It is true that there is a lot to be learned from older folk as a recent visit to the Palms on Brickdam revealed.
Getting by
on one leg
Ninety-six-year-old Sybil Bookey is full of memories and she has a quick recall.
Her move to the institution was necessitated after her caretaker died and there was no one to take care of her.
However, for the few months she has been there, she said, she found the nurses to be friendly and helpful.
Bookey, who had one of her legs amputated after a car accident in 1970, said she was determined to not let that stop her from living. “All manner of things I did on this one leg. I could climb into a truck quicker than those with two legs,” she laughingly recalled.
She credits God with helping her through the rough periods in her life and is thankful for the years he had given her.
She recalled the days when life was different, when trains operated and Sunday traditions were intact.
Bookey disclosed that her grandfather was a slave from Africa who made the trip to the Caribbean as part of the slave trade.
She said she felt great that a month has been set aside to honour senior citizens and is grateful for the years that she has lived.
Now, she is content to relax while relating her many stories to those who may visit her.
Lady in red
Centenarian Ruby Wilkinson was clad in a red dress complete with a hat, as if
waiting to go somewhere. A quiet woman, she has been a resident of the home for the last five years.
Though she has lapses in her memory, she remembers growing up in Buxton and making metai, sugar cake and other products to sell. One nurse related that she is quite a dancer but when asked if she could, she turned away then replied, “I only dance when music playing.” Wilkinson had no children of her own, but she is frequently visited by a young lady who she cared for when she was little.
She said that she has lots of friends at the Palms and she finds it good there. The key to her longevity, she said, is the care that she has taken of herself over the years and she intends to continue.
‘I buried
five wives’
Self-proclaimed intellectual Julius Mars called ‘Grandfather’ said that there is not a question on management or psychology that he cannot answer. Once an avid reader, he said he would not leave a book until he had acquired knowledge from it. “I am a Christian. I don’t see problems,” he said, while adding that he is content with his life. “I buried five wives, and since it was impossible to find a sixth, I am here,” he remarked. It has now been three years since he first set foot into the institution.
Of greatest concern to him is his daughter Gailann Barker with whom he has lost contact. With anxiety in his voice, he said he has made several attempts to contact her after she migrated to Barbados with her three daughters but so far, he has been unsuccessful.
Additionally, he informed that she will be celebrating her 51st birthday on November 1.
The former Pomeroon resident said that his deepest regret is that he has no one to pass on his knowledge to, since he can use words like raindrops after having studied the whole dictionary.
“Things are different now,” he said and mentioned that he does not pay attention to race but focuses on peace and love. He added that citizens need to cooperate in order to develop the country and to make into one where peace and unity prevails.
“Elderly people prepare the way for young people and the time has come for youths to welcome old people,” he said. He said that from the works of the senior citizens, youths have been able to benefit. “I’m here by the grace of God; I’m so blessed.”
Times have
changed
Former teacher Bernadette Robertson said that the Great Flood of 2005 accelerated her move to the Palms since she could not help herself after her losses. Currently, she is contented with life despite an injury to her hip which has incapacitated her.
For the woman who was born in 1933, life and the times have certainly changed.
“Things were different then, people reacted differently,” she said. Her particular reference is the interaction between adults and youths which she said is strained today. She explained that older people had certain standards, which were passed on, but that is longer the custom.
“The elderly made significant contributions to the country that is why the month is celebrated,” Robertson said. She said that things are now possible because of the work done by senior citizens who were educated and contributed lots of hard work.
‘Month for the Elderly’, which was officially launched on October 1 is being celebrated under the theme ‘Working for the Elderly, Celebrating their Contribution to Guyana’.
