I led a tour of Baltimore city for 3 ladies including Helen, who lives in a retirement
high-rise, with a lovely view, near Baltimore. After the tour, she insists on treating us all to lunch.
On our way to the restaurant, she won't let me take her hand or assist her while walking across the street, since "that's for old people." Helen is 96.
She writes original plays for the residents to perform. But many of
the "actors" can't remember their lines, and when I ask if they may ad lib, Helen says, "Oh, no! I don't want anyone ad libbing." So she contrives ways to write the lines on props. For
instance, she might write the line on a piece of paper that she glues to a book that the actor carries across
the stage. Of course, there's got to be a reason why that actor is carrying a book, so that's written into the script, too. One time, she glued the cheat sheet on a monster-sized chocolate chip cookie!
Of course, she has to make the cookie fit into the story.
Helen was a school teacher. When a kid misbehaved, (at that time,
whispering was misbehaving!), Helen's remedy was to pinch the kid, hard,
in a vulnerable spot at the back of his neck...
Boy, have times, and kids, changed!
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