Reading Rocks at the Library

Retired seniors famously fill the ranks of the nation's volunteers. They are the ones who often have free time, and since many want to be useful to their community and are therefore importuned to give of this time, they may well find themselves confronted with the need to make choices. Should I do this? or this? or maybe this?

Recently an opportunity came Kendal's way that many residents jumped at. Volunteers were needed for a program aimed at encouraging kids from disadvantaged families in the nearby Newark school system to imagine that a college education might be a real possibility for them. Here was a project with a clear and undeniably good goal, and so Kendal residents quickly enlisted – so many of them, in fact, that the list of volunteers soon exceeded the number of slots! This could well be the start of a grand and enduring partnership!

The background of the program is this. Some years ago, in an effort to increase the proportion of Newark high school graduates who go on to college, a support program named A Call to College was created. Its founders initially targeted just high school students, but soon decided that if the twin tasks of encouragement and enablement were to be fulfilled, earlier interventions were needed. And so in recent years the program has developed strategies for getting kids as young as second grade interested in, if not college itself (a rather foggy notion to a 7-year-old), then in READING. The plan is called Reading Rocks at the Library, and its aim is to get these youngsters into the public library – many didn't even know such a thing existed – and for them to have opportunities to engage with adults there whose words and lives and enthusiasm can validate the value of books in the opening up of opportunities. Kendal volunteers, living testaments to the values of reading, were asked to step into the role of the validating adults.

Social scientists will tell us that it's much too soon to know whether the strategy of Reading Rocks will have an impact. It will probably take ten or fifteen years before the results can be fully measured. But the Kendal volunteers, savvy in the ways of their young grandchildren, report that their own experiences with the program give them grounds for optimism. They also report that have been having a rollicking good time. After all, who wouldn't have fun walking among a gang of eager and happy seven-year-olds while sporting an odd hat or two, maybe teaching a few words in a foreign language, perhaps showing off a fancifully-attired doll or a gorgeous book, sometimes sharing photos of a childhood from long ago, and inevitably answering a staggering set of questions from primed and curious kids (e.g., did the navy make you bald?)? Art Linkletter never had more fun.

It is probably important to their success with the kids that these volunteers bring a number of different career backgrounds to their service – a counselor, a nurse, a small business owner, an athletic director, a writer, a service veteran. But it is more important that they can answer questions about their lives and (since they're a clever bunch) find ways to link these answers to their living testimony about the importance of books in the shaping of their lives.

Many people have observed how retired folks often draw pleasure and energy from seeing the young disport themselves. Through the Reading Rocks at the Library program Kendal residents are hoping that the young in turn can draw pleasure and a more focused energy from seeing seniors romp as a result of being able to read.

Above and Beyond

One of the blessings of living at Kendal is the manner in which our staff members go above and beyond to meet our needs and to make our life easier.  Just last week I saw an outstanding example of this as one of the maintenance men worked to install a new washer/dryer combo in my apartment.  Actually not a brand new one, but one that would better meet my needs.

It all began at one of the annual meetings which administrative staff hold with residents to discuss our concerns regarding Kendal services.  These small group sessions allow us to share with administration our concerns and to make suggestions about changes we would like to see in the services available to us.  Over the five years that I have lived here the outcomes of these sessions have proven to me how sincere our administration and staff members are in trying to make this a great place to live.  During the course of one discussion I learned that I could ask to have the washer/dryer combo in my apartment changed to one that would make it easier for me to see and operate the controls.

The standard issue washer/dryer combos have the controls at the top.  When you are as short as I am which is under four feet ten,  you can't see the top of the control where the On indicator is located.  If you are lucky, you get it right on your first try at turning the washer on.  More often than not you end up making several frustrating attempts before succeeding  unless you go get a step stool to stand on it so you can see the control.  That's a bit of a nuisance since there is no convenient place to keep the step stool near the washer/dryer.  So I was pleased to receive word that the maintenance department had a machine with controls located below the dryer ready to install in my apartment.

It so happened that I was confined to my apartment that day because I had a very bad head cold.   From where I was sitting in my living room I could see what was happening as the exchange of machines took place.  As I watched I realized how much above and beyond the call of ordinary work the installer had to go.  First  there was the difficult job of getting the old one out of the cubby hole in the bathroom where it was.  After managing to wiggle it out and disconnect it and remove it to wherever it went, the replacement washer/dryer was brought in. 

Now the real fun began.  The installer had to get behind it in that small space unlit by direct light so that he could make the necessary connections to power and water.  And they had to be exactly right or it wouldn't work or there might be floods or who knows maybe even worse as you read the warnings about the dangers of fire from improperly installed exhausts.  The next step was to push the washer/dryer combo partially back into the space with only  inches to spare on all sides except the front.  At one point when I looked up all I could see were the feet and legs of the installer as he lay on top of the dryer reaching over the back to finish making the connections.  It was then quite obvious to me just how far above and beyond these fellows go for us at times.

As he was leaving my apartment I thanked him for installing the washe/dryer. I told him that I did appreciate the fact that it would now be much easier for me to do my washing and commented that I couldn't help noticing what extraordinary maneuvering it took to do the job. His matter of fact response was that they called that "the belly roll"  which indicated to me that they just take that sort of thing in stride as a part of what they do for us routinely. I call it going "above and beyond" when you have to crawl up on top of a washer/dryer combo and hang over the top in a space that is just big enough to accomodate the equipment being installed. 

And this is but one example of the sort of thing that our staff does that is above and beyond.
Consider staying over night when there is a storm so they will be sure to be here the next morning to make breakfast.  Or taking meals to cottages and villas when the weather makes trips to the community building treacherous.  Or the time a few years ago when we had a power outage that lasted for several days, the housekeeping staff came around and helped us deal with the problems created by the food that was thawing in our refrigerators.  Need I say more?   Kendal is a great place to live because of a staff that takes going "above and beyond" as a matter of routine.

Latest Book Group Event

Kendal Book Group had a really exciting meeting today! Our discussion of three short stories by Anton Chekov was led by Dr. Carol Apollonio who is a professor of Russian Literature at Duke University. This is the third time she has been kind enough to enlighten us on some difficult and beautiful literature. Carol is the daughter of a Kendal resident so we have kind of an "in" which allows us this privilege. The group's assignment was to read three short stories by Chekov.

Some of us thought the stories, "Rothchild's Violin", "Lady with the Dog", and "In the Cart", depressing and pointless. Carol explained that an engaging plot is not always necessary, that a story can be told for other reasons, and that we can enjoy vivid descriptions, find hidden symbolism, and learn about the history and issues of the day. So we had a good discussion about the fact that plot is not always the basis of good writings, and that sometimes in a good book or story, it seems as if "nothing happens."

Two years ago our assignment was to read "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoevsky which was hundreds of pages and very difficult to plod through because the story was about a dysfunctional man who lived in poverty before the revolution. Last year we read "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy which was easier to read because of the romance and the social life of the upper class. We always find it amazing when Carol uncovers for us meanings we would never have found on our own.

Next month we will read "Unbroken", a true story about World War II, as told by Laura Hillendbrand. We hope that the two men in our book group who fought in that war will enlighten us. So far, our group of twenty or so, have read sixty- some books over the past five years and look forward to more. We occasionally have a local professor to help us understand but mostly we just rely on each other's understanding. We have a good time!

Eloise