Visiting Michael.

This morning, I took a 98 year old family friend, whom I will call Mary, to visit my pal Michael. Despite her poor eyesight, (she’s always refused to wear glasses),  I thought she would enjoy, his lovely town garden and the huge banana tree in his living room. Mary has been living in a nursing home, ( she refers to it as, ‘This Establishment') for many years, and increasingly loathes it. As she no longer has family and only a couple of loyal visitors, she is, understandably, lonely

However she is well looked after in ‘The Establishment’ . Kept clean, and fed..clothes laundered, nails painted red, hair cut and curled.  Sunday Mass is held in one of the downstairs rooms…which she enjoys although she is practically deaf.  She’s never watched TV…as that is what lesser mortals do, and can barely hear the radio.as the Hearing Aid for her ‘good’ ear  spends most of its time ‘lost’ in her pointless handbag.

After some slow maneuvering , we sat out in Michael’s garden, admiring the impressive vine, figs, olive and lemon trees, strawberries, veg and flowers, all thriving in the South East of Ireland. The conversation that ensued can best be described as Beckett-tian but the main thing was that Mary enjoyed the outing and meeting Michael.

As we drove off, she said to me, ‘ What a truly charming person she is. Such a lovely woman. I’d love to visit her again.’

‘Michael’s a man !! ’ I corrected emphatically. ‘A six foot tall man!! 
‘Yes I know,’ replied Mary. ‘I loved her roses. I’d love to visit her again.’

KB…25th July. 2022

PS. My illustration looks nothing like Michael's garden