The inspiration for the ELEGANT SENIOR Project can be credited to my elderly friend Libby and her daughter Victoria. It was Victoria who noticed that her mother had not opened a bottle of wine that I had given her months before. We knew she drank, because we with her and other family members had downed quite a few glasses of Honeycrisp Hard™, Scrumpy, and Crabby™ hard cider – to Libby's delight! But the bottle of Apfelweiss Wine I gave her gathered dust in her cupboard.
Oh! I forgot to mention that Libby was 101 years old at that time, in good health, and living in an assisted living facility. She had her own one-bedroom apartment with kitchen/office area, a living room, a dining room and a couple of bathrooms – one in her bedroom and one off the kitchen/office area for guests. Back to the wine.
When Victoria noticed that Alvera had not opened her bottle of wine, she concluded that it just didn’t have any appeal for her. Following this line of thinking, Victoria casually mentioned that she’d noticed the bottle of wine sitting on her shelf for a while, and perhaps she didn’t care for it. If so, Valerie offered to take it off her hands. “Oh no!” said Libby. “I want to drink it, but I can’t open the bottle. I tried with the corkscrew I have, but I can’t grab it to make it work….” Victoria’s jaw dropped, astounded that the reason Libby had not drank her wine was because she couldn’t open the bottle. “Well, I’ll take care of that“, Victoria grinned. She grabbed the bottle and dusted it off. More adept than her mother, she applied the corkscrew and popped the cork. “You make it seem so easy!” Libby said – almost apologetically. “My hands just don’t work like they used to…” Then they both sat down at the kitchen table for a chat and a glass of wine.
When Victoria shared this story with me, I was almost in tears. Even now, I tear up just thinking about it. “She couldn’t enjoy a bottle of wine, because she couldn’t open the bottle?” Never shall this happen again, Valerie and I agreed; and we went shopping for a wine bottle opener that a 101-year-old, in good health and enjoying life, could use. We found what we were looking for and had Libby test it out by opening another bottle of wine. Success! We rejoiced in celebration; and I promised to give her more wine with which to practice!
In reflecting on Libby's experience, I wondered about other people like her who had things they couldn’t open or kitchen tools and accessories they couldn’t use. I smiled when I thought about wine clubs operated by various wineries -- and even Williams Sonoma – who might ship wine to seniors or others with special needs – only to have them gather dust in their cupboards or on their wine rack.
“What if there was a business”, I thought, “That would cater to the needs of seniors and others with special needs who want to live in elegance and grace?” That is the underlying thrust of the ELEGANT SENIOR Project!
ENJOY THE GOOD LIFE!!!
Herdie E. Baisden, Ph.D. Director & Executive Secretary – Baisden Enterprises Ltd
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