Tag: nursing home

Left or right, Dad? Left. Up or down? Down.

The ornaments were laid out on the tray table in front of my father. As I picked each one up, I’d ask him where we should put it.

This is the first tree my dad and I have decorated together in at least 25 years. I was 21 and he was 58. Both ... Read More


She’s known as the “Witch of Warroad.” Doesn’t sound like a compliment, does it?

It wouldn’t be, unless you’re Loralee Marvin, of Warroad, Minn., who looks forward to Halloween year-round. She says it’s the one time of year a person can dress up and act like a total goofball and no one seems to think anything less of them.

In her town, ... Read More


“This needs sugar!” a woman barks from the table behind me. A nurse gently tells for the 10th time, “I already put sugar on it for you, Alice.” “Well it doesn’t taste like it!” her surly charge growls.

“Help! Help! Help!” the woman two tables away shrieks. The first time I heard it, I was shocked when no one jumped up ... Read More