Cheating at the Nursing Home!

As a teacher, we are trained to look for signs of cheating. I will admit that cheating is no longer what it used to be. With the new technology, students have so many ways of cheating. I read an article the other day from a high school teacher. He now has to have a different test for each of his sections of classes (I think he was a math teacher) because the kids are making pictures of the test on their cell phones and sending it to their friends in other sections. Technology has certainly changed cheating. But, that is not what my Blog is about today- I am going to tell you a story about cheating in the nursing home, of all places.
The other day I took MaMa to visit PaPa at the nursing home. He was SOUND asleep, and I could not even get him to wake up. I left MaMa sitting on the sofa in the T.V. room with PaPa and I walked across and sat in the dining area. The physical therapist came in (I believe that was her position) to visit one of the other residents. This gentleman is almost stooped over double, and he shuffles in baby steps when he walks. Anyway, the therapist gave the man a piece of wood that had nuts and bolts in holes. She told him that she wanted to see how many of the bolts he could remove from the piece of wood. She then left him, telling him that she would be back in a few minutes. The little old man waited until she had cleared the doorway, got up, shuffled across the floor to an elderly lady in a wheelchair, handed her the board, waited until she had removed the bolts, and then took it and shuffled back to his chair, smiling all the way. Do you think I was going to tell on him???? No way- I actually thought that he was pretty smart for an Alzheimer’s patient! Nursing home humor, you got to have it to survive.

The Wedding of the Century

Okay, I know my multitudes of readers are anxiously awaiting my post on the wedding of the year- or should I say CENTURY??? Anyway, the wedding was- let me say, an event. The funny thing to me is that it was treated just like the wedding of two twenty-five year olds- all the traditions were in place (except I don’t think there was a garter- or at least I hope there wasn’t!). Aunt Marie would not allow Paul to see her on the wedding day. Aunt Marie was giddy- and Paul, well, Paul was in love. We all liked Paul. He is a very nice man. His family seemed to be very nice, as well. They certainly turned out to support him. Many of his relatives drove in from New York, as well as some of his co-workers. The church was packed- at least 200 in attendance. I was drafted to be a “bridesmaid” because someone got sick. It was an experience. I proudly walked the aisle, something I haven’t done in decades. The photographer told every one to smile, while he was taking pictures- that he wanted to see teeth- of course I could not resist and blurted out- “You mean dentures?” The reception was lovely, with a delicious cake. It is just too hard to tell the whole story on a blog- it would take something like a book, I think. Oh yes, Paul took Aunt Marie 4-wheeler riding on Wednesday before the wedding. She said they went all up and down the trails at his son’s house. I asked if she wore a helmet- she said, “No, but I needed one!”

Big Black Dog Syndrome

At the first of October, when I moved back into this building, I changed my route to work. I had been going through Bush Hills to get to the Lincoln building, but now that we are back at Wilkerson, I get off on the Arkadelphia Road exit. The first morning that I came back, when I pulled up to the light at the exit, sitting to my left side on the grassy medium, was this really cute, big, black dog. He (it looks like a "He") had curly hair, almost like dread locks, and huge eyes- I said, and yes, I said this out loud in the car by myself- "You better find you somewhere else to go little doggie, because if you stay in this place, you will be dead by afternoon." That was 5 months ago- guess what, "Arky", as I refer to him, is still happily living on the green grass at the Arkadelphia Road exit. I can hardly believe it when he is there every morning. He has stolen my heart, along with the hearts of many kind people. He is fed every morning by at least a dozen or more kind people (and, yes, I add to that on occasion). When I pull up to the light I take inventory on his food. Some mornings he has bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits from McDonald's, some mornings he has traditional dog food, lovingly placed in a pan. One Monday he had the left-overs from a wedding, or funeral- not certain as there was no cake. Needless to say, Arky has gained about 25 pounds since I have been watching him. I am not certain if he would come to you or not- and I have discussed "rescuing" him, but his fate at my house would certainly not include biscuits and gravy from McDonald's. People that take the Arkadelphia route to work have learned to watch for cars pulling over to feed Arky. You know, I guess TEARS would come get him, but his little doggie life would not be as happy. I fear that one morning I will pull up and Arky will be gone, or worse yet, dead in the road. Watching him has been one of the highlights of my drive to work. So, if you are ever bored, take a trip to the Arkadelphia Road exit and check on Arky. He will make you smile.

P.S.- The title of the post came while I was searching for a picture of a big black dog (I could not find one that had hair like Arky). Did you know that big, black dogs are the least likely to be adopted from a shelter- interesting.

Happy Birthday, Patsy and Welcome Baby Maddox

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, but she was born in 1942. She is almost 12 years older than me. My sister married at the old age of 18, meaning that I can't even remember life at home with my sister. All that aside, I can't imagine life without my sister. I guess the reason I am saying this is because this week we found out that Brian and Tina Maddox are going to have a baby! Needless to say, this was a surprise to all of us. Tina has kept the "secret" for 17 weeks, due to the fact that she has had some on again and off again problems. The doctor seems to think everything has settled- so we get to enjoy a brief for us, but long for Tina pregnancy. How does this tie in with Patsy? Well, Brian and Tina have 1 child, 13 year old Sydney. Baby Maddox and Syd are going to be separated by about 14 years. Will they be close?-well, Syd will find great joy in baby, and then Syd is going to do all of the grown-up stuff, and baby will probably be a nuisance. Then Syd will grow up, and baby will grow up, and they will develop a bond that only siblings can know or understand. They may not share some of the things that children born closer together share, but that is okay. They will have a different relationship, one not formed in the sand box, but one formed in the heart. So to Patsy, Happy Birthday, Sister, and to Sydney, congratulations on baby Maddox. I pray that you will have the opportunity to share many happy moments.