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The Old Man and the Chair
The Old Man and the Chair
Every month or so I visit my ailing uncle in a nursing home on Long Island. He is the last living sibling of my mother. Alfonso is 91 years old, his memory is intact, but his body is failing. Just ask the nurses about Zio, he a regular Don Juan. His greatest joy when I visit is to wheel him out on the patio for fresh air, we reminisce about our family which are long gone, he asks of my children, but can’t remember their names, all is good with Zio Alfonso, I was named after him, my name is Al.
Every time we take the fresh air I notice an old man sitting off by himself in a make shaft rocking chair. He sits under this canapé, well not exactly, it is an old canvas tarp riddled with holes, and stares directly at the sky. The wind blows and the canapé flaps, I would find this mostly annoying having the wind in my face. The old man sits an stares for hours with a look of serenity on his face. His face is weathered like that of a man who worked outdoors, his hands were large and strong, they are calloused. His neck is broad and leather wore from direct sun. He appears to be about 90, when I ask my uncle about him, my uncle turns and says in his broken English, “pay no attention to him, he is an old fool, just sits and stares, and one comes to visit him.” My uncle lacked social skills and always had an opinion on everything. However, I paid the old man no mind as suggested.
Month after month I visit my uncle and see the old man, finally I had to ask the old man why he sits and stares. One day after visiting my uncle, who was nearing the end of his life, I got the nerve to ask him. I asked, “ why do you sit there old man?” He answered, “ this is my life now as I am an old man with no family, I sit and remember the past.” “Do you have any children, I queried?” “No,” replied the old man, “never had any, I was away from home most of my life and never settled down,” I thought how awful for the old man, alone and old. The old man said,” I am most content sitting and staring at the sky, I lost most of my eye sight some years ago from diabetes.”
I was intrigued, “ what was your occupation?” “I was a sailor,” he answered. “My home is the sea.” He went on and added, “ I joined the Navy at 16, fought in WWII, been sailing ever since.” Wow, I thought to myself, this guy is a living history book. “I long for the sea, the salt air, the wind that caressing my face, the burning of the sun on my neck, and the singing of whales.” “When was the last time you sailed?” The old man let go with a hardy laugh, some what similar to an old pirate. “ Argh, ha, ha, ha, its been maybe thirty years since I’ve sailed a schooner.” Now I’m thinking, a schooner is a small two masted boat. “Now, I just sit and feel the wind and listen to the flapping of the canapé, reminds me of the sails.” I said good bye and promised him when I returned to visit my uncle I would stop by and say hello.
The next month’s visit was saddened by the passing of my beloved Zio Alfonso. He had lived a long wonderful life, I soon realized that he was the last of the Italian immigrants arriving at Ellis Island over eighty years ago. I sat on the patio where I would wheel my uncle, I sat and stared, looking through the old man in the chair. When suddenly, someone yelled, “ hey, kid, I’m sorry about your uncle, come sit with me a while.” The old man in the chair sensed I was near.
“Why, thank you sir, he was the last of the elders.”
My Zio had left an inheritance for me, nothing big, I was his only close relative. Ten thousand dollars and a note that read, “ do something good for someone, or do someone something good.” He spoke in Yogi Berra-isms.
Never making sense at first, but eventually there were words of wisdom. I sat with the old man for an hour where I would sit with my Zio, on the back patio of the nursing home. The old man and I sat for hours never saying a word. When he suddenly said, “ would you please come see me time to time?” How could I possibly say no, he was lonely and I was still mourning my Zio. I reposted, “Certainly, maybe not every month but I will come visit with you, is there anything you need?” The old man though for a moment and said, “just a visit now and then.”
A month went by and I didn’t visit, I was feeling guilty, so the next Saturday I drove to the nursing home it was at the end of Long Island, Montauk. “Do something good for someone,” my Zio’s words resonated in my head. I had to make one stop before I visited the old man. When I arrived he was happy to see me and said, “ thanks for coming, I feel my end is near, it hasn’t been a good weak for me.” I spoke to the nurse, he was depressed and lonely. I asked the nurse if he could travel, she responded, “ only short distances with an aide.” Would he be able to take a quick ride over to the Montauk pier?” The nurse said as long as she went along.
The three of us hopped into one of the nursing homes’s van with the nurse driving.” Where are we going?”she questioned me. “Just to the pier as I winked my eye.” The old man was thrilled to be out and about. We pulled up the pier and we walked to the end, the old man knew he was close to the ocean as he inhaled deeply and sighed. I had rented a schooner for the day,” do something good for someone.” Yogi again in my head. I wheeled him to the bow and sat him in a fishing chair. As we slowly pulled away from the pier I could see the joy on his face. He finally had the wind in his sails, the sun on his neck and the seagulls were serenading him with the flapping of the sails. He quietly cried tears of joy.
When the sailing trip was done he thanked me for the wonderful memory and I promised to visit next month. The next month’s visit was my last, the old man passed away. The nursing staff said they had never seen him so happy during the last month. Before his cremation was scheduled I called the State Department to let them know of his passing. They said the Navy will depose of the his body. Three days later the United States Navy showed up with an entire fleet of sailors. He had been one of the last survivors of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor.
The old man in the chair was given a full naval funeral with a burial at sea in Pearl Harbor, where he now rests with his shipmates.