Point of View

Table for Five

I met Pam, the activities director of the veteran’s hospital, at ten sharp in the middle of directing a very intense game of bingo in Liberty Hall. Each weekend the residents gather and part take in a very heated battle of this ever-popular senior sport for a chance to win small prizes and have a few laughs. Today Pam and I planned a small outing with a few of the more mobile residents to my third place for coffee and treats. While she finished up with the bingo tournament, I went and made my rounds to a few of the other residents. I had promised Stewart, a Vietnam veteran, a picture of the US Airways Cardinal’s plane and had a framed print of me and Dory from last week’s parade I wanted to get to her. Along the way I also wanted to stop in and visit a new friend of mine, Peter Italiano, whom I found in the recreation room watching an old western. What a great name Pete has I thought when we first met. There is no doubting his heritage, and he is Italian through and through. Pete is an old WW II veteran who served in the Marines and moved here from Philadelphia in 2005. His toothless grin is priceless and he’s always freshly shaved when I see him. It’s great fun to walk in and greet him in our native Italian language and have him understand and respond. It gets the staff talking as they had no idea he spoke Italian. During our visit the resident priest stopped by and offered Pete Holy Communion which we both took part in. I was shocked that the building didn’t collapse as it has been quite some time since I received communion. I performed the sign of the cross and shared in a small hale Mary with Pete, the extent of my religious ceremony and went back to the western on the television. I have to laugh at these old westerns and Hollywood’s poor depiction of the Native Americans as played by all white actors. But, Pete was enjoying the movie and that’s all that mattered.
I left Pete to finish his movie and made my way to present Dory with her framed picture. She was still in bed, her sister in for a visit, when I entered her room. I reintroduced myself to Dory and told her I had something to add to her room. She was very gracious and seeing her face light up made it all worth while. She promised to keep it near and warned the duty nurse to keep their hands off from now on. The warmth of my face must have been apparent as the room burst into laughter with Dory’s quick-wit and devilish grin. It was just the beginning for me as I would soon discover throughout the day. I composed my embarrassment and reminded Dory that today was the coffee house trip and that we would be gathering out front. Just about that time, Pam found me and asked if I would help her get George and Bill rounded up while she brought the van around front. George is a very alert and friendly soul who served in the Navy and wears big rimmed glasses and an even bigger smile. He is quiet in nature but always willing to add to our conversations no matter the topic. He epitomizes the grandfather persona to the letter and always offers a welcoming hand shake. Bill, another Navy man always introduces himself as Bill, the kind you don’t have to pay and was an engineer for an aviation company after the war. Bill is a wander and quite an expert at sneaking off to charm the nurses or any pretty young lady that crosses his path.
We arrived at Starbucks and were seated by the wonderful staff that had a table reserved for the five of us. For me, it was like a scene out of an old mafia movie where the gang comes into a crowded restaurant and is immediately seated. And lucky for us, as my little Starbucks was bustling with coffee crazed customers. Daniel, the store manager welcomed me and my extended family like royalty and took everyone’s order while we got comfortable. I went for a copy of the morning paper to help get the conversations going, but the table took on a life of its own and soon we were all enjoying our warm beverages and pastries. I took a few more jabs from Pam about how Dory seemed to swoon about when I was around her and it made me think of a conversation I had with a friend about if I was making a difference in the world. I think I could finally admit that I was making someone’s life a little more pleasant and I took comfort in that feeling…if only for a moment.
Before long, the time had come to get everyone back home and ready for lunch and we gathered up our merry group and headed back to the veteran’s center. Lisa, one of the nurses greeted us upon our return and got an earful from Dory as we walked her back to her room. I of course received more jabs from the nurses along with some “oohs” and “ahs” before making my way home, promising the residents that I would return to visit on thanksgiving. During my ride home, the question of was I making a difference returned to my head and by the time I pulled into my driveway I concluded that it was them making the difference for me. Again, I took comfort.