Good Start to the New Year
I actually wasn't sure I would be attending the East Coast GLBTQ until the last minute; the acceptance letters weren't e-mailed until New Year's Day, leaving me a day to inform my boss I would be gone the rest of the week and to pack.
The next four days were a little surreal as our shortline bus brought us above the frost line within an hour of leaving the city and we were surrounded by snow for the first time in eleven months. The combination of pretty white snow-capped hills and the infectious conviviality of the workshop reminded me of that scene from the Bing Crosby-Rosemary Clooney movie, "White Christmas" (1954): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2KGboA35c
The Monday after the workshop went quickly and I resolved to visit the nursing home.
My mood was better than it had been in months; I couldn't help but notice how much daylight there was left in the January afternoon as the #7 train pulled out of Hunters Point. I watched out the front window of the lead car as the crowded platforms passed by. It felt good to be on the that train again, in tune with the rhythm of life.
I was tempted to play excerpts from "White Christmas" again; we'd listened to all the classics in the days leading up to and away from Christmas Day, including all of "It's A Wonderful Life" (1948), and the soundtrack for "Sound of Music". Mom was suitably attentive during all of them but didn't quite beam in on Crosby's signature song as thought she would: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14
But, by Monday even with the lyrics from "Snow" still running through my head I thought a little change was in order. I played some Jack Benny shows and found that I was actually able to fit two half-hour shows in before they wheeled Maria, her roommate, in from the day room to be tucfked in for the night. Even Big Brother was forced to admit in a moment of candor during Christmas dinner that once Maria comes in to the room, it isn't long before you're visitng her and not Mom.
To my surprise, Mom seems to like the old Jack Benny Program. She reacts well to the applause during his monologue, corny as it often is, she seems to recognize his distinctive voice and delivery. She has an especially strong reaction wheneve Eddie "Rochester" Anderson has a lengthy appearance http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026655/ On Wednesday, she was familiar enough with my presence that when one of the PAs came in (they always seem to wait until someone's visiting to realize she needs changing or cleaning or her weight shifted on the bed), I was able to calm her just by touching her hand.
On Thursday, I noticed her perk up when, unexpectedly, one of the Benny shows included an old commercial. Anyone who was at all sensient during the 1950s rememebers this one for the American Tobacco Company, makers of Lucky Strike and several other brands of cigarette: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8wyqIKYqxc
The next four days were a little surreal as our shortline bus brought us above the frost line within an hour of leaving the city and we were surrounded by snow for the first time in eleven months. The combination of pretty white snow-capped hills and the infectious conviviality of the workshop reminded me of that scene from the Bing Crosby-Rosemary Clooney movie, "White Christmas" (1954): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2KGboA35c
The Monday after the workshop went quickly and I resolved to visit the nursing home.
My mood was better than it had been in months; I couldn't help but notice how much daylight there was left in the January afternoon as the #7 train pulled out of Hunters Point. I watched out the front window of the lead car as the crowded platforms passed by. It felt good to be on the that train again, in tune with the rhythm of life.
I was tempted to play excerpts from "White Christmas" again; we'd listened to all the classics in the days leading up to and away from Christmas Day, including all of "It's A Wonderful Life" (1948), and the soundtrack for "Sound of Music". Mom was suitably attentive during all of them but didn't quite beam in on Crosby's signature song as thought she would: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14
But, by Monday even with the lyrics from "Snow" still running through my head I thought a little change was in order. I played some Jack Benny shows and found that I was actually able to fit two half-hour shows in before they wheeled Maria, her roommate, in from the day room to be tucfked in for the night. Even Big Brother was forced to admit in a moment of candor during Christmas dinner that once Maria comes in to the room, it isn't long before you're visitng her and not Mom.
To my surprise, Mom seems to like the old Jack Benny Program. She reacts well to the applause during his monologue, corny as it often is, she seems to recognize his distinctive voice and delivery. She has an especially strong reaction wheneve Eddie "Rochester" Anderson has a lengthy appearance http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026655/ On Wednesday, she was familiar enough with my presence that when one of the PAs came in (they always seem to wait until someone's visiting to realize she needs changing or cleaning or her weight shifted on the bed), I was able to calm her just by touching her hand.
On Thursday, I noticed her perk up when, unexpectedly, one of the Benny shows included an old commercial. Anyone who was at all sensient during the 1950s rememebers this one for the American Tobacco Company, makers of Lucky Strike and several other brands of cigarette: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8wyqIKYqxc