Friday, June 20, 2008
Everytime I hear someone on a commercial mention "age-defying makeup", I hear "age-defining makeup", and I wonder why anyone would want that.
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Fireflies! Lightning bugs! My front yard is full of them, finally!
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I'm tired. Today I volunteered at a huge local nursing home/rehab center, from 2 'til 8 pm, at an open house to celebrate their 15th anniversary. They had a petting zoo that included a baby kangaroo in a pouch that you could hold, goats and sheep and a huge tortoise, lemurs, and an alligator that you couldn't hold, pony rides, carnival games, a bouncy thingy, three stages with entertainment, and lots of food. The entertainment included a crooner, a pair of very impressive and entertaining jugglers, a caricaturist (who was excellent), and a band, "The big Smoothies".
The free food included fried dough, hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork, five different formats of ice cream, bags of various munchies, lollipops, sno-cones, cotton candy, four or five kinds of drinks, and possibly other stuff I didn't find. Everything was free to everyone.
The Big Smoothies were fantastic. I can't believe I've never heard of them before. Eight members. It so happened that the frontsman and lead singer, Daryl Magill, is also the activities director at the home. He has enormous energy, one of those people who really works the crowd. (And he makes a credible Tina Turner.) They did two outdoor shows, and had 90 year-olds dancing in their walkers with 60s, 70s, and motown music. The link above has their schedule, and I intend to see them again. They'll be at the Rondout for the fireworks. (Local folks - they'll be free outdoors at Ten Broeck Commons Wednesday evenings starting July 9, through July and August. I don't know what time. Daryl said "beneath the stars", but the old folks go to bed early, so I don't know. Anyway, when I figure it out, you'll see me there.)
When I first arrived, I was assigned to the main activities room, where the crooner (Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra standards) was singing. My job was to watch for any residents who looked restless, and ask them if they wanted to leave, and escort or wheel them to wherever they wanted to go. A few fell asleep, but no one looked restless. I would have been. The singer was ok, except for an unfortunate habit of being off key on every sustained note.
Then I pushed ladies in wheelchairs to whatever activity they wanted to visit, chatted with them and made sure they were comfortable, ran messages back and forth between the kitchen and various food stands, and often just stood around enjoying the shows and the crowds. And there were crowds! Thousands of people.
About 6:30 pm the guy currently on the cotton candy machine needed a break and I was asked to take over. I'd always wanted to do that! Yeah! It was a big industrial model with a hood that you had to reach into with the paper cones, and you spin the cone in your fingers as you go around the inside, to spool up the sugar webs. My arms aren't very long, so to do it right I had to stand pretty close to the opening (they gave me two milk crates to stand on) and reach way in to get all the way to the back, with my head almost inside the hood.
I had a blast! But, well, let's just say cotton candy makes a very good hair spray. Holds like AquaNet. Until it rains. Then you get a sugar helmet.
It didn't really rain. There were just a few sprinkles, the kind that dry on the parking lot as fast as they fall. We had about five minutes worth of sprinkle during The Big Smoothies' second set, and suddenly about 50 ladies in wheelchairs demanded to be taken inside, immediately. The forces were mobilized. I took one lady in, and when I returned for another, they were all in. That's one of the most impressive things about this home - the staff. They've got enough people, and they all work together when something needs to happen.
So, I went from youngsters on Tuesday to oldsters today, and I enjoyed both.
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