No good deed goes unreturned for volunteers

Pahrump resident Glover Rice turned the tables on a young man whose sole mission was to entertain the 86-year-old resident of Inspirations Senior Living on Wednesday.

The young man, Riley McGough, 10, is enrolled in the Pahrump Valley Youth Activities program at J.G. Johnson Elementary.

He and a handful of other kids are part of a group of students who regularly read to seniors at the facility with the focus on keeping them happy, entertained and informed.

Instead, it was the Inspirations resident who actually inspired the 10 year old by providing him with an invaluable gift of his own.

The gift of having more than 80 years worth of knowledge to share during their visits.

“Believe me, at my age, I’d love to talk to anybody,” Rice said with a chuckle. “I think it’s great the kids come and read to us here. I also talk to the kids about why reading comprehension and understanding what you’re reading is so important.”

Glover said it’s not necessarily important how much one reads, but more to the point, it’s the quality of what one chooses to read that matters.

“It’s what the content is and what one learns,” he said. “It’s the quality of the books and authors that the kids want to read.”

Though Rice was never a school teacher, he said his time in the U.S. Navy taught him a lot about life and all things related.

Rice’s expertise at the time was that of an aviation electronics chief aboard an aircraft carrier.

“Most of my time was spent on flight decks at sea with the squadrons, which was an enjoyable career,” he said. “After that I was fortunate enough to tie in with Top Gun in Miramar, California. It was a training ground for all of the pilots in foreign fighter tactics. I had a good time.”

Perhaps it was not an irony that McGough, at the time, was reading a magazine to Rice about ships that were discovered at the bottom of the ocean using modern technology.

After McGough finished that article, it was Rice’s turn to teach the young man something he knows all too well – military time.

It took McGough just a few seconds to learn that in the military, 3 p.m. is known as 1500.

“This is really fun,” he said. “Compared to doing the board games at the school, I’d rather be here.”

Pahrump Valley Youth Activities Director Denis Koch said it was Rice last week who actually gave the group of kids assignments, with the idea to return with the answers.

“All of the kids remembered to bring their favorite book, magazine or the newspaper, and they are in there doing their homework,” she said.

Inspirations Community Relations Director, Tonya Brum said the seniors truly look forward to the kids dropping by and spending time with them.

“It’s a wonderful program and we’re so glad that Denise agreed to do it throughout the summer,” Brum said. “They are here every week.”

Kelly Almond, activities director at Inspirations, said he reached out to the youth program to gauge whether there was interest in forming a reading group.

“It’s really amazing and it gives the residents here a purpose because at the same time, they can be mentors,” he said. “They are all getting something out of this. It’s a wonderful thing. My wife and I never had children of our own, so I was really amazed.”

The Pahrump Valley Youth Activities program is winding down as the final day for activities is July 29.