Field Notes Five.edevault

My fifth visit to the retirement center seemed quick to me--not quite sure why. Perhaps getting back into the swing of things helped the pace a bit.

My first hour I read some sonnets to a Ms. K., a Carlisle resident. She was blind, and frail, but very kind. She shared how she and her husband met, as if eager to tell it to such a young girl as me. He, an English and Violin Major--She, a Piano Major. They met while playing at the same concert. From then on, He found excuses to go to her house to "practice piano", but her father saw right through it; "He's not here for the piano, he's here for my daughter!" he said. She then asked me if I had a "friend". I couldn't help but smirk at this question; so many times before I could not answer this question with a "yes" . Under most blessed circumstances, this question is no longer met with my straight-faced "no". I mentioned that my "friend" was also volunteering at the retirement center and also went to Erskine. She beamed--we had made a connection.

I read her some of Shakespeare's sonnets (oh, so beautiful!!) for almost an hour. Her eyes would often drift to one side; she concentrated on the words she could no longer see. I believe she enjoyed it; she would nod and smile after some of the sonnets. I wondered if she ever thought in her younger days that she would be read to by a young college student because she could not see herself. I wondered if she foresaw a day when she would not have her husband with her, whom she "missed so terribly". I wondered if she knew how she encouraged me in a small way today; she possessed more strength in her frailties than I in my youth.

In the second hour I visited Ms. Co. once again. I did not see her in my last visit, so we paused to catch up a bit. She was a tad sick--just a general cold, I think. She was glad for my timely visit--she wanted to read some of John. I began to read; she seemed a bit sleepy, but wanted me to continue. I continued through the book, realizing how many details of the story I had lost. Refreshing, to see Christ's life and power in sequence rather than in disconnected stories. I remember most the passages she marked herself--passages mostly concerning Christ's preaching to the "called of God". I stopped at chapter 15--I was sorry to leave in such a rush. I left the center for a very quick dinner (5 minutes, to be exact), then another class. Before I knew it, I was back in the college crunch after 2 hours of experiencing a wiser, less hassled perspective.

Elizabeth