An Old-Fashioned Idea

Thanks to my friend Bethene, the only in-person blogger I know in New York, this rainy January One was partially spent across town-- on the Upper East Side.  Because of what we did, I discovered this area has one of the largest populations of elderly people in the City.  Did you think it was all about the very rich?  Yes--and the less than rich, and those with very limited means, and those homebound by their medical condition.

On the Citymeals-on-Wheels website I learned that one in four elderly New Yorkers is living alone.  That's quite a statistic-- and leads to 2.5 million meals delivered each year by Citymeals.  Bethene and I are members of The Transition Network (TTN).  At our Holiday Breakfast just before I left for Portland, Bethene asked for volunteers to serve meals on Christmas and New Year's Days--to give a break to those who do it regularly. 

The Carter Burden Center for the Aging is where a group of 24 of us met in a church basement on East 74th Street.  We were joined by other volunteers from the neighborhood.  I was impressed by the 10 year oldgirl who was her mother's partner.  I like to imagine a future time when my own grandchildren are involved in a similar activity.

Each twosome carried an insulated bag with six meals.  Cornish hen was the main dish, plus "sides," as we say locally.  A second package contained dessert and roll.  All was ready to pop into the oven, or a freezer for later.  Randy, another TTN member, and I had an easy trip along 79th Street. 

Corrine (behind the little girl in the photo) and Audrey (partially visible on the left) had a much more challenging delivery schedule.  Unlike our doorman/elevator buildings, they went to several old tenements and trekked to the fifth floor.  The contrast in lives lived in this City are enormous.  I really enjoyed being with doing this very small task along with other little red hens (and a couple of roosters) and look forward to another request from Bethene. 

Ron, who caught a worse cold from our grandchildren than I did, was going to help too but was limited to recording my perfect rainy day outfit, purple raincape and Portland-purchased brella. (More later on rain there.)                                 

[Sensei and Sensibility is Bethene's blog.  Though we come from very different backgrounds, you can see why we're friends in her recent riff on thrown-away Christmas trees.  At the TTN website this month, there's a "Member Profile" on Audrey whose energy and outspokenness always give me pleasure.] 

Comments

[Bethene LeMahieu]

Dear Naomi,

That so many of us delivered the meals together delights me. I believe anything worth doing is worth doing with others interested in the same thing--and so it was on Monday. We made "light work" of those 110 meals and began the new year in a "feel good" way. We put a smile on the faces of those to whom we brought food. And they brought smiles to our faces, too.

I love experiential learning and that's what Monday's delivery of Citymeals was for me. It was a beginning, a beginning that engaged my heart and my head. Now I'll pay attention and see where the learning takes me. (You've included some things in your blog that I hadn't known or thought about--as 1 in 4 elderly live alone in NY, for example.)

It is fun sharing all kinds of good things/times with you, Naomi.

Bethene

[Steve Sherlock]

Thanks for sharing. Happy new year!

[donna]

Thought you might be interested in this:

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/005731.html

[audrey bernfield]

I think that one can see the figures for people living alone, think they know what that looks like, but until we visited those homebound elderly, I couldn't put a face on it. I am very pleased that I participated in this celebration of a new year - let's hope it is a better one for all of these people.

[sahara]

One in four? Damn! I gotta say though, in my neck of the woods, my elderly neighbors are looked out for and are more independent than if they moved with their kids up in Westchester. And we all hang out together on the stoop. I have learned so much about the Bronx through them––stories their kids are tired of hearing about.

Speaking of stories…I am here in the Blue Mountains, finally having a chance to catch up, away from the non-knitters and non-bloggers. Happy New Year to you! As my email isn't hooked up, you can communicate with me via my blog. And you're on the souvenir list––wait to you see what I bring back!

Plenty of pics! It's Monday at 10:30am here, so I'll be out taking pics of a most unusual mountain. See ya soon!

[Anna]

That's a good way to spend Christmas, Naomi. I know a lady (complete with two arthritic hips) who continues year after year to cook and deliver a dozen dinners to rough sleepers she knows down by the Thames in London. She never suffers from holiday boredom.

Thanks for the comment on my blog, nice to find you.