Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2014; 6:30-8:00 pm
As much as I disliked it, this
was going to be the final issue of ‘As We
See It’ and today was our first working session for it. I arrived to see that Gwyn was already there
and in conversation with Jim, Jack, Larry and Elmer. There were some other volunteers present,
including Fran. We discussed if there
was any way for us to salvage this project by getting Chicago Cares to print
the issues and Gwyn once again said that while they were supportive, there wasn’t
enough time from when she finished the issue, to its printing through Chicago
Cares and then having it delivered over here.
Plus it was clear that the support from Lakeview Nursing was minimal and
so even if we could somehow make it work, there may be other hurdles. If we wanted to continue our involvement over
here in this time slot, then it was incumbent upon us to come up with an
idea. Gwyn said that Chicago Cares was
supportive of a ‘Game Night’ type of
project to replace this one, which may be a direction we go in. In the meanwhile there were 5 more sessions
left and the last one would be our “holiday
party”.
 |
| I had never heard of a 'Sadie Hawkins Day'! |
We started as usual by discussing
the unique “holidays” that were
coming up in November and December, forgoing the usual ‘Thanksgiving’ and ‘Christmas’. I said that nowadays every day has something
associated with food, for example there are days like ‘Chocolate Milkshake Day’!
If nothing else, we could fill up the calendar with those days. But in the meanwhile we did have some other
ones like, ‘Boxing Day’, ‘Pearl Harbor Day’ and ‘Time Change Day’. Elmer then brought up ‘Sadie Hawkins Day’, something I had never heard of. Apparently, it is a day when the girl is
supposed to ask a guy out. What! Now that’s my kind of day and I cursed myself
for never having heard of it. I thanked
Elmer for educating me saying that it was no wonder that he would remember
something like that. There was some
confusion on the exact date, with November 3rd and 17th
being suggested. I said it didn't matter
and I would wear my suit on both of those days.
In fact, to be safe I would wear my suit the entire month of November! Gwyn then mentioned how on February 29th
a girl could ask a guy to marry her and if he refused, he had to do so by
buying her a skirt. Gwyn said that she
had tried it several times but was still waiting on a skirt.
We then discussed other things
like ‘McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade’
and my experience of carrying the balloon last year. Then other ideas came up like the ‘Lights Festival’ on Michigan Avenue, ‘Kris Kringle Market’, ‘Zoo Lights’ etc. As these were being recounted, I realized
just how much I loved the holiday season.
It seemed like we had a lot of “days”
to choose from and so shifted our attention to restaurant review. We discussed some of the local ones,
including ‘Paddy Longs’ and their
infamous “Bacon Bomb”. Gwyn looked it up and I said that all of us
combined would not be able to finish it.
Larry begged to differ and said that he could polish off a 4 pound steak
during his younger days and he could give it a go!
Next was the book review and this
month’s selection was “The Drop”. Elmer said that he had read it and was
thinking of selling it off, which probably said a lot about it. For the interview I said that since it was
the final issue, how about we interview the folks who have been doing this for
all these years – Jack, Jim and Larry. Jim said that he had nothing good to say about this place and if he gave an
interview, Gwyn would have to redact a lot of things with a black pen! I said that a question like “Jim, what is your favorite thing about
Lakeview Nursing” would probably have nothing but black lines. Larry suggested that we interview some new "therapy doctor" and Elmer seconded that immediately, saying that she was very
photogenic. I said that I had guessed as
much considering his enthusiasm. Man, I
am going to miss this banter.
Next we discussed the sports
section which dissolved into Larry and Jim criticizing the ‘Bears’ and their “pass-happy”
strategy. They both said that they had
no confidence whatsoever in the ‘QB’. Finally, we discussed the structure of the ‘Game Night’ project. I said that we should have one game that we
play together, though having multiple games does help attract people. Jim said that having prizes would definitely
get them “out of the woodwork”. I suggested a “trivia” type of game whereas others wanted a ‘Casino’ night...of course. We
still have 2 months to plan and I told Gwyn that I would try to come for each of
the remaining evenings. This is still my
favorite and since my first visit here, I have never left tired or unhappy, but I am sure I will be on the final day.
*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy
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