January 04, 2015

Beware the Millies

Originally posted on Wordpress.

(This was in my draft folder on blogger. I don't know why I never published it; maybe subconsciously I knew I would need blog material in January.)

Millie is my mother's ninety-six year old neighbor. Yesterday afternoon, Millie came over to show Mom a letter she got in the mail. Even with the lights on, she was using a flashlight to read the letter and insisted that it was dark outside and she needed the flashlight to find her way home. After they got the letter sorted out (it was junk mail), Millie told Mom about the poor, confused, old man she met at the grocery store.

Millie was walking up and down one aisle and an older man (in the opinion of a ninety-six year old woman) asked her what she was looking for.

"Toilet tissue," said Millie.

"What brand is it?" asked the older man.

"It's a French name, Crepe something, I think," said Millie. (She was looking for Charmin.)

"I've never seen a Grape toilet paper," he said. Then he walked around to the next aisle.

Millie didn't try to correct him since he obviously couldn't hear and she continued looking for a few more minutes before giving up and going to the next aisle.

There, she saw the older man again and when they met he said "I don't see a purple toilet paper anywhere."

****

At the time I wrote this in June 2014, Millie was still driving, thus the title.  She drove very, very slowly because her vision was so bad, but she somehow managed to avoid being in an accident.  She may have caused some accidents, but she was never in one.  Her driver's license had been taken away years ago but that didn't stop her.  But a couple of months ago, she told mom that she really couldn't see well enough to drive and now she walks to the grocery store which is only a block away.  When I visited Mom in August, Millie brought food over (that's another story), and mentioned that she was 96 but she didn't know how much longer she had.  I hope she makes it to 100.  She'd like to have Willard Scott wish her a happy birthday - if he is still around.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like your Mom has an interesting neighbor.

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  2. Yes, she is pretty interesting, and her mind is sharp as a tack, as the saying goes. It's sad about her eyesight because she didn't have children and really has no one to take care of her. But even with her failing sight, she manages to keep up with the neighborhood, and if something is going on at mom's house, she'll come over to investigate. Discretely of course. lol Marti

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  3. Thank you. Millie is a neat person. Very outspoken and opinionated, but maybe that's what has kept her going all this time. Marti

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