Blast's from the Past in second visit!

This past Thursday the 16th of February was my second visit to my couple at the nursing home and it was truly a blast from the past and quite a tearful experience for myself. I had wrote down notes from my first visit about who their favorite musicians were during their time and what size of a CD player I was going to need to make sure that it would fit on the shelf that they had room for it on. So after my first visit I got busy in order to make sure that I was going to have somethings to bring to the couple that might open them up to the idea that I did care and wanted them to know I thought that music was not just anything but in some ways what brings back memories both good and bad. Sure enough I was going to be in for a treat when it came to presenting the gifts to them.

Thursday came sooner than later and it was time for the second visit where I would bring them the items I had got them which consisted of a CD player, Glenn Miller CD, and a Jimmy Dorsey CD. These are just two of the musicians that they discussed as their favorite at least for the husband but the wife likes any music that makes her ears ring.

On the ride to the nursing home I was a little nervous to see just how they would react to my gift and if they would like the CD Players size so it was a nerve racking time to say the least. As I was walking down with the long hallway to see my couple that I am working with I for some odd reason overcame with a smile on my face as for some reason I could see the smiles on their faces when they saw me before I even got their. Sure enough I had walked in and the couple were grinning ear to ear and couldn't help but notice the bag I was carrying around. I grabbed the CD player and heard the astonished sound of an elderly couple get some form of freedom back in their life even if it was not being able to get out of the nursing home it was something that sent a smile to my face.

After finding a place to keep the CD Player in their room I grabbed out the two Cd's that I had got and immediately I noticed the wife choke up a little and say that she was not going to accept my gift's and that I had done to much for them. I immediately had to lie and tell her that I had found it outside of their room with her name all over it. She didn't know what to say and instead just listened as her husband and I went over all the tracks on the Cd's. For a couple to be able to remember the names of songs they hadn't heard in 10+ years was remarkable but what was more amazing was seeing them sing to these songs and see the impact that they had on them during their life. I was actually brought to tears as I heard them sing Glenn Millers "Chattanooga Choo Choo" which happens to be their favorite song. It was a moment that I realized it was music like this that got our service men through such bad times in WW2.

My next visit is planned for either early this week or late next week but will definitely keep the blog updated rather it is about the visits or about my cooking or life in general..

Visitng the Nursing Home

Today was the day that I had been waiting on for what has seemed like the whole year and it was truly worth the wait. The day that we would finally be able to meet the person that we would be doing an oral history project on for one of my college classes. We all entered with the same nerve racking feeling, all hoping that we were going to get someone we could relate to but at the same would get the same feeling about us being there. As fellow students were placed with someone as in only one person I was the last to be brought to the room where I would meet the person I would be learning about. As I knocked on the door I was expecting to only be seeing one person but as lucky as I am I would get one of the only couples living at the home which almost made me even more excited. It wasn't the fact that I got two people instead of one but the fact that I would get to here two sides of the story instead of just the husbands I would here her side to. Whenever I sat down with all my questions it was suppose to go the way I thought it would but would quickly change to the much better way of just getting to know Glenn and Ruth. Glenn is a very honest man who is not afraid to tell you what he thinks even if the cleaning girl with bad English that he makes fun of can hear every word he says. But, before you get mad you have to understand he just thinks he shouldn't have to press to 2 for English which is quite understandable. As for his better half Ruth she is a sweet lady that doesn't get much word in with Glenn but is kinda letting Glenn do more of the project then herself. The time we had together today went so quickly but they were all ready looking forward to me coming again and it made my day. You will have to stay tuned for more of the story's that will be told about the two them through me and hopefully learn more about me on the way. Thanks for reading!

Finally Going to the Nursing Home

     Whenever I first started the post the week I came back to school from winter break I thought we were going to be going to the Nursing Home that week. Unfortunately we found out that it would be later do to the fact that we were not able to make contact with the director. Because we did not know when it would be that we would make it there we found out it would be this Tuesday or tommorow last week. I am so excited to start the project but more excited about meeting the person I will be creating a oral presentation on. The fact that I have no clue who it may be that I will be getting to know it is the fact that we will be bringing some life to such a place tommorow that excites me. Although the Nursing Home we will be going to is one that has many activities that keep the residents busy there is nothing like getting a few young people that wil be sure to brighten there faces up. My hope is that the person that I am working with will not mind me writing about them and feel happy that I am writng about them. Do to them being a complete stranger to me until tommorow I hope that they will not mind me writing about them. Although if they ask that I do not write about them I will have to respect that and I dont mind doing so. Tommorow is a big day and to add to that I am getting a job in the library for the remainder of the school year and hopefully get a little extra spending money. Stay tuned for the events that occur tommorow.

Thanks-  Tyler
             

Good News on Internship

Today I had some good news as far as an internship that I had applied for in the fall. I heard back today by email from the superintendent of a golf course in Long Island, NY, saying that he had heard from the original person that I had applied with saying that due to my experience working at the golf course this summer he recommended me to a better course. The feeling that due to my experiences of last summers work I would be recommended to a better course is a pretty cool feeling. While I have not yet committed to anything quite yet I know that I will need to put everything in prescriptive. The distance is a large factor and when I call him tomorrow I will also have to ask about housing because unlike some courses their are some that offer housing and in a place like New York it would be ideal to not have to worry about that. In my mind it is just another step in my goal of Augusta! I believe that I will give the recipe to my Chicken Parmesan tomorrow if I load pictures tomorrow so get ready.

My First Blog

To start my name is Tyler and currently 18 years old. I live in North Carolina where I currently attend a small University that while it does not offer the major in which I would like to graduate with it is a good start for me due to the small classes and more one on one with my professors. My plan is to eventually transfer to NC State where I hope to graduate in the Turf Science major that they offer. With NC State being so close to where I live it would be nice to be so close to my surroundings that I left when I came to the school I am at currently. While I mainly started this blog as a way to express my opinions and be able to keep a log of information that I would keep when I decided to write it down this semester is going to offer plenty of topics to write about but one in particular I will take time to share my thoughts. The class that I am talking about is my First Year Experience(FYE) class that is based on Southern Culture. During the Semester in this class we are going to be visiting a nursing home and learning more about how life was in the past for local older people that have grown up in the ever changing south. While I already know a lot about the past I look forward to learning more on just how older people see the world that the newer generation lives and get advice on what would make my journey through the ages any better from people that have lived through the years and might have regrets. Because getting old is a fear that I have with all the consequences it shares I hope I learn from them new ways to look at life. Lastly something that you may see me blog about is my cooking as I love to cook which is something that most college kids do not like to do I love to cook my own concoctions but my all time master piece is my Chicken Parmesan. So stay tuned and hopefully be enlightened with what I learn.   



I am the one on the right.