Overheard at Senior Homes (Part 5)

A senior home resident (with her daughter) displaying a carved block print in my printmaking class.

I teach writing and printmaking classes at senior homes in Los Angeles. Over the years, I’ve kept a journal of the memorable things I’ve seen and heard.

At a senior home in Reseda, I encountered an Elvis impersonator performing for residents. He sang classic love songs like “Love Me Tender,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Several elderly women swooned over him. He flirted, offered hugs and kisses and seductively shook his hips while singing. Afterwards, I asked Elvis how many senior facilities he’d performed in.

“Dozens.”

“They love you,” I said.

“Sometimes too much.”

“What do you mean?”

He showed me his right hand where a woman scrawled her phone number with a sharpie.

“Some want me to come back with them to their rooms,” he said. “I’ve had 90-year olds toss their panties at me. Actually, they were adult diapers. I’m just glad they weren’t poopy pants.”

*****

At a senior facility in Torrance, I learned about the peanut butter smell test for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at the University of Florida discovered that people with early stage Alzheimer’s often have an impaired ability to smell peanut butter. A person is told to close their eyes and mouth…