Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2014; 6:30-8:00 pm
I have said it before and I will
say it again. This project holds a
special significance for me. It’s the
first one that I ever participated in and so will always be one of my favorites. Having said that, I had not been here for months
and when I found myself free this evening, I signed up as soon as I saw an
opening. I arrived to see that Gwyn was
already there, as were Larry, Jack and Jim, who was sporting a nice beard. It had been Jack’s birthday recently and so
instead of working on the newsletter, we would be celebrating. Gwyn had spent the entire day baking and had
made a "Pineapple Upside Down Cake" and "Oatmeal Cherry Cookies". Plus she had bought a "Deep Dish Pizza" and
Fran was on her way with drinks. It
looked like we were having ourselves a good old fashioned birthday party.
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| Jack's Birthday Cake |
It seems that the problems with getting
the newsletter printed have become worse and the facility is not being
cooperative. Gwyn said that this was it
and this project would conclude by end of the year, meaning we had 2 more issues
and then it would be over. She did say that she wanted to think about how we could continue this program in some form
or another. I asked if Chicago Cares
could print the newsletters and deliver to this place. Gwyn said that she's usually not done finalizing
the copy till the previous day and so Chicago Cares printing and delivering was
not logistically possible. Larry was
agitated with the staff and said that they had never liked this program for
whatever reasons and even if we figured out a way to get the newsletter
printed, they would find other ways to interfere. Gwyn echoed that sentiment and after 10+
years of this project, it’s a shame that it has come to this. Elmer, who had come in chimed in on this, as
did Jim. It seems like no one likes the
guy in charge. Larry mentioned how he had
once requested his AC to be fixed and this person just came in and stared at it. Everyone was on a rant, except Jack, who was
quiet as usual.
Gwyn handed out pizza, which all
the residents accepted with great enthusiasm. Fran arrived and I asked if she
had the beer with her, considering she was getting the drinks! What she did have was ‘Diet Coke’ and some flavored sparkling water that was quite
flavorful. With pizza in the house, it
was only a matter of time before we started the discussion on Chicago vs New
York style pizza. I personally prefer
the NY style and mentioned that to Elmer, who is a New Yorker. I said that it must be the water that makes it
unique. But what was truly outstanding were
Gwyn’s cookies. She really does a great
job of remembering and celebrating birthdays and I have always seen her get
cookies on these occasions. It was time
for Jack to cut the cake and even in the absence of a candle, I told him to
make a wish. After that we all sang “Happy Birthday”, with Jack joining in
as well. Larry mentioned how they had
gotten ice cream on Jack’s actual birthday a few days ago – “Butter pecan”, he proclaimed.
Next, Gwyn gave Jack his
presents, including Bible themed word search books and Jack loved them. Gwyn said that she had almost picked
crossword ones by mistake, knowing that Jack dislikes crosswords. Larry was in good voice this evening and said
that he was getting more religious with age.
He had given up meat and was strictly vegetarian for the last 4
months. He said that he got his protein
from whey powder and cottage cheese and felt great. He mentioned that he had been close to death
3 times, including last month when he had congenital heart failure and came
within 5 minutes of dying. But it was
not all glum chat as he then told us about some lunch cruise that he was going
on next week. It was organized by
Lakeview Nursing and he recalled with fondness the last time he had been on
that cruise, back in 2010. He told us
that he had been a fisherman for 20 years and so used to water. But the cruise was the first time that he had
felt as if he had been “floating in air”. Plus he had enjoyed watching the skyline, a
view he had never bothered appreciating during his time as a fisherman. I asked him to tell us more about his fishing
days and we learned that he had owned 4 tugs and employed 36 people, only
hiring a “bad seed” once.
In the meanwhile Jack was showing
Gwyn some old photographs, but then he soon collected his presents and left as
Gwyn put all the cookies in zip lock bags for folks to take with them. One
lady came over to see what was going on and Elmer gave her his cookies. I enjoy needling him and said that he wouldn't have given his cookies to a guy! He departed soon thereafter, but not before
taking my email address, saying that he was member of a law firm who could
offer Chicago Cares “pro bono”
services. I asked Jim if he was excited
for the upcoming football season and he said that he wasn’t sure about the
backup ‘Quarterback’. I said that the
team had a serious issue if they were worrying about things like that. I left after a wonderful evening, reflecting
on what a fantastic person Gwyn is. It
wasn’t about the food or the presents but the fact that she makes the residents
feel like she genuinely cares about them and their special days. For a birthday is about being with people like
that. It always is.
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