Eye of the Hurricane (Eleanor and Elliott)

The weather's getting a lot nicer, curves are flattening, states are easing up on their lockdowns, and everybody wants to spend time outside. However, there's still too much risk for things to go back to the way they are before. Masks should still be worn, social distancing should be maintained, and travel should be limited to the essential (and essential travel means different things to different people.) We're in the eye of the hurricane right now, and it's more important than ever to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs.

Eleanor Kazdan
04.25.2019
Moving
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be living in the U.S. I grew up in Toronto. My parents were both from Jewish immigrant families. My mother’s family settled in Montreal. My father’s family settled in New York City but moved to Toronto when he was 1 year old. I was a dyed-in-the-wool Canadian girl, and quite proud of my country. My husband was born in Toronto but grew up in Detroit. He moved back to Toronto in the ’70s to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam war.
So Canadian life went on. School, college, marriage, children. My daughter was born in Toronto and 8 months later we moved to Montreal for my husband’s job. My son was born in Montreal. Life was cozy. But things don’t stay the same for long.
One day Gary came home from work and announced that his company would be moving to New Jersey. He was one of just a few people who was asked to move with them. All of the other hundreds of employees were let go. I was happy for him but devastated at the same time. How could I leave my Canadian life? My friends, family, neighbors? It seemed overwhelming, especially with 2 babies. On the other hand, it seemed like an interesting thing to do for a few years. That few years stretched to 5, then 10, 20, 30! Another lifetime! It has now been 36 years. People sometimes ask me if I miss Canada, or if I plan to move back. “No, I don’t,” I say. The U.S. has become my home.

Elliott Doomes
04.11.2019 
Molehill to a Mountain
I’m going to attempt a little humor, but then again maybe not.
[I was] standing on the crowded subway platform [with the] doors opening and everybody rushing in. It was so packed that people literally had to squeeze by one another. One gentleman accidentally bumped the guy in front of him. He politely said, “Excuse me, sir.” The gentleman who was bumped then turns with an angry hostile stare in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” he said angrily. “Only one of us can occupy this spot at a time. As big as I am you couldn’t see me? Why didn’t you watch where you’re going? Am I that small?”
The gentleman who accidentally bumped this guy slid away into the crowd with a look of fear on his brow. The abuser, the abusive person, took nothing and made it something that it ain’t.
So remember: think before you speak or become confrontational over nothing. Do not take nothing and make it something that it ain’t.

You can share your older buds' stories through our portal right here, and you can volunteer as a transcriber (completely remotely) by emailing us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. If you're an older bud yourself, you can share your story through this portal right here. And if you're just plain passionate about supporting older buds and ending senior isolation, then like us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share links to your favorite stories. And check us out on 6ABC news, too.
Also, not all of these Senior Selfies were taken within the past few weeks. Some of them were from before the lockdowns. So if you're wondering why dome of the older buds are surrounded by other people with no masks, that's why.
Curated by Caitlin Cieri