Just Around the Corner…

This is my new friend and I don’t know her name.

But I know that she is 100 years old.
And I know that she will be 101 on the 15th of October.

She has outlived her children and it brings her much sadness.  She has two wonderful grandsons.  Christian, a photographer, is 35 years old and his brother studied physics. She has a cleaning person and someone to help her with her finances as her grandsons are not always available, they have jobs.  I also learned that our local bakery makes excellent cookies.

She was born in our neighborhood a century ago (!) and went to the local school for 8 years.  When I mentioned that I worked at the opera house, she knew about the plans for a brand new opera house that the city had been discussing for the past year.  She did not think that the proposed new location was ideal but agreed that the city needed a new opera house.  When I mentioned that I was working on an opera by Bartók, she asked, “Is that Béla Bartók?  Is the music beautiful?”  She once enjoyed live theater and music but it is too difficult for her right now.

I met her near my apartment where I found her struggling with her rolling shopping bag and her cane because of construction.  As I helped her maneuver over a step, I wondered how she even made it outside her apartment but she did not complain about the construction. She simply mentioned that “things needed to be repaired.”  

When I offered to help her cross the street, she exclaimed, “I’m 100 years old!”  
What?  I could not let her walk home with her shopping and her cane all by herself. I did not know where she lived but I offered to help her home.  She immediately reached for my hand and off we went.

25 min later, we found ourselves in front of her building which is only a few blocks from my own apartment.  She thanked me profusely but the pleasure was really all mine. I was quite moved by our time together — just one of those chance encounters that leaves an imprint on one’s heart.

Also, 100 years old?  
Respekt. 

Happy Autumn!