Friday, May 25, 2007

Funny quotes from some of my favorite residents

As I was writing the last post I thought of some of my favorite residents at the retirement home.

Shaun: How are you Flo?
Flo: Never better. That's what I always say...even if I'm not. Never better, that's what you've gotta say.

Toni (a woman): Want to be my boyfriend?
Shaun: What does it mean to be your boyfriend?
Toni: You come visit me and talk to me. That's all.
Shaun: I can do that, as long as you don't get jealous if I have other girlfriends.
Toni: I'm not the jealous type. I have 3 boyfriends.

A different conversation with Toni.

Toni: Do you have a girlfriend?
Shaun: What do you mean?
Toni: A girl that you take out to the movies or a play. A girl that you kiss.
Shaun: Well I go on dates with girls but I'm not kissing any of them right now.
Toni: Oh Shaun. You must kiss them. It's nice for the girl and it's nice for you.

Rachel (from Russia): Do you speak Russian Shaun?
Shaun: Ya ni gavaru paruski (the only Russian phrase I know: "I don't speak Russian")
Rachel proceeds to speak with me in Russian and refuses to believe me that I don't speak Russian.

Shaun: Hi Meryl.
Meryl: Do I know you?
Shaun: Yes I used to visit you when you were in the care center.
Meryl: Oh good because I like you.
She then chased me around the lobby making kissy noises. Good thing it wasn't hard to outrun a woman with a walker.

Joyce, a woman with dementia.

Joyce: There's my friend!(referring to me)
Attendant: What's your friend's name?
Joyce: I don't know, but we're friends. Excuse me. What's your name?
Shaun: Shaun
Joyce: That's a lovely name.
Variations of this conversation happened every day, but she always recognized me as her friend

A woman intent on keeping me humble.

woman: So you want to work with old people like me?
Shaun: I'm planning on going into geriatric medicine.
Woman: Nobody will like you. You look too young. Nobody wants a young kid telling them what to do. You should find a different profession.

Lowell: I've had a good life. I've outlived 8 husbands. I have a nice room with a good view and I wouldn't mind if I went to sleep and never woke up. I'm ready to die.
(She died in her sleep a few months later)

And finally, although not a resident of my retirement home, an Auntie Annie quote. As the Alzheimer's disease progresses she has difficulty expressing herself.

Auntie Annie: There is no joy in your feet. (Translation: get your feet off of my bed)

4 comments:

bryan said...

these are great. i love old people. it brought back memories from when we used to go and sing at one of the retirement homes in provo. good times. hey, if you're interested: http://bryanchild.blogspot.com

Erin said...

These are great. How did you know the translation of "There is no joy in your feet"? There must have been some context clues.

L said...

Lowell outlived EIGHT husbands?? You think she would have kind of gotten tired of that after four or five.

Toni sounds great. I wonder how many new boyfriends she's acquired since you left. You're not going to get jealous, are you? ;)

Shaun R. said...

to Mrs M.: She kept pointing at my feet calling them big and asking me why I had to have my feet so big. Big is Auntie Annie's generic word when she doesn't remember the real word. I think she also said something about "get lost with your big feet" right before she told me there was no joy in my feet.

to Laura: Some people don't like to be alone. And Toni can have all the boyfriends she wants. I checked and found out that she's still alive. She should be around 96 now. She can't walk and is legally blind, but she's a hoot.