January 13, 2010
The tension that’d been lingering in the Bingo room has built to the boiling point. Last time, the second I walked in, everyone looked at me, like I was supposed to Do Something.
A man I’ve seen around before (but have never met) had taken Royal’s Bingo spot.
It sounds trivial, and it probably is, in the big scheme of things, but at the Soldiers Home, routine is king–people sit at the same table for lunch every day, take their pills at the same time every day, wake up and go to bed at the same time every day – and sit in the same place for Bingo. Every. Single. Time.
Royal always sits with David Fox. Lately, Cal has joined them; once in a while, Patrick comes in to sit by her. It’s a table toward the front, with a good clear view of the Bingo numbers, and in close enough range to clearly hear the numbers called. But this time, Royal was 10 feet back, in limbo, waiting for someone to move that man.
I told him gently that he was sitting in a lady’s spot. He barked at me, so roughly that I couldn’t understand him. "Isn’t there somewhere else you could sit?" I asked. He yelled that he’d been there for half an hour saving that spot, and he was not going to move.
It was the first time anyone at the Soldiers Home has yelled at me. It made David snap at him. And it was enough to send Bill the resident Bingo leader into orbit.
"Then I will just move you," he told the man in the wrong spot. He started to pull him away, but the man grabbed on to the table for all he was worth. Bill stopped, but everyone was staring, and Royal looked lost. A nurse came in and tried to reason with the seat-stealer, but he wasn’t having any of it.
Royal decided to roll up and sit right next to him. It lasted about halfway through the games, and then she moved to the other side of the table. Afterwards, the man left, and I told Royal that I was sorry she had to move, but I hoped she noticed how many people stood up for her—she had friends, and supporters, and people on her side. She had handled a break in routine with grace and dignity ... and she won quite a few Bingo games, too.
The tension that’d been lingering in the Bingo room has built to the boiling point. Last time, the second I walked in, everyone looked at me, like I was supposed to Do Something.
A man I’ve seen around before (but have never met) had taken Royal’s Bingo spot.
It sounds trivial, and it probably is, in the big scheme of things, but at the Soldiers Home, routine is king–people sit at the same table for lunch every day, take their pills at the same time every day, wake up and go to bed at the same time every day – and sit in the same place for Bingo. Every. Single. Time.
Royal always sits with David Fox. Lately, Cal has joined them; once in a while, Patrick comes in to sit by her. It’s a table toward the front, with a good clear view of the Bingo numbers, and in close enough range to clearly hear the numbers called. But this time, Royal was 10 feet back, in limbo, waiting for someone to move that man.
I told him gently that he was sitting in a lady’s spot. He barked at me, so roughly that I couldn’t understand him. "Isn’t there somewhere else you could sit?" I asked. He yelled that he’d been there for half an hour saving that spot, and he was not going to move.
It was the first time anyone at the Soldiers Home has yelled at me. It made David snap at him. And it was enough to send Bill the resident Bingo leader into orbit.
"Then I will just move you," he told the man in the wrong spot. He started to pull him away, but the man grabbed on to the table for all he was worth. Bill stopped, but everyone was staring, and Royal looked lost. A nurse came in and tried to reason with the seat-stealer, but he wasn’t having any of it.
Royal decided to roll up and sit right next to him. It lasted about halfway through the games, and then she moved to the other side of the table. Afterwards, the man left, and I told Royal that I was sorry she had to move, but I hoped she noticed how many people stood up for her—she had friends, and supporters, and people on her side. She had handled a break in routine with grace and dignity ... and she won quite a few Bingo games, too.
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