times. I am one of those, and I was drawn into the Senior Center early on because you could enjoy a meal or activity and be accepted into the group even when you wanted to just sit and let the world spin by.

So what is the bottom line? It is: just be yourself. Use the reserved cards. Help others to find a seat if you notice them wandering around. Before you sit down, ask if the seats are taken. Above all else enjoy the evening.

We are all greeters. We are all individuals with our own spaces. We are not a clique nor are we a group of cliques. We are a group adding a bit of community to the Community Center. We welcome everyone and everyone is free to arrange seating for friends and family.

The cribbage tournament winners on Tuesday, Aug. 12, were Ken Colby first, Ann Merry second, Debbie Mullen third, Leol Corson low score and Leol Corson had the high hand. The cribbage tournament winners on Thursday, Aug. 14, were Ken Colby first, Reid Hodgdon second, Dick Barnard third, Larry Rines low score and Della Hilton had the high hand.

Public supper next week:

(Reservations, please! Call 207-882-8230 at least two days in advance for meal reservations.)

Wednesday, Aug. 27: No Dinner, Community Center annual shutdown.