Time Crunch (Brenda)

I bumped into an old friend of mine the other day, and we talked a bit about communications, storytelling, and World War II veterans. As we talked, he said that he only knew of four living veterans of World War II. I only know one. I know two former Japanese-American internees from World War II, but one of them was hospitalized a few months ago. That number will drop to one very soon. I also talked to an older bud who used to be involved in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival back in 2004; perhaps even earlier. I heard a good story from him, but I don't have permission to post it online yet. My aunt and uncle are in their late sixties, and it's getting harder and harder for them to come down to visit, or host visitors. A friend and I both talked about grandparents who had died, lost their memories, or both.

It hit me that life is short, and we don't know how much time we have with the people we love. I've said this over and over again on this blog, and I know this intellectually. But sometimes, you feel it more than know it. This is one of those days.

We need your help to end senior isolation. Our tenth anniversary celebration is coming up on November 8th, 10AM-4PM. You can donate here, and groups and families can get special rewards for contributing. If you have stories to share from the older buds in your life, please send them through this form.  I myself have posted stories about about targets, guns, potatoes, stubborn babies, and one about the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

And last but not least is a story to cool you down during the summer heat:

Brenda Scantlebury 

1.8.2015 

Winter’s Here 

Winter’s here, it’s back again! As a child, I loved Winter! The snow, cold winds and making snow angels and snowmen! I remember my mama making Snow Crème! She would put a big pot on the fire escape! We lived in an apartment building on the fourth (4th) floor. The big pot would catch snow flakes. Mama would take in the pot after it was filled. She would add vanilla flavor or lemon, some sugar and nutmeg. My brother, who we called “Butch” and I waited with expectation the delightful treat. Our mother would serve it in dessert dishes like we were in a restaurant! Seeing WINTER return, puts me in remembrance of my mom and “Snow Crème!”

Thanks again for reading. Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other.

Curated by Caitlin Cieri