Artifacts of elderly people

I chose a walker as my first artifact.  A lot of elderly people use a walker to assist with stability while trying to walk.  I chose this artifact because three of my grandparents have had the need for one.  I remember being at the dining room in the building where my grandmother lived.  There were at least 30 walkers lined up outside the dining room while people ate.  There was not enough room to use the walkers in the dining room. The three most important things this tells me about this subculture are that bodies wear out before the heart does, most of these people did not exercise when they were younger, and probably do not now, and their core is weak, and that some of these people have health issues.

            Another artifact I chose is the stories told by elderly people.  They reminisce about the “old days” especially when they were much younger.  They will tell stories about their youth, military experience, or early family life.  It tells me that they focus on happy times in their lives.  The stories are told to connect with people, and it is one thing they can add to a conversation.  The most important things it tells me about this subculture are that people like to remember, people like to remember positive things, and that this contributes to their sense that life has been good.

            The third artifact is medicine.  Most elderly people take a lot of medicine.  Seniors are living longer because there is a drug for everything.  People want to live longer and are taking drugs to do that.  There are blood thinners, bladder control drugs, blood pressure medication, etc.  The  most important  things these tell me about the subculture are that medicine helps them, it improves their quality of life, and it is relatively affordable.           

a long way gone

“I tried to think about my childhood days, but it was impossible, as I began getting flashbacks of the first time I slit a man’s throat.  The scene kept surfacing in my memory like lightning on a dark rainy night, and each time it happened, I heard a sharp cry in my head that made my spine hurt.  I went inside  and sat on my bed facing the wall and tried to stop thinking, but I had a severe migraine that night…The headache became so severe that I couldn’t walk.  I began to cry out loud.  The night nurse was called.  She gave me some sleeping tablets, but I still couldn’t fall asleep, even after my migraine stopped.  I couldn’t face the nightmares I knew would come.” 

P. 160

I chose this passage because it described the emotional, psychological and physical pain Ishmael suffered after his experience as a boy soldier.  It had not occurred to me what the impact would be for him.  This passage sums up many of the issues he was dealing with as he tried to adjust.  The body sends messages when the system is under stress.  The physical pain Ishmael suffered was very real.  He had migraine headaches, shooting pains, and he could not walk.  This was because of the emotional and psychological stress he was suffering.  He could not retrieve memories of his childhood which was not that many years ago because his brain was on overload and would not allow it.  The brain would not let him forget what all of his senses took in as a child soldier.  It was clear that he was going to have to process all of the bad stuff he had been through.  This was a terrible reaction to everything he experienced. The physical pain would go away but the other pain would stay with him.

Shakespeare

"When I was seven years old, I used to go to the town square to recite monologues from the works of Shakespeare for the adults of my community.  At the end of every week the male adults would gather to discuss matters of the community.  They sat on long wooden benches and at the the end of their discussions I would be called upon to recite Shakespeare.  My father would cough loudly to alert the other adults to be silent so that I could start.  He sat in the front, with his arms crossed and a big smile on his face that looked like it would take years to fade away. I stood on a bench and held on to a long stick as my sword.  I would then start with Julius Caesar.  Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears..."  I always recited speeches from Macbeth and Julius Caesar, as those were the adults' favorites.  I was always eager and excited to read for them because it made me feel that I was really good at speaking the English language". (104)

I chose this passage because I was surprised when I read it.  Here is this little kid doing Shakespeare for adults, and very proud of it.  I have been to a couple of Shakespeare plays at the Guthrie and it is complicated stuff, but really well written.   I was also struck by how pleasant the scene seemed.  Men meeting in a town to discuss things and a small child entertaining them.  This was all so removed from the life Ishamel experienced once he was on the run for his life, and his conversion to being a soldier/killer.  It speaks to the level of education that he had before the conflict broke out, and also that he liked to speak English.   He does not say how he learned it, and he says he read some of it.  It was also interesting that this memory comes back as he sits with the guy who was going to lead him into the life of a soldier/killer.  I cannot imagine this pleasant scene of reciting Shakespeare would be taking place today in a country struggling to survive.  It points to how much they have lost.

The Moon Paragraph

“’We must strive to be like the moon.’  An old man in Kubati repeated this sentence often to people who walked past his house on their way to the river to fetch water, to hunt, to tap palm wine; and to their farms.  I remember asking my grandmother what the old man meant.  She explained that the adage served to remind people to always be on their best behavior and to be good to others.  She said that people complain when there is too much sun and it gets unbearably hot, and also when it rains too much or when it is cold.  But, she said, no one grumbles when the moon shines.  Everyone becomes happy and appreciates the moon in their own special way.  Children watch their shadows and play in its light, people gather at the square to tell stories and dance through the night.  A lot of happy things happen when the moon shines.  These are some of the reasons why we should want to be like the moon.”  P. 16 

I chose this passage because it is a good, well written paragraph. The grandmother answers her grandson's question with a lot of detail.  She describes why the moon is a good thing in peoples' lives.  It made me smile because her explanation was true.  No one ever complains about the moon.  I had never thought of that before.  I have never complained about the moon or heard anyone else complain about it.  I have only heard people exclaim at how cool the moon looks when it is full, or how bright the night is when it is full. 

The other reason I liked this passage is that it reminds me of my late Grandmother.  She grew up on a farm in western Minnesota.  She told me interesting things about the moon that she learned while living on the farm.  When the moon is shaped like a crescent and it is tipped, she would say that it looks like the moon could hold water. When it was like that she said it meant it was going to rain.  I have to admit that I have not seen it rain many times after the moon looks like it could hold water.  But, it does remind me of my Grandmother, and I think of her every time I see a crescent moon.  Just like Ishmael Beah, I carry this memory with me from childhood, a memory of a grandmother and the moon.