Slip-sliding away: Seniors glide into water nostalgia with summer’s dwindling days

Gaynel Gering raised both arms high as she rode Thursday on an inflated tube down a giant water slide.

“I put my arms up because that’s what we used to do on roller coasters,” said Gering, 86, after her safe – and dry – landing.

“I figured I wouldn’t fall out.”

She had joined about 150 people for an outdoor summer-camp themed afternoon at the senior living facility, Touchmark South Hill.

As 1980s tunes played over speakers and people queued up at an ice cream truck, staff began hosing down a 75-foot-long orange slide called the Sea Cow, set up in a grassy area with a gentle slope. The water feature drew a lineup of seniors seeking to slide down nostalgia lane.

Two employees held onto ropes tethered to each side of the tube, and they ran down opposite sides of the slide to help the rider glide to the end. The tube, designed for snow sledding, has a back rest.

Most residents stayed dry to the ride’s end, where they got an assist back up on their feet. A few residents even doubled up on the tube.

Touchmark resident Jeff Dietz, 81, was one of the first to hop onto the tube for a solo ride. He didn’t want the rope assist.

“I started on my belly, head first, then zip-dee-do, I fell off on my back and got wet,” Dietz said. “I wanted to belly-flop it.”

His wife Kathie watched from the sidelines. “It’s called senior Slip ‘N Slide,” she said.

The couple has lived at Torchmark for about seven months. They said the slide reminded them of a ski place they liked where people would try to glide across a frozen lake.

Retired obstetrician Dr. Garry Kellogg, 84, went on the slide with his 12-pound dog Sherman. The Shih Tzu-Maltese mix didn’t seem phased by the descent with his owner.

“He’s adventuresome, just like me,” Kellogg said. “My wife (Betty) died six months ago, so I’m trying to get out and do stuff. I just went parasailing at Coeur d’Alene with Touchmark.”

To parasail, he sat on a platform with a parachute as he and another rider were lifted into the air. When done, they gently landed on the lake.

This was the fourth year for Camp Touchmark, which also had corn hole, water balloons and squirt guns. Touchmark employees and families were invited to join the residents in activities.

The water slide proved the most popular station. No waivers were required, said Brittany Holden, the facility’s enrichment and wellness director. “There are a lot of hands on deck to help with the fun,” she said.

A few employees had to convince Xenia Gianetsas, 80, to go on the water slide. After her first run, she decided to go again.

“It was fun,” she said. “When I was a kid, I loved the roller coaster.”

Tom Flemming, 83, also took his small dog on his lap down the water slide, which he said made him feel like a kid.

“Only it’s more fun now, because it’s silly.”