ELECTRIC BLANKETS & NO POWER

It was a very cold and snowy day when Agnes came to my home. She was the fourth person to live with us. Agnes arrived with two suitcases and a couple of bags. She was a tall lady, little on the heavy side with long (I mean long) hair. She was dressed very classy in a suit consisting of skirt, blouse, and jacket. On her feet were stockings and a pair of low heeled pumps. . She also had on a pair of white gloves. Her Doctor had called me looking for a place for her. She had the beginning of dementia and could no longer live alone. She was talking as she came in and she never stopped. Every day she was dressed about the same. In the evening she wanted to wear long negligee but I finally convinced her was not a good idea with men around. Agnes had an answer for everything that went through the house. She had the cure for anything and everything. You could always get a good laugh at some of them; but she meant well. One thing about Agnes that got your attention was her illness. If you had a headache she got one immediately. If you’re back hurt, gentle reader, so did hers. If someone had a pain in their foot you know she did too. The Dr had told me she was a hypochondriac so I was prepared. She was on medicine for high blood pressure and for her heart. Agnes had a “sugar” pill. If she complained too much I would tell her I was going to have to get her a pain pill and she was so happy. When she took this capsule, which was just sugar her pain went away. She was a firm believer in the pill so this really worked out great for me. Agnes always set in a rocking chair filing her finger nails. It seemed like the more she talked the faster she would rock.
Her hair was a huge problem. She couldn’t brush it herself so I did the best I could. She couldn’t stand any heavy brushing and it was a job. I tried to get her to cut her hair but she refused any mention of this. I swear, dear reader, it was almost to her knees. She said she had not had it cut in fifty years and I believed her.
It was early spring when a thunderstorm developed. It was really a severe storm and the weatherman said it would last several hours. There was a lot of thunder and lighting. The folks always got together in the living room. It seemed to make everyone more comfortable to be with each other. The lights had blinked off and on a couple of times and then we lost power. You could literally hear a pin drop. I called Niagara Mohawk and they said power would be off for several hours.
I went into the living room and said very calmly “Everyone has to go to bed. The power will be off but I will be right here.” I figured if they were in bed it was easier to keep them quiet and no one was walking around in the dark. It took a while but I got the folks into their bed except Agnes. She said she just couldn’t go to bed she was in too much pain. I knew of course, gentle reader, she was fine but I said “Agnes, if you will go to bed I will get your special pill for you”! She rocked a few times and then said “Ok and than if you will plug in my electric blanket and turn it up I will go to bed”! Of course you know what I did… I gave her special pill and put her to bed. I than “fooled around” plugging in the blanket and she said “That feels so nice and warm and went to sleep. The power came back on about midnight but no one woke up. The next morning, dear reader, Agnes mentioned how well she slept with the blanket turned up on high!!
One of the best things I ever did in this home was to have an elevator installed. It was quite a job and we really had some interesting happen when people got on and forgot how to get off.
One of the funniest was when Agnes got on the elevator and started yelling for help. She was between floors and wanted to get off so she opened the door. This elevator had a “fail safe” feature and if the door opened it stopped wherever it was. It is hard to explain but there were two doors so she couldn’t get hurt. It took a long time to get her to shut the door so we could get her out. Of course as soon as she was out she got all the attention and she just lapped it right up. You would almost think, dear reader, she had thought of it herself.
To think, gentle reader, this was just the beginning of a long journey. Check in later for the next installment of life in the Miner Home…..
Love Red