Helping old people

[Roxywheels]

I spent the majority of my day at the neighbors next door, Mr Ernie and his wife Billie. They're just a sweet old couple and they always look out for me. If they haven't seen my car in a couple of days(I put it in the garage) they call to see if I'm alright. They also always call and invite me to their family dinners.

Billie used to be a hairdresser and she still keeps her license, even if she no longer does hair. Its important to her. Her renewal is due and she could do it online or go to a class. She didn't want to go to classes. She's had a recent stroke and its just hard on her. She wanted me to help her figure out how to do the online thing. So, I go over and she can't find the renewal papers. We finally find them. Then she can't find her license. We finally find that. I get online and see what needs to be done to renew them for her. Basically its a bunch of reading, a couple of questions and thats it. She asked if I would do it for her. Sure...no problem. We try to sign her up for the classes and pay for them. She can't find her credit card. She finally finds it and its expired. She can't find the new card. They just found it right before I left their house. So, to get her started I use my Paypal account to pay and Mr Ernie goes to the bank to get me the money back. We eventually get her all signed up and ready to go, but it took about 5 hours when it only should have taken about an hour.

While I was there Mr Ernie asked me to clean up their old files and old programs on their puter. I cleaned up what I could and removed about 4 tool bars they had downloaded Then I had to teach them how Ebay works. Then they wanted to know what Craigslist is and how it works. Then Billie wanted an online chess game to play. Now they think I am some kind of computer whiz I know she'll be calling me this week, asking how to change the settings in the chess game. Its like having parents all over again, except these ones don't yell at me! The sad thing is...she has a son and a daughter. The son lives right here in town. She has 2 teenaged grand daughters that probably know computers better than I do, but their kids never bother with them But, it was nice to help someone and teach them things that we take for granted....like Google

Do you have any old people you help out that aren't related to you?

[Phonedoc]

Yeah, Gene, up the road. All of my Grandma's are gone, so I take care of her. She's a hell of a lot of fun. She'll go to the bar with us, plays poker on Saturday night and she's always up for cooking some barbecue and tossing back a cold one. She's got some fun stories, too.

I don't use that smilie lightly, either.

[CHRIS SHELBY]

Thats great to hear. I used to help this 1 couple out all the time. But he died back during the Summer. And the kids moved the lady back to Texas with them. I never took a dime for anything I did...even though they always asked me how much they owed. One of the best things about helping him was listening to stories he would tell me of the old days.

[t0talkos]

yes all the time, neighbors and what not. I help people whenever i can, I mean when i dont know what im doing i need help too!.

Treat people like you want to be treated.

[Keith Armstrong]

We had a little old neighbor lady lik that too. She had one son who lived in Ohio .. no, that's different than Iowa ... he was as worthless as tits on a boar.

She called one day and complained that she was having trouble hearing folks on the phone. No problem I says, I'll pick up a phone with adjustable volume and we'll just plug it in.

Yup, you guessed it. She's lived in the house since '48 and still has the original dial phone hardwired to the wall ... and is still leasing it from the phone company?!

Ah well, she's gone now. The neighbors all thought she was a gruff old gal, but not really.

Oh, and she drove a 70something Bug with an automatic...silly old gal.

[nahmus]

Older couple down the road. the wife takes care of the husband who is sadly developing alzheimers. She has her hands full so i shovel snow and do what I can. She has her hands full. The whole neighborhood watches out for them.

One time I saw an old couple stopped on the side of the interstate. I wasn't going anywhere in a hurry so i pulled over and helped them change their tire. Just the look of gratitude on their faces was worth whatever time it took.

EDIT
On a side note rox, I tried the oatmeal recepie you put in that thread. First time it came out like wet cardboard but its getting better!

[Roxywheels]

This online stuff that I'm doing for her is realy just a bunch of reading and refresher info. She'll never do hair again, but she said she feels like she's still somebody with her license. She only wants them so she can say she has them, so I'll do whatever I can to help her get them She has hand and leg tremors from her stroke so there is no way she could ever sit thru the classes. We were setting up her account today and it asks some personal questions for log in. It took her about 15 minutes to remember her Mom's maiden name. I felt bad for her. She could have never lasted for 12 hours of online lessons. When I was leaving I told her I would do them for her over the next couple of days and she said *ok...make sure you make me smart!*

[Roxywheels]

Originally Posted by nahmus

EDIT
On a side note rox, I tried the oatmeal recepie you put in that thread. First time it came out like wet cardboard but its getting better!

Use a little more water and don't cook it too long

[schulze]

I do some computer stuff for an old neighbor. I think he's around 84 and has a lot of medical issues but they don't stop him. He was Airborne during WWII and then owned a car repair shop. He has 2 rescue goldens that he walks a couple miles every day, does some yards in the area, and is a crossing guard for the local elementary school. That's the latest computer thing...he's in an ongoing fight with the city to improve safety at the crossing & I type/print the letters.

Last year I helped him download some stuff from his WWII reunion in Belgium. His Army stories are wonderful, and he reminds me a bit of my dad .
Pip

[FourBanger]

Originally Posted by Roxywheels

Now they think I am some kind of computer whiz

Now that is funny.

Do you have any old people you help out that aren't related to you?

Yep. The old lady across the street, the one next door to her, the couple next to her, the loony that lives next door to me, and the people that live across the street from her.

I keep their sidewalks and driveways cleared of snow, fix the little shit that goes wrong with their cars and houses, and occasionally share baked goods and stuff with them. The loony needs a ride to the store about once every two weeks, which is fine, cause I need to get to the store about every two weeks. I also visit my grandma once in a while, and bring her a fresh loaf of bread when I make some.

[Roxywheels]

Originally Posted by FourBanger

Now that is funny.



Yep. The old lady across the street, the one next door to her, the couple next to her, the loony that lives next door to me, and the people that live across the street from her.

I keep their sidewalks and driveways cleared of snow, fix the little shit that goes wrong with their cars and houses, and occasionally share baked goods and stuff with them. The loony needs a ride to the store about once every two weeks, which is fine, cause I need to get to the store about every two weeks. I also visit my grandma once in a while, and bring her a fresh loaf of bread when I make some.

I knew it would be a good laugh to those that know what an actual computer moron I am.

[ibrocun]

My wife's grandfather is the grandfather I never had. I never related to my own. My family is a bunch of academics. My dad's dad was a math professor at UC Berkeley. When I was a kid learning algebra I was doing my homework one night and I asked him what Pi was. What I ment was that I wanted 3.14. He proceded to give me the theorm about the relationship between the circumfrence and radius of a circle. He died when I was 13. I never built a relationship with him because we could not relate. My mothers parents died young. I never met them.
My wife's grandfather is a retired operating engineer. We share the passion for equipement and things with motors that do cool things. We've shared a lot of stories about scary moments in loaders, cranes, and trucks. I regret that I've never taken him wheeling because he would have really liked that. He's pretty much on his death bed now. He has a brain tumor does not have much time left.

[RE:Todd]

Originally Posted by Roxywheels

Do you have any old people you help out that aren't related to you?

Gary, aka SDCJ

[itsbeenawhile]

My husband & I help my parents out all the time. Even when he has been out on the road for 6 days he will still take that time to make repairs around their house. We buy extra supplies at Costco just so my parents are covered if they need it. We also help out some of the seniors in our community so they know someone is looking out for them. My husband says he likes hanging out with the elderly because he loves to hear the stories they have to share.

[Bubba Ray Boudreaux]

Not really, but a few months ago, I was on my way home after pulling a day shift and there was a car on the side of the road, so I stopped to see what was wrong. Old lady had a blow out and she had one of those worthless scissor jacks, trying to figure out how to work it and all of that mess. We carry little 2 ton floor jacks in our cars, so I pulled it out. All she had for a spare was a donut. The blowout was on the front, so I had to do a tire swap. I start working on the rear tire so I can swap it up front and I start getting this itchy feeling in my leg and I look down. I had sat down in about foot deep grass and didn't see the fawking ant den that I had sat in........................

[ky scrambled]

Old $3 Bandy...A old farmer I used to work for when I was 12-15yo. that paid me $3/hr. It took me a day or two to figure out why at the end of the day why he would give me a couple bucks and some change. Well he was taking out 25 cents for each RC cola I drank. Funny thing is his wife would make a huge breakfast and a huge lunch but he never said anything about that. He always let me drive his truck...shoulda seen the look on my moms face the first time I went cruisin by honkin the horn! I'm glad he did though because he was the slowest driver I have ever known. Everytime someone would pass us he would look at me and say " if theys in sucha hurry they shoulda left earlier". The whole time my buddies were sleepin in and watchin cartoons on the weekends...Mr. Bandy was giving me life lessons and I didn't even know it


Good thread though...I haven't thought about them in awhile.

[GPERX4]

I clean the snow off of the old guy's driveway across the street from me, the sad thing is the ambulance took him to the hospital Wed. and he isn't back yet.

[Fisheadgib]

Roy, accross the street from us passed away last spring in his 90's. But until then, we used to help him with stuff almost weekly. He used to love fishing and he and his wife loved seafood but couldn't afford to buy it very often on a fixed income. We fish a lot and we always took over a big bag of fillets. He would be so appreciative for the fish that his eyes used to tear up.

[GETTINTHERETOY]

Originally Posted by GPERX4

I clean the snow off of the old guy's driveway across the street from me, the sad thing is the ambulance took him to the hospital Wed. and he isn't back yet.

If you haven't already. Find out where he is at and go see him!

[Mo]

I've got a little old lady next door, we call her Miss Sally. Her husband passed three years ago on new year's eve.

We don't help her with too much though as her daughter lives about 6 doors up the street.

Josie, Jill and Toby shoveled her driveway and sidewalk a couple weeks ago and she gave each of them a $2 bill.

[Berg]

roxy... your story reminds me of my father in law and next door neighbor. He just passed away at 91.

several days before he died he was still on the computer watching his stocksand sending e-mails.
Almost every day I would check on him and help with some home repair or PC problems of some kind. I actually enjoyed visiting everyday.
I remember him getting an e-mail that said "HI from Jenny" .. well this one wasn't from his grandaughter... After he opened the e-mail all he could think of was crawling down on the floor and unplugging his computer. Pretty funny at the time.

I do have a suggestion tho for you. .. Lose your doo-rag and have the neighbor lady do your hair for us and post up. I think you would make her day

[rusted]

Yeah I cut the lawn of one neighbor who lived alone. Helped with the sink, her car, etc.

On the other side is another set of oldsters. I help them with the VA stuff they deal with, and even succeeded in hooking them up with a VA rep who helped get his liver disorder under control.

Honestly, I don't care for either set of them.

[Grim Reaper]

Yeah I miss my next door neighbor "Bill". He has kids my age. Good guy and always wandering over when I was tinkering on something Usually a cold one for me in hand. 75 Years old still riding a Gold wing. Always super nice to my daughters and letting them pick flowers in his garden.

Did a little work on his cars for him and on his Wing.

He had been in a couple wars including Korea and tail end of WWII. Always some good stories.

Came home one day to see his GoldWing laying on its side. I went running over there fearing he was pined under it. He wasn't thankfully. He was trying to maneuver it between his cars and got off balance and had to let it fall. Just didn't have the strength to stop it or get it back on its wheels. Stood it up for him.

Two weeks later some guy comes over and loads the bike in a trailer. I figured Bill finally felt he was too old for it. Didn't question him about it. After a couple weeks I see the same truck and trailer in his drive. Walk over to see whats up...he had it made into a Trike so he could keep riding.

He passed a couple years back. His wife kept asking me if I wanted to buy the Wing. Kept telling me "Bill would have wanted you to have it". I bet she would have sold it to me for a couple grand. It was only 2 years old and worth $15-17k easy. I couldn't do it and my wife would have killed me. Made sure she marked it right and got some good coin out of it.

Miss the guy. He was a great neighbor.

[NM Dirty Girl]

We've got a couple across the street that we started out helping alot, but I've started kinda stayin' away now that I have little kids with major germs. My youngest daughter seems to be my sicky kid and caught everything that first couple of years, I didn't want to spread that to the lady across the street as she is not in the best of health anyway. She does say that she really enjoys watching the girls play outside, and we always wave to the window.

This thread makes me think about my old boss though. I used to work/manage a little mom and pop seafood restaurant, and the owner was the "grumpy old man", if he was smiling it was because he was trying to get rid of you. I started out afraid of him, and then he won my heart, and I must have one his, because he spoiled me rotten. I really miss him and his stories, and sneaking ice cream sandwiches with him. We also had a big clientel of older people, I had one couple that I served every Sunday forever, and when the husband died, I would serve and sit down and eat with the wife because Jim (the owner) didn't want her to eat alone. That was the hard part about that job...I lost alot of good friends/customers to age...sad.

[Roxywheels]

I finally finished Mrs Ernie's courses for her. They need to be in by the 11th, so I copied off everything that needed to be mailed and took it over to her to get a couple more things, so I could take it to the post office and overnight it for her. Poor thing started crying and said no one is ever this nice to her She said if I hadn't done this for her she would have lost the license that she's had for many years. It made me feel good to help her, but sad that she cried