Oklahoma seniors secure a raise

That’s the largest increase in 26 years, but it wasn’t big enough news to stop the games at the senior center on Thursday.

Four men seated around a card table joked about finally having enough money to take their girlfriends out on a date. One of them said he might be able to actually find a date with his newfound wealth.

Citing rising energy and food costs, or the fact that Social Security raises often are accompanied by higher Medicare premiums, some seniors were skeptical. "I’ll believe it when I see it,” one said, and "Show me the money,” another said, both without looking up from their cards.

But when the bingo game was over, Ilene Fesler wanted more information.

"5.8 percent, you said? That’s just wonderful.”

Fesler said she lost $100,000 when the stock market tumbled.

"If we were 40 years old, we could recoup it,” Fesler said. "But you just can’t at 68. It hurts.”