Look for the Positive

Actually not much new. It has been a quiet week or two at the VA. A vet in the hallway said “Excusez moi.” as we passed him. I asked if he “parlez Francais?” He said oui. I asked where he learned it and he said at home, as both parents were French Canadian. I said […]

Winning Bingo

I am not big on omens, but the wind rattled some dead leaves into the building with me today and it caught my attention. You never know what you’ll find in the ward on any given day. My guy was agitated. He said, clearly, I want to go to my room. Normally they don’t want […]

Three Layers

https://vimeo.com/403843873 This is a 3 layered situation, that I will attempt to unravel and convey in some fashion. First, the mood I was in to start the day was a leftover from yesterday where I discovered that the park where I met my veteran guy has been more deeply desecrated by new buildings at Northeastern’s […]

Great Tenderness

My guy didn’t look well last Friday. His eyes were red and had some rather gooey and crusty stuff about them. I took him on a visit to the ward where he lived before he was relegated to Dementia. As always, the staff at his old building greeted him with great and genuine delight, each […]

Bingo and Battlefields

Things have been rather stable. My guy is about the same, still accepting his situation in a noble, dignified, stoic fashion. Can’t feed himself, can hardly move his hands, though they are doing a bit more physical therapy lately. There was a lovely Christmas concert by his church where he sang along with remarkable gusto. […]

What Will Be

I noticed that the sparkling white tunnels we wander through look very different from outside, rather dark and foreboding. Another point of view, I suppose. Took my guy to bingo on Sunday, but after a few very weak games with nary even a close call, he said we should go. So we visited his old […]

Dirty Dishes

Something a bit lighter for today. My guy has a tendency towards repeating things. So we put that to work for us. Picturing us rolling through the basement and the sun-splashed semi-basement tunnels singing together. I am making up verses as we go; he joins on the chorus: Halloween was time for witches, They left […]

The Veteran of Korea

I brought my guy to the Veteran’s Day concert last Sunday, with three acapella groups singing for the vets. We sat next to a quiet old fellow, and while waiting for the concert to start, I asked where he served. He said Korea. He said he trained troops in an armored division, teaching them to […]

Indoors Again

Now that it’s cold, our adventures are indoors again. We roll down the long, gleaming white corridors in search of old friends, the Sunday bingo game, the library where we are always welcomed with great warmth. All buildings are connected via basement tunnels. Some tunnels are curved with small half-round windows throwing sun light inward […]

The Split Rock

My guy is continuing to succumb to the paralysis brought on by his disease. He can still speak, but it’s more of an effort each month. I was showing him the photo book I am working on all about Mary Cummings Park, where we met. One of the photos is of a boulder that was […]