old people scare me...
I think really old ladies' skin will tear away with the slightest pressure, and I suck in my breath every time I see the old man from the retirement complex attempt to board the bus. Unlike children who are just learning how to walk, they have a resiliency that old people simply don't possess. A wipeout for them is just par for the course. But if Mr. Mathers was to take one wrong step, I'm positive that the wail of an ambulance would be forthcoming.
On a day like today, the waiting list at Civic must be filled with the names of those born more than sixty years ago. Just this morning, I saw a woman with a sensible coat, wearing sensible gloves and a sensible hat do a very unsensible thing.
She stepped out onto the sidewalk, and dared the devil to do his worst.
It was sheer ice. Any fool could see that. She did it, though. In her brown leather boots, she placed one foot in front of the other and tempted fate with each step. Maybe she was off to mail a letter, or perhaps she had to go to the store for an important ingredient for the evening meal. Either way, she did it with a particular expression on her face.
I've seen that expression before.
It's that staunchly determined expression that simply fixates on what it's going to feel like when the job is done. For better or for worse, it was going to happen because it was her decision, not any one else's. If she was going to break her hip, then so be it. But, she wasn't going to mind any well-intentioned advice. She was going to do what she damned well pleased. She was an adult, not a child, and would not be treated like one.
I never got a chance to see if she made it back home safely, and I didn't see any ambulances go by that direction.
But I did think of her more than a few times throughout the day.
I wonder if she's gloating now.