by
Fred McCaleb
I will try to report a little about what I have learned about people living
here.
One man at the end of this end was put in here after he slept day and night
after drinking some alcohol. Put in for safety. His 3 sisters are faithful to
come and see him every day and bring him cheer. He eats with me but doesn’t
say much. He is about 68 years old.
A real slim old lady rooms across the hall from him. She never bothers anyone. I
say Hi to her and ask her how she is doing. She always says she is doing just
fine. She didn’t seem to eat as much as she should at first but seems to eat
ok now.
The next lady in the room next to the man that eats with me is nervous and sickly.
She eats a quart of ice about every 40 minutes or an hour. First I ever saw
anyone do that. I told her she would freeze herself to death. She didn’t pay
much attention. She is getting more complaining of health problems every day.
She asks for special things to eat. She got a cart to roll to walk and rolls it
real fast.
On the next room the other side of the hall is a man and woman from the other
side of the isle living together. He is an electrician from around here and
from
has 2 wives still living, went broke in business and is 88 years old. Live in
is the daughter of a Methodist preacher. She is having to lift him up from
table now. She can’t hear very much except with hearing aid. He claims he has
always been religious. Told some of us at AARP that he was same as Christ. Live
in walks by herself now. She seems to be true to him.
The next room up is the one legged lady that travels fast in a wheel chair and
lived next to my wife. She is a good lady as far as I can tell. She plays rook
with us sometimes and has her right mind. Her son and daughter in law come to
see her pretty often. Her son planted the pretty flowers next to her and my
wife’s room.
The next room on my side contains the one elected Queen last year. She is hard
of hearing and I have a hard time talking to her. She is sort of like my wife
on eating cereal part of the time. Her sister and brother in law come to
see her every few days. They don’t have any trouble talking.
Mr. and Mrs. that used to run Anderson Hardware living in my wife Bettie’s old
room. They are both OK mentally but older than me by two years. I enjoy talking
to them .They both went to college and met teaching school in Miss. Mr. told me
about Indians that used to be in the part of Miss. Where he lived. It didn’t
mention Indians there when I studied history in Miss. Mrs. Is a daughter of A.
M. Nix that used to be a Baptist preacher at
places. She said he was about halfway a Primitive Baptist like my Grand Pa
Hallmark was. He preached hell fire and damnation sometimes when I heard him.
The next room on left is the one that I stay in. I have my troubles. Can’t
sleep at night very well. Doesn’t seem to hurt me very much to turn and toss
in the bed all night and not sleeping. I can sleep pretty good in a chair made
to relax in with my feet on the floor but don’t do too well with it raised.
Don’t complain too much about eating, but eat too much. Can’t sleep if
anything is making a noise at night. Guess I am too sensitive about that but
don’t seem to be able to help my sensitivities.
Next two rooms on the right have had a door cut in wall between. A Mr. and Mrs.
Live in them. The wife has a power vehicle to move around in. The husband is
sort of on the sick side and has a wheelchair. She pushes him wherever they go
with her power machine. He seemed to be bad sick when arriving here. Was very
nervous but somewhat better now. They always wave at me at meals. That’s all
I know about them.
Next on the left up from me is a Mrs. That has a son that runs the Frog Level
Internet. He is a very bright son. I once was in his net. Stayed in it a year
or two. Bought my first hard drive from him. His mother just barely can walk
slowly. She had a bad swelling In her ankle, but that is about gone. They give
her a dose of anti swelling medicine sometimes and that makes her feel bad. She
is the slowest walker on the place but doesn’t like to admit she needs wheel
chair. She has one that was her mothers but hates to use it. I get her walker
to her after she eats every day. She doesn’t understand me too well.
The next on left is a woman that has gone crazy from smoking cigarettes. A
friend of mine says it is from sleeping pills. She was smoking 10 or more
cigarettes a day out on the porch when me and friend were out there. Said it
wasn’t hurting her. She didn’t have much memory then. Said she was going
back to her hometown to her house. My friend didn’t convince her that it had
been sold. Finally her sister told her it was sold. She still thought that she
could go back. After that she went to sleeping all time and not coming out to
smoke. Her sister said she gave the last two packs to her and said keep them.
At the first of this week she slipped off from here and started walking, got on
highway 43 and cops brought her back. Her sister came and got her and took her
to
not.
Next room on right is deformed sons. He is in a wheelchair all time now. The
crew pets him. He is getting very fat in the belly. They give him a coca cola
once or twice a day. He talks by sign language. He always gets what he wants.
He won’t eat food with any lumps in it. Takes him a long time to eat but he
always gets enough. He has a pretty good mind.
Can solve a certain type of crossword puzzle. He smiles at you when you do what
he wants. Quarrels at you and makes a big noise if things don’t suit him.
The last ones on the left side are the couple from Winfield. Her husband has
some kind of disease that mind gradually goes bad in old age. She is somewhat
disabled herself and has to wear an oxygen mask. He was doing pretty good a
couple of years ago when I came. Would join in church songs sometimes. Was very
friendly and named same last name as a teacher I used to have at
is a clay artist and has made many beautiful things from clay. They are a very
friendly family. He got to where she could not even get him to the dining hall
lately and she had to send him to the hospital In Winfield. Hope he improves
and gets to come back.
The last one on the right on my end is hard to describe. She had many gripes
about the place when I came. About 6 months ago she was so fed up with
everything that she decided to starve herself to death. Mrs. Below me had the
same idea. Mrs. Below me left .I don’t know if she starved or not. This one
kept dieting for about a month. I told her she had better start eating if she
didn’t want to starve to death. She started eating a little 3 or 4 days later
and survived. She’s not as alert as she was before.
I will start on the aisle to the left today. The first room contains a lady that
tries to be real friendly. She is in the middle 90s and used to shake hands with
me before she fell and broke her hip. She stayed in the hospital about 2 or 3
months but finally came back. They roll her in a wheel chair part of the time
and let her walk part of the time. When walking she groans about every step.
She still has her mind more or less. She always eats real well. She is one of
the few that have survived hip fractures.
The second room on the right houses a blind lady. Her sister comes and helps her
eat part of the time. Some of the time she eats at a table in the dining hall.
She ate at the other end of my table for a month or two. She needs to be told
where she can find things to eat. I tried to help her find things she had
missed at end of meal. Some days she is feeling bad and doesn’t want to eat
at all. The aids just take her back to her room. I feel sorry for her. They
walk her to eat sometimes. She tries to walk around sometimes and has her hands
in front of her. She can’t find anything.
The first one on the left past laundry room is a woman in 60s with mental
degeneration. She doesn’t know where she is, where her room is or anything.
She is one of the best dancers on the place. The one on the other end that
sleeps with his girlfriend danced with her and he is a good dancer. She had a
bowel movement in the middle of her bedroom floor one day. They don’t let her
outside for feat she might walk off. She generally smiles at me when I wave at
her.
The next one on the right is real reserved. She speaks to very few people and
seems to not trust many of them. I judge to be in the high 80s. She was in the
hospital for a while back in the spring. When the aid tried to get her to walk
she told her she would see her in hell. But they got her to walk anyhow. She
goes to her room when meals are over and stays there generally to mealtime
again. I believe it would help her if she would figure that everyone liked her.
The next one on the left is a comparatively new lady that is 90 and in a wheel
chair. She is friendly and rolls her own wheel chair most of the time. She
smiles every time I speak to her. She is trying to do the best she can. Eats
what she wants of most every meal. I believe she thinks that everyone likes
her. I believe she may have some similarities in disposition to me.
The next one on the right is a relative new lady I don’t really know. She
seems to be happy eating in the dining hall. Comes in a walker roller and has
trouble getting out but leaves in a fast pace. Seems to me she walks to fast
for her age. I tried to talk to her once. She finally gave me her name which I
promptly forgot. She didn’t seem to hear too well.
If I had advice it would be to slow down and be lazy.
The next one on the left can communicate with one, play cards, do most anything
and she has had a triple bypass and the Dr. didn’t give her long to live. She
has already lived 2 or 3 years and looks as if she may live a few more. She eats
well and with 3 other ladies that can communicate. She is like me she likes to
eat too well. I play cards when she is playing sometimes. She told me not to
get mad if I lose and I haven’t got angry a time yet.
The next one on the right is a one that I knew the family she married into. Her
husbands dad was a farm man under
dad’s cotton land and had my dad plow up part of it. That made my dad angry.
Her husband used to tell me hello at eating place. He died a year or two ago.
She is in a wheel chair most of the time.
They have to keep her tied down so she will not fall out. She is friendly and
doesn’t talk unless asked something. Aids have walked her a small amount.
Some of her husbands brothers and sisters went to school with me at Kirkland Jr
Hi.
The next one on the left is a man. He was a salesman and worked 2 jobs most of
his life before having a stroke. He knew a lot of the people in the county that
I didn’t know and a few that I did. I enjoy talking to him. He is like my wife
on the food. Not much of it any good. He knows about some of the businesses I
knew about. Like at Hubbardville. He said working 2 jobs before he had stroke
caused him to have it. He didn’t know about the saving power of aspirin
before stroke. He is a big sportsman. To me the one that wins is the best.
The next one on the right is a lady that lived up the road about 2 miles from
me. She is one of the ones still in pretty good health at 96 or 97. I used to
meet her and husband walking the road in her neighborhood. She eats pretty good
at the table. It takes her about 3 tries to get up and into her walker. Her
daughter helps her one day and stepdaughter the next day. She didn’t want to
be moved up to a closer room. Said the ones up there died quicker. She may make
it to 100.
The next one on the left is a famous one. She apparently has plenty of money.
She doesn’t seem to like the food here too well either. She has not eaten
here more than a tenth of the time. Her husband was some one associated with
foot ball coaching at the
of weeks. I don’t know if she is with her daughter or sick. I guess she is
still paying for her room. She always spoke to me. Some said she wasn’t
friendly. I assume everyone is friendly whether they are or not.
The next room on the right is a woman or about 96 or 97 years herself. She
always walks to the dining hall with a walker. She didn’t want up front
either. She eats with 3 others she can talk to. She has a daughter and a sister
that come to see her very often. They don’t help her get up and in and out of
walker. She is a real old timer. She takes the Birmingham News and reads that
part of the day. She doesn’t seem to worry when it doesn’t get to her room
on time. Maybe not worrying has helped her to live a long life.
The next one on the left is the wife of a Chiropractor of Winfield, Al. Her
Daughter comes to see her nearly every day. She is Hard of hearing but very
friendly. Her daughter shouts at her and she can hear that. If she could hear
she would be able to talk to one. I wish she could. Her daughter said she could
tell a wonderful story of history.
The last one on the right is a man that has been here many years. He was 97 this
year. He always rolls his walker like mine to meals. Puts it aside outside and
walks on in to the first table. He comes to all the bingo games and generally
wins one or more tickets. He talks if you ask him something and he hears it. He
is a little hard of hearing. Everyone there thinks he is a great man. He has
some automatic lifts in his room.
The last one on the left is a woman. She used to be a school teacher. My man
friend said she was very smart in her youth. Her son runs a business across
road from college. He seems to be doing fairly well. He comes to see her on
Sunday. She has had a bunch of operations that have left her nearly without a
mind. Sometimes she doesn’t know where her room is. She has been known to go
in someone else’s room and start taking off her shoes. I was walking down at
her end of hall one day and she came out of one of the rooms on her right
stripped from waist on down. I told her that her room was on the left. That
didn’t excite me. I felt sorry for her.
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