The elderly who looked at the sky
I recently saw an elderly American man wearing black pants and navy jumper sitting on a bench, staring into the distant sky. One can always feel when their time is to go. When it’s their time to go from earth, one would look back at what they did, and look forward to the place they go.
When I come here, I noticed many of the elderly do not exercise because of their old age. The room across from where I reside, I noticed there is an elderly woman whom I have never met, despite being here for a year now. I know it’s a woman because I can hear her from answering her visitor. There is only the sound of TV coming out from her room. Once you get old, the ability to hear decreases. Therefore the TV would be left on loud, and is audible from outside. She keeps raising her TV volume to listen.
There is an elderly, overweight eastern European man. He always sits by this one spot, barely getting there with his walking aid. He is there to smoke a cigarette. There is a basic manner on this area not to smoke indoors. Whenever he sits down with his cigarette and stares into the sky, there is a look of immense satisfaction on his face. Since he cannot smoke inside the apartments, he always smokes outside once or twice daily. Despite his poor health and barely able to move, he always sits by this area. So that those passing by wont smell the cigarette. But one day, I noticed he was not there anymore! So one evening, as I was walking, I noticed that he was getting somewhere with an automatic walk assist. Since it was hard for him to walk this far with the normal assistant, and because he didn’t want anyone to smell his cigarette, he decided to head out further and gotten an electric one. I see him during evenings, where he would be smoking his cigarette far away from the apartments. He has a look of satisfaction while far away from everyone, while staring into the sky.
One factor one must accept is loneliness and it applies to everyone who resides here. To overcome this, one has to make friends to have conversations, or have a hobby that one can keep persistently. However, even if this sounds good, for those who have limited mobility, it would be hard and limited.
There is a car in the guest parking every Friday and Saturday evenings.
It’s a small, black Toyota truck. There are many tools for construction on there. I think the man who owns the truck is in his 60s. I don’t know if he is visiting his parent, or family, I admire that he always does it. I know how hard it is to visit every week like that. I can honestly say that even just spending an evening like that, having a meal and small talks is so valuable. Whoever he is visiting, is very happy and lucky person during the weekends.
Loneliness, and when no one visits you anymore, and the loss of visitors, to unable to move, or drive at all, it is all eventually going to happen to the elderly. But as long as someone visits, calls, and even sending a mail is to have a happier ending in their life. The elderly, who looks into the sky and sits alone, need someone to hold their hand.
(November 2nd, 2013)
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The elderly who looked at the sky