Heckled by Senior Citizens
First a little background information: My partner and I in my clinic did a project on the new Medicare bill that goes into effect on January 1, 2006. As part of it, we are going to senior centers around the city to inform seniors of how their lives will change and what they should do to save money/get the drugs they need/etc.
So, the first time I gave this presentation it was at a senior center in Astoria, Queens. Now I know you're thinking, "Queens!? That's GHETTO. They must've mugged you on the way out! Because we all know Ghetto Seniors Have Knives." Surprisingly enough, they were all very tame, attentive, and receptive to my presentation. Not very thrilling.
On monday, we presented at Woodstock Senior Center in Midtown Manhattan- 43rd St. between 6th and broadway. Right in the heart of posh, high-class, tourist trap New York City. We're scheduled to present at 12:30PM, in the middle of the dining area, during the heart of their lunch hour. This is a large room with low ceilings and a bunch of tables scattered around it. Think elementary school cafeteria. So we get set up, and for some reason they think we should set up the projector right in front of the line for food. So we do this, and invariably there are senile old people being blinded by the projector, standing directly in front of it, totally oblivious to the fact that 1) they can move out of the way and not be blinded; and 2) people are trying to give a presentation and they don't make for very good screens.
While we present, there are groups of seniors at each table, clearly friends, and sort of like middle school cliques. They mostly ignore us and CERTAINLY don't give us the common courtesy to stop talking while we try to tell them how to save their own lives. Keith, my partner, made it very clear at the beginning that they were to hold their questions until the end, and we even PASSED OUT PAPER AND PENCILS for them to note their questions on! However, about 3 times, people just got up and walked up to him and started asking him questions. I ran up and intercepted them after the first one, and it's this guy on both Medicare and Medicaid. I'm not going to bore you with the details of what this means, but I gather from his babbling that he's 79 and he gets seizures but the brand name medication he's on mostly prevents them. So then he goes, "NO MATTER WHAT I CAN"T SWITCH TO GENERICS. This brand name stuff works great for me and I CAN"T USE GENERICS. I don't want to...excuse me...fuck up my flow, know what I'm sayin? I can't fuck up my flow" So eventually I placate him and things are ok.
Shortly afterwards, my partner says "MAKE SURE YOU DON'T IGNORE LETTERS YOU GET FROM THE MEDICARE OFFICE," obviously trying to emphasize this point, and a guy in a group in the back of the room yells, "YOUR MOM IGNORES MY LETTERS!" and his whole group totally cracks up. We're just like OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGWTFWTFWTF HOLY CRAP trying not to fall over laughing ourselves. WE'VE JUST BEEN HECKLED BY PEOPLE 4 TIMES OUR AGE. Yes it was awesome and yes it was one of the most unreal and hilarious experiences of my life
So, in summary:
You haven't lived until you've:
Been heckled by senior citizens.
Been told by an 80 year old man that he doesn't want to "Fuck up his flow".
So, the first time I gave this presentation it was at a senior center in Astoria, Queens. Now I know you're thinking, "Queens!? That's GHETTO. They must've mugged you on the way out! Because we all know Ghetto Seniors Have Knives." Surprisingly enough, they were all very tame, attentive, and receptive to my presentation. Not very thrilling.
On monday, we presented at Woodstock Senior Center in Midtown Manhattan- 43rd St. between 6th and broadway. Right in the heart of posh, high-class, tourist trap New York City. We're scheduled to present at 12:30PM, in the middle of the dining area, during the heart of their lunch hour. This is a large room with low ceilings and a bunch of tables scattered around it. Think elementary school cafeteria. So we get set up, and for some reason they think we should set up the projector right in front of the line for food. So we do this, and invariably there are senile old people being blinded by the projector, standing directly in front of it, totally oblivious to the fact that 1) they can move out of the way and not be blinded; and 2) people are trying to give a presentation and they don't make for very good screens.
While we present, there are groups of seniors at each table, clearly friends, and sort of like middle school cliques. They mostly ignore us and CERTAINLY don't give us the common courtesy to stop talking while we try to tell them how to save their own lives. Keith, my partner, made it very clear at the beginning that they were to hold their questions until the end, and we even PASSED OUT PAPER AND PENCILS for them to note their questions on! However, about 3 times, people just got up and walked up to him and started asking him questions. I ran up and intercepted them after the first one, and it's this guy on both Medicare and Medicaid. I'm not going to bore you with the details of what this means, but I gather from his babbling that he's 79 and he gets seizures but the brand name medication he's on mostly prevents them. So then he goes, "NO MATTER WHAT I CAN"T SWITCH TO GENERICS. This brand name stuff works great for me and I CAN"T USE GENERICS. I don't want to...excuse me...fuck up my flow, know what I'm sayin? I can't fuck up my flow" So eventually I placate him and things are ok.
Shortly afterwards, my partner says "MAKE SURE YOU DON'T IGNORE LETTERS YOU GET FROM THE MEDICARE OFFICE," obviously trying to emphasize this point, and a guy in a group in the back of the room yells, "YOUR MOM IGNORES MY LETTERS!" and his whole group totally cracks up. We're just like OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGWTFWTFWTF HOLY CRAP trying not to fall over laughing ourselves. WE'VE JUST BEEN HECKLED BY PEOPLE 4 TIMES OUR AGE. Yes it was awesome and yes it was one of the most unreal and hilarious experiences of my life
So, in summary:
You haven't lived until you've:
Been heckled by senior citizens.
Been told by an 80 year old man that he doesn't want to "Fuck up his flow".