Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A poem from Bette

I'd like to share a poem written by Bette, (pronounced Betty) a student turned friend, from my creative writing class.

OLD GUYS

There are lots of us out there
Off the charts, out of the loop
Too old to be counted anywhere
Surprise! We're quite a group!

Most of us have our marbles,
Most of us drive and are well.
We read and speak, don't garble
Most of us don't need what they sell.

TV appeals to Baby Boomers
Not to their ancient folks.
You just listen to the rumors.
We know, we've heard their jokes.

The ads forget us after 70
The charts don't go that high.
We'll start our own assembly
Only 80+ need apply.

Bette fell and broke her leg, completely severed the femur in two. She was in her garage when this happened and lay helpless for over 2 hours in excruciating pain, almost to the point of passing out. She realized she had to do something and crawled to grab a long pole (some sort of weeding tool) and then crawled to grab a bamboo stick and fastened the 2 together so she could reach the button to open the garage door. She yelled for almost another hour until her neighbor heard her screams and called 911. She had surgery and is now recovering in the hospital. I spent some time with her yesterday and even though she was medicated and exhausted, she still wanted to talk about writing and poetry. She shared a few poems with me, I made copies of them and wanted to post this one on here. She's one of the most inspiring people I have ever met and I am learning so much from her.

Based on her inventive way of opening the garage door, I nicknamed her MacGyver and she loves it. Her son and daughter in law came by while I was still visiting and she proudly told them her new name and they got quite a kick out of it too. She used to love the TV show and what's funny is so did my Grandmother! My Grandma also loved Simon & Simon and if you happened to be on the phone with her when that show started she'd say, "Oh honey I've got to go. My boys are here!" (meaning they are on the television in her living room.)

Now that I think about it, I bet she had a crush on them.

5 comments:

Gberger said...

She sounds like a real pistol - I love her poem! Hope that her recovery is steady and pain-free. Her resourcefulness and spirit are inspiring.

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Anonymous said...

I'm curious how she opens the garage door?? Praying for your requests.

Me said...

She used the pole and stick together, to reach the little button on the wall inside the garage that opens and closes it. She couldn't stand or even sit up. Very resourceful!

Clippy Mat said...

that's some kinda woman. Great story. Hope she gets well soon, fiesty gal.
:-)