Weekend Update: Wherein JoAnna Entertains at the Old Folks Home

This Saturday was the 9/11 Day of Service.  A group of Truman Scholars headed out to the Washington Home, a comfort care center for the chronically and terminally ill in Tenleytown (oh Tenleytown, the memories....and the really long escalator that wasn't working that you made me climb).  We were asked to hang out with the residents and get their stories about what they remember from 9/1/2001 for the Library of Congress Oral History Project.  Aside from one woman who told me that her son worked in the Pentagon when it happened, the answer to that question is "not a helluva lot."  (Note: I heart how my spell check doesn't like the word "Tenleytown" but accepts the word "helluva" without question).  I was in high school in Seattle at the time and watched the planes fly into the towers on the news as I was getting ready for school in the morning.  It's hard to believe that it was that long ago.

The folks I talked to were NOT in high school in 2001....and they could recall fifty years ago a lot easier than nine years ago.  So I heard from Walt who grew up in South Carolina, and Marie who was a nurse in DC and her friend who has lost all three of her kids and two godchildren as well.  I also hung out with Irene, who is originally from Berlin and now blind, holding her hand and talking to her about what it was like to live in Berlin.

Then, oh folks, then we helped folks get downstairs for lunch and a 9/11 ceremony.  As we were headed down for lunch they asked if anyone played piano.  I was the only one who fessed up to being able to read music.  Immediately the tossed some Beattles, Simon and Garfunkle and Elton John music at me and asked me to play so the residents wouldn't get bored waiting for lunch.  When did I last play piano?  A year ago.  When did I last play piano well?  Eleven years ago.  No one complained as I picked out the melody to "Candle on the Water" and sang along to my rendition of "Hey Jude."  Oh heavens.... I was eventually saved by someone who could ACTUALLY play piano and helped serve lunch instead (a much better use of my skills I think).


Other things that happened this weekend:

• Total on-call hours: 60
• Total babies birthed: 0
• Made cookie dough, and then ate it before I made cookies.
• I finished the sheep!!!  I will give it to Pete (the friend that brought me the yarn from Iceland) on Monday.

Going for a stroll through the living room...

• Sam the Cat and I spent a whole day together (I'm cat sitting) in which there was no hissing, scratching, or cussing and only minimal sniffling and sneezing.  And depite the intense staring contest we had around 3pm on Sunday, there may have been a little scritching behind the ears and some purring (not saying who was in charge of which)...

Sam the Cat looks so innocent here....