• May 31, 2021

“When the Caretaker Crashes”

“When the Caretaker Crashes”                   “So during this time, I couldn’t eat…I couldn’t drive… I lost 30 lbs. I could do nothing but lie in bed….”  Why are we humans so predictable? We never put things in place we’re pretty assured we might need—until after the fact? […]
  • May 27, 2021

When “the Decision” Hurts You…Way More Than Her”

  (”the wreath signaled everything…She’d adjusted to her new home)  When “the Decision” Hurts You …Waaayyy More Than It Does Her On each of the pivotal points, when I should’ve made a decision, I stalled, thinking “maybe she’s happier in her home”…”maybe her driving isn’t as feckless as it seems”…”maybe no one will cheat her.” […]
  • May 24, 2021

Diane Woods Blansett: One of the Caretaker Army

“I see Wayne occasionally glimpse through my soul and sometimes it breaks my heart” … Diane Woods Blansett Her Southern accent came clearly across the airwaves to me, just as certain as my Rhode Island “drop the r’s” did to her, I am sure, for Diane Woods Blansett is from Cleveland, Mississippi, a farming and semi-industrial community […]
  • May 16, 2021

Sunstroke Out of Nowhere

Sunstroke Out of Nowhere   It was a lovely day in June, 1964, so lovely, in fact, that I decided at the tender age of 19 that my charges (patients) at the Adolf Meyer Building (Admittance Building) should have a chance to enjoy the balmy weather, too, and not be confined to the inner walls […]