Quick Bingo Hits

Friday, November 12, 2010

I didn’t get quite the rock-star welcome at Bingo tonight, but it was my own fault. My son’s golf team was running the stadium concession stands for a football game, and I had a hard time extracting myself. So when I rolled in at 6:58 for 7pm Bingo, I was greeted with “finally” instead of “yay.” Fair enough. At least I got there.

Bingo tidbits:

• Ken Levick had told me on Wednesday that he was going to see his wife today (she has been No. 1 on the Soldiers Home waiting list for a while, he said, but in the meantime is in a different nursing home). When I asked how the visit went, Ken said, “It wasn’t good, Sandy. She’s in really bad shape.” The last time I saw her, she looked fantastic, so I’m sure this was a shock for Ken. I was having trouble with a response. “I’m sure she was glad you came,” I finally sputtered.
• I had a follow-up question for Cal Bush, too: “Did you win at the casino yesterday?” He gave me a wait-for-it, suspense-building look, then said, simply: “Yep.” He won at Bingo, too.
• I even remembered to thank Robert, Wednesday’s resident/artist, for the drawing he left me. I told him I really appreciated it, and I was really moved by it. I asked him whether it was a Veterans Day tribute, and he looked at me as if he wanted to say, “No. It’s a letter to Santa.” But instead he just said yes. “There are only three shades in there,” he said (I had guessed two). “Sometimes I think they’re better when they’re simpler.”
• Bill Crowell didn’t play Bingo, but he did come to the doorway to apologize for not saying goodbye after yesterday’s Veterans Day program. “I had to leave,” he told me. “My father was in World War I, and I got a little choked up.” I told him I understood completely; those programs are always emotional. I was touched that he was touched.
• David Fox had a new haircut, and he looked really sharp. His hearing isn’t the best, so I smoothed my own hair, pointed at him and mouthed, “Very nice.” David responded: “It’s just for you!” I smiled and walked away, and he yelled behind me: “It really is!”
• Leo Burton and I left in the same direction at Bingo halftime—I was on my way to see Mike, and he was headed back to his room to switch Bingo cards. “I haven’t won a thing yet,” he said. But with his new card, he was one of the first winners of the second half—and he kept on winning. “You sure knew what you needed, didn’t you?” I asked him. He laughed. “I sure did,” he said.
• I had to get back to Bingo (and then, the concessions stand), so I could stay with Mike only a few minutes. But they were a good few minutes. He had just been up to use the restroom and was about to drift back to sleep when I walked in. “Your timing is perfect,” he said. He was groggy, so I didn’t feel too guilty leaving. And then Mike said something that made this short visit seem even more worthwhile: “I feel a lot better,” he told me.