A Visit from the Hilltoppers

The new year of 2013 was scarcely upon us when a group of singers from our neighbor up the hill, Denison University, came to Kendal to share their talents with us. An all-male ensemble, aptly named the Hilltoppers, they are one of several fine musical organizations that Denison sustains, and we at Kendal were particularly fortunate to be given the opportunity to hear them because the university's winter break still had a week to run. So we wondered: What were these guys doing in town anyway? Didn't they have something better to do with their vacation?

The musical fare for the evening was wide-ranging – a Scottish folk song, some old barbershop numbers (though close harmony was not in general the Hilltoppers' preferred style), recent pop hits, a spiritual, and songs from the 1960s. All of this was enlivened and punctuated by some unexpected whoops, hollers, and yelps. As the concert proceeded we also heard some rich solo voices. There was a bit of designed choreography thrown in, but much more frequently the young men seemed to be improvising their individual and idiosyncratic kinetic turns. The audience loved it.

Before the concert began each singer introduced himself by name, home town, and major. It turned out that they had come from all over the country, and they were studying a diverse set of fields, with majors from the natural sciences, the social sciences, the arts, and the humanities. They were collective testimony to the breadth and excitement of a liberal arts curriculum.

Each number was received with loud clapping, and when the concert was over, the Kendal crowd showed its final approval with a surge of applause as enthusiastic as any accolade I can recall my friends and neighbors ever bestowing on a visiting group.

It's not hard to figure out why the Hilltoppers were so appreciatively received. First, they brought music to Kendal, and as people as distant and different from each other as Plato and Madonna have acknowledged, music has a strange power to enchant. Second, they brought talent to Kendal, and the community's residents, from lifetimes rich with experience, have come to realize that gifts are unusual and to applaud these gifts when people have given time over to cultivating them. Third, they brought youth into our midst. This is important, for contrary to some rumors, we seniors don't begrudge youth their youth. If anything, we draw hope about the future from it. It seems safe to say that the life of senior communities prospers when young people – enthusiastic representatives of the new directions the world is taking – share their universe with ours.

As the audience dispersed to their residences after the concert, I heard only one complaint: the Hilltoppers hadn't sung a Denison song. Not unimportant, I guess – though since I'm not an alumnus, maybe I'm not best positioned to judge the gravity of the omission. But even so, scarcely worthy of a demerit. And maybe that can be our excuse for inviting them back to sing an all-Denison-music concert. Sounds like a good solution to me.

Newbie

     While watching a Netflix movie late Friday evening, the furnace of our cottage began to make weird noises.  Since we were engrossed in the movie, we ignored the noise until it became so loud that we had to be concerned.  So, at 11:30 pm we called maintenance.  The maintenance man on duty was at our door in less than five minutes.  The furnace definitely needed a new part and he could do it then or it could be done in the morning.  Assured that all was safe for the night, we opted for the morning.  Sure enough, the next morning (Saturday) we got the call from maintenance asking if we were ready for the work to be done. All completed by 10 am!
     This is my first blog--I am a newbie.  My husband and I moved to Kendal at Granville last January (2012), almost a year ago.  Experiences like this make us so glad we made the decision to come here.  If the furnace issue had occurred at our old residence, the attempts to get a repair over the weekend would have been difficult and the pricing at premium levels.  There would not have been a cheerful young man telling us "we keep parts on the shelf ready to install".
     Our first year of residence has been a positive experience.  Coming from Indiana, we knew no one here and had no connection to any institutions in Ohio.  So, why did we decide on Kendal at Granville one might ask.
     Having made the decision that we wanted to embrace the CCRC concept, we began looking for a location and visiting sites.  There were none close to where we were living so we explored locations near one of our children, near a large airport and in a community that had a college or university.  We visited several and read about others.  When we walked in the front door of KAG, we knew this place was different from the others we had visited.  The decor set a welcoming tone, then the staff were warm and residents greeted us with smiles.
      After three visits and studying the Quaker philosophy behind Kendal Corporation, we decided on Kendal at Granville.  The airport is half an hour away and we are enjoying Denison University's offerings to the public.  I did audit a class during fall semester and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We do happen to have a daughter in Columbus.  The geographic location is working well for us.

"Vic Made Me Do It"

 

One of the privileges of living at Kendal at Granville is getting to know  the wonderful talented people who live here.  This blog is about just two of my fellow residents, Vic and Ed. They are notable for a variety of reasons however here I am only going to write about how they shared their talents with the rest of us through two of their projects in the woodworking shop – namely Vic’s bluebird houses and Ed’s lazy susans.  Both of these projects have added beauty to our community.

The bluebird houses  were one of the early projects made in the shop.  Residents who had discovered the presence of bluebirds on our campus readily responded when Vic brought a model of the birdhouse to a Residents’ Association meeting offering to make them for a reasonable price.  (The money received for woodworking shop projects goes to shop improvement.  No one personally receives any money for work done in the shop.)   Soon bluebird houses were perched here and there to encourage bluebirds to take up residence here at Kendal.  Bits of conversation overheard at dinner and at other times tell me that the houses have been successful and that residents can now watch bluebirds close up because Vic shared his talent with the community.  Since the bird houses look pretty much as you expect a bird house to look I have not included any photos of them.   Nor have I been lucky enough to get a photo of one of the bluebirds to share.

 

I have included photos of the lazy susans Ed made because he  created an original design for each one.    I had heard bits of the story about them but before writing this blog I went to the originator so I could fill in the details and be sure the ones I had were correct.  When I approached Ed, the first thing he told me was, “Vic made me do it.”  Then he explained to me what he meant.

In the beginning there were small lazy susans on our larger round dining room tables. Tightly clustered in their centers were a salt and pepper shaker, packets of sweetener, along with blank comment cards and a small pencil. Due to the diameter of the tables it took someone with  an exceptionally long arm to reach those items without a struggle.    On top of that problem the one on the table where Vic and Ed sat with their wives didn’t really spin as it should.  So one night (possibly several nights) Vic said to Ed, “You really ought to take that thing down to the shop and fix it.”  Ed, being the helpful person that he is did just that..

 

When Ed returned it, as an observant engineer who enjoys nothing better than solving problems, he very carefully placed each of the items normally kept on the lazy susan at the outer edge hoping to thus slightly increase their accessibility.  But the forces were against him.  When he returned for dinner that evening , he discovered everything huddled back in  the middle.  So Ed put his thinking cap on and designed larger lazy susans. To insure that things stayed on the perimeter he built into the design spaces designed to hold each of the items.  These were so specifically shaped  that no one would dare think of putting anything back in the center.   He did provide a space in the center for a small candle which no one needs to reach during the meal.

Vic and Ed are but two examples of the kind of people I encounter daily living at Kendal.

 

Three of the lazy susans created by Ed.  This project is ongoing as Ed's goal is to make one for each of our large tables.  Needless to say we are grateful to Ed because they make reaching things easier and they are lovely to look at as well.

 Ed even included the checkers on the one below so people could entertain themselves at this table.  They are especially popular with families who have visiting grandchildren.

Being Thankful

Those of us fortunate enough to live at Kendal have many things to be thankful for every day.  Celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday last week made me think more about what it is that I have to be grateful for,  For one thing there's the security of knowing that they will take care of me through all of the stages of care which I may need.  That's the benefit of having chosen a continuing care community and not just an assisted living one where I would need to move to another institution if I needed skilled nursing.

I know that Kendal has led the way in freeing patients from restraint and as a retired nurse who once taught geriatric nursing I know how important that is.  They have worked to eliminate not only physical restraints but also chemical restraints.  Freeing patients from restraints makes for much more humane treatment and also recognizes the dignity of each being.  It means a lot to know I won't find myself tied to a chair and forgotten.

Also, as a retired nursing education administrator I know what the accreditation of schools of nursing has done to improve the quality of nursing education.  Thus I appreciate the efforts that Kendal Corporation has put into working towards the improvement of the care of the aging through accreditation which sets standards for care.  I've lived long enough to see the results of these efforts.  Knowing that Kendal strives to go beyond high standards of caring means I have a lot less stress in my life. 

Another thing I appreciate here at Kendal at Granville is not only the big things that make our life easier but the little things that occur.  For example last Friday, I didn't sign up for the bus trip provided for those of us who don't drive and have errands we need to make.  When I asked Amy, our facilities secretary if the bus was going to run, she said, "No one signed up."  When she learned that two of us had something we needed to take care of, she arranged for a driver to take us.

This morning I needed to find out about the results of a lab test for which the blood was drawn last week in anticipation of a followup visit to my endocrinologist.  I had received a copy of part of the results, but part were missing.  I needed to know if it was missing because it wasn't done or I just didn't get a copy of it. I called the wellness clinic and told Marie my story explaining that if it hadn't been done I would need to make arrangements to get it done.   By lunchtime she had tracked down the report which had been done but no copy sent.  She had a copy for me by the time I finished lunch.

It's these kinds of response to needs that make life more pleasant here and makes me be thankful for my life at Kendal every day not just on Thanksgiving.

Helping the Young to Read

Again this fall several Kendal residents traveled to the Newark Public Library to appear before groups of second-graders as volunteers in Call to College, a program designed to foster a love of reading in the kids, many of whom come from economically disadvantaged homes. Our participation last year seemed to have been constructive – and that was certainly the judgment of those who manage the program and who invited us back. Moreover, everyone at the Kendal end got a big kick out of it, with lovely, amusing, and startling stories to share. And so, when we were invited to step up again in 2012, there was no trouble finding interested volunteers. No surprise there: a community of seniors has a full complement of persons who want to be useful to the world they live in. That's why Kendal offers many sorts of opportunities for community volunteering. But this is the one I know most about, and so it's the one I'll comment on.

First, let me introduce our volunteers: Dave Skeen, Harriett Stone, Jack Condon, and Ted Barclay. (That's a smaller number than last year only because the public library asked that some slots be reserved for their own personnel.) The volunteers' assignment was to talk about their lives with groups of seven-year-olds at the Newark Public Library, focusing on how their lifelong engagement with books had made their careers possible. The school kids arrived with questions prepared, and they were of course bubbling with the excitement that comes from the feeling of novelty and freedom that is triggered by any school field trip.

The quartet of volunteers brought an array of life experiences to these conversations – from reflections on induction into the armed forces to thoughts about the challenges of managing a small business.  Within their ranks the cast of volunteers provided administrators, a swimming coach, a psychologist, and a physician.

The residents reported having had a great time, and by all accounts the school kids had a blast. The lesson driven home again and again – and not all that subtly – was that an ability to read opened doors, brought all sorts of joy, made navigating the world far easier, and was a prerequisite to a successful, happy life.

In thinking over what they may have contributed, last years' volunteers sometimes wondered whether these moments of engagement were really too brief to make much of a difference in the lives of children. While it's hard to be confident that there will be a payoff for all the kids, it's easy to believe that Kendal's participation may be affecting the lives of some proportion of them. Much depends on the reinforcing effect of the various follow-ups that the Call to College program has, on family support of course, and on sheer luck. But without the Kendal contribution the odds against many of these children would be even longer. That's the hope that energizes the volunteers who live in our midst.

OUR BOOK GROUP

One of my favorite times here at Kendal is at 3:00 PM on the fourth Thursday of the month.  That's when sixteen to twenty of us, men and women, meet to discuss the book chosen for that month.  This started in March of 2006 which means we are in our sixth year and going strong!  I have a list of all the books we have read and it is rather impressive, I think.  We have no leader.  I convene the meeting at exactly 3:00 PM and we have only two rules:  we may only talk about the book and only one person may talk at a time.  We pass around the microphone and give each person a chance to talk at least once.  At 3:50 we end the discussion and decide together what we want to read next. We usually have a backlog of suggestions and then we vote.  Not all books appeal to all members at the same time.  However, everyone is a good sport and reads the chosen book and often says," I'm glad we chose this book because I really enjoyed it and never would have chosen it on my own."

Last month we read Turn Right at Machu Picchu.  Several members had traveled there and brought with them photographs of  their trip which of course made this book all the more interesting.  This month we  read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which tells the story of a poor woman in the 1950's whose cells were used for research without her permission.  These cells turned out to be extremely important for research in curing many diseases and made alot of money for some people but not for her family.  We knew we needed help for this discussion and a retired Denison Biology Professor was willing to meet with us.  The professor talked about the importance of the cells and because he had also taught Bioethics, told us about the complicated consent forms we now have to sign before having procedures.

Next month we will read Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev.  This time the discussion will be led by the daughter of one of our members who is a Professor of Russian Literature at Duke University. I will tell you about that next month.

The membership is certainly diverse.  Our youngest member is seventy and our oldest is ninety.  We have nurses and teachers and engineers and people of various other backgrounds.  Everyone is welcome!

Construction Blues

Very recently I've detected what might be called a touch of construction blues.  Although it was a very hot day back in July 2011 when ground breaking was held for the beginning of Phase II here there was considerable enthusiasm for the project.  Residents were  eagerly looking forward to the expansion which would add 24 apartments, 32 skilled nursing beds, 11 additional accomodations for assisted living, more space for the crowded physical therapy department, enhancement of the dining and kitchen facilities, and a gathering room which promises more space as well as eagerly awaited  more comfortable chairs. 

As work began we realized we would encounter inconveniences along the way in addition to the appearance of a lot of changes.  Throughout it all we have adapted to changed traffic patterns, backup beepers, temporary utility shut offs, alternate plagues of mud and dust,  strange loud noises, and more. 

There have been some compensations such as new topics of conversation and new activities to entertain us.  Daily conversations frequently have to do with what new equpment has been seen, where fences have appeared, changes that have occurred in the landscaping, etc., etc.  It's been fascinating to watch the huge cranes first at one end of the campus where the work on the Health Center is going forward and then at the opposite end where the apartment building is going up.  Watching those dare devils put up the roofing enthralled some of us as we observed their agility.  Our monthly Resident Association meetings.have become more interesting with the addition of regular construction updates. 

But  now it's well over a year since it all began and it's becoming "old hat."  Also, the sprawl of work sites over the campus has had its effect as Phase II has spread from its initial areas at opposite ends of our community building to smack dab in the middle.  One of these, the Gathering Room hasn't been as disruptive  as that of the kitchen and dining facilities where everything has been literally knocked out of kilter.  The food serving area has been moved into one of our dining rooms - that dining room has been moved into our main lobby - lobby furniture has disappeared and reappeared scattered hither, thither, and yon - part of the Bistro has vanished behind temporary walls - hidden away behind temporary walls is the kitchen area. 

 Goodness only knows how the kitchen staff still manages to prepare the same quality of food as in the past.  As the kitchen, dining and maintenace staff gallantly managed these transformations we adjusted to finding our food in unfamiliar spots.  Many thanks have to go to those staff people who patiently dealt with our grumbling as we searched.  To their credit none of us missed a meal 

Our kitchen and dining staff has done a remarkable job of keeping things going smoothly.  I'm sure they are walking extra miles daily due to the new configuration.  My hat is off to them for the way they keep smiling on as they cope daily with the total discombobulation of their working area.  I think if I were one of them I would be singing the blues loudly and probably off key.

 I'm noticing that the questions being asked more frequently have to do with the finishing date of Phase II. e.g.  "Will the kitchen and dining room be ready for the holidays?  When will we be able to use the Gathering Room for our programs?  How soon will they open the skilled nursing beds? and "What's the date for people to move into the new apartments?" 

I suspect one thing that is contributing to the "blues" is the fact that as the finishing date has come closer our ability to see what's happening is decreasing.  With the skeletal stages  completed everything is enclosed and the workmen are no longer visible.  But we still hear the noises behind the walls.  Guided tours of the Health Center the last week in September helped to satisfy a lot of our curiosity by answering a number of our questions and giving us a chance to get answers to the ones that came up as we toured. 

I'm sure the blues won't last. As I think about it just now we're rather like youngsters looking forward to Christmas when they get to open their gifts.  So I'm confident as we see more and more of the outside finishing touches appearing our blues will turn to carols of joy.  I believe that the staff and residents will come together as they have for the holidays in the past and our spirits will be lifted as the New Year brings the culmination of all of our Phase II projects.