Louisiana-Bound (2008)

Part 13 of 40: Friday Morning at Village Du Lac

"The Truth About Acadians," that was the book I was reading. But as the evening wore on, I started to nod off a lot. You know how it is. Not wanting to miss anything, a person goes back to a paragraph or two before where he thinks he left off. You can actually retrogress that way. "I was on page 35 but ended up on page 30!"
Melanie awoke and showered before I did on Friday morning. Tom's morning ritual with his pills was now in the kitchen doorway. I couldn't get through and I couldn't wait as time was running out. Melanie suggested to Tom that he move to the table in the dining room. That worked.
Friday, am I missing home? No, unless missing my computer is part of missing home. Yeah, a little bit. But still we had lots to do. My cold was manageable. Needing to cough at times and always sucking on a cough drop, I intentionally avoided standing in groups, both for health reasons and because of my cold. Short one-on-ones were fine. Pressure built up in my feet and legs if I didn't keep moving.

Anyway, Friday the 18th of April proved to be an exciting day. Our ride came, but I didn't recognize the person. Ah, another SSP whom I had yet to meet. It was Michael Wolf. We talked a few minutes and we were off to Village Du Lac (VDL), a place where many deafblind, or deaf seniors lived. Action at VDL was in the lounge/recreation area. A bunch of seniors were playing cards as we walked in.

We stood around for a short time. This group was more at my level. Some were hearing people, some seeing, even a few good signers were seated around the long table. I was able to get the ball rolling by just going up to the seniors and starting a finger spelling signing conversation. Then I introduced Melanie to the first few people I met. Soon the whole room followed suit and everyone was involved.

It was like one big happy family then. It wasn't surprising to learn that most residents enjoyed living there. With a chance to talk or sign with friends on a regular basis, midmorning snacks, exercise machines, card games, it wasn't bad.
Then the seniors shared their snacks with the dozen or so of us. Lemon cake slices, cinnamon cake slices and cookies were served as their midmorning break. I love lemon cake! Melanie loves cinnamon cake! What a treat! And there was lots for anyone who was so inclined. Cookies also were served. I was given lemon cake and cookies. Oh, that lemon cake was good.
I always had my black backpack with me so that meant I had a bottle of lemonade near at all times. And though Melanie likes Coca Cola, I got her a Pepsi, not seeing any Coke machine. Later I did notice two large Coke machines along an adjacent wall. And I scratched my head wondering how I missed seeing them. In fact, it was Mark who teased Melanie, "Well, how come you're drinking a Pepsi when there's a Coke machine right there?" He knew Melanie was a Coke-aholic! When Melanie stomped over to where I stood and told me about the Coke machine, I sure felt silly! And Mark sure had a good laugh at us!

The talks would go on for about two hours. Melanie and I worked our way around the table. Mark came over and talked a bit with me and I introduced him to my new male acquaintance, Rickey. Later I noticed Mark on the exercise equipment. I tried it out also. A little less energetic than Mark, but I managed to try each piece of equipment. Soon Mark was doing the same thing. He just went right into it as if he had arrived there for his regular exercise routine. But it was fun. I think I met everyone in the room. And soon we were thinking about going out for lunch.

Written by Harvey A. Bond
May 17, 2008