Journal of a Sabbatical

June 12, 1999

senior living expo

Reading: Before the Dawn by Shimazaki Toson

What if they gave a senior living expo and nobody came?

Awhile back the woman who organized the Senior Living Expo in Malden had asked Martha if somebody could come talk about Purrfect Companions, which I said I'd do. Then it evolved from a talk to manning (personning? staffing?) a booth from 10 to 3. Not exactly my idea of how to spend a gorgeous Saturday, but I was already committed.

I got up bright and early, packed up my brochures and posters, and geared up for 5 hours of explaining Purrfect Companions. I found the Malden Cultural Center with no problem. There was plenty of parking. So far so good.

The hall was really small, and the way the booths were arranged around the edges of the room a senior citizen with the teeniest disability would have a hard time squeezing in edgewise. The chiropractor with his computerized machine to detect subluxations of the neck was up on a little stage behind the other booths. Anybody who wanted to get to him would have had to climb onto the stage. Three massage therapists were arranged with their massage tables near the door. There were representatives from the local mental health center, AARP, transportation companies, assisted living, Healthy Malden 2000 (which seemed to have to do with quitting smoking), home health care, holistic nutritionists, an acupuncturist, and me. All crowded in. I had to move my chair every time somebody wanted to use the rest room behind me.

Balloons were everywhere. Chocolate pretzel shaped cookies were on every table and in boxes by the kitchen. It looked like a kid's birthday party.

I hung my posters, arranged my brochures, and waited.

And waited.

I talked to the person from the mental health center, the acupuncturist, one of the massage therapists... giving them all the "cats are good for your health - elders need cats" spiel. A friend of one of the organizers had his subluxations analyzed and his spine adjusted then went on to each of the three massage therapists and the nutritionist in turn. He sampled everything. One of the massage therapists had an acupuncture treatment. The acupuncturist came over and talked to me about reincarnation and something having to do with energy and elephants being born that I did not understand at all.

I drank three cups of coffee.

I succumbed to the chocolate pretzel cookies and discovered I don't much like chocolate pretzel cookies.

The massage therapists worked on each other. The chiropractor left. The nutritionist handed out recipes. I talked to the AARP representative about adapting houses to people with arthritis. She had a suitcase full of faucets and light switches and stuff. I love gadgets.

The massage therapists massaged the mental health worker. The acupuncturist left. One of the home health aides went out to get a sandwich for lunch and sat outside to eat it. She found an elder walking by and invited her in. The woman visited each booth, collected literature, and left.

It got to be almost 1:00 PM. I couldn't stand it anymore. I left.

I got a certificate of appreciation for "making a difference in people's lives" for this.