SURVIVORS

All these people came to my window over three consecutive shifts. These were just the ones I recorded – there were others:

· This 75ish lady with the crook in her neck that had her looking at the ground – osteoporosis? How can she see the road to drive?
· A guy with a pretty hard crook in his back
· This guy with a real Parkinson’s shake – was he driving?
· This very old (80?), very wobbly woman, who said that she didn’t know how to pump the gas, then was very sweet about me helping her – and did seem to learn. Was she ok still driving? Her mental faculties seemed still ok – in a body that’s not very good at holding them any more. That must be awfully tough to handle – but she really came across as very sweet.
· This little 50ish polio (?) guy (leg braces, very impaired walk, sunglasses, buzz cut, hot little red Audi convertible) – so full of jokes, even if half of them make no sense to me. He seems like an indomitable spirit.
· This old farmer with barely any skin on his bones – cancer?
· This attractive, blonde, 45ish woman, walking with a limp. Is her right leg shorter than the left?
· This really cute 20ish girl with the cut scars on her arms
· This really pretty 25ish woman, fabulous eyes, only slightly heavy – and these really fucked-up flabby, wrinkled legs. What’s that about? And how does she handle it, including finding the courage to wear shorts?
· This guy with a cleft palate, camouflaged by his mustache.
· This 70ish guy with the cane and such blistered lips
· This 70ish guy with such a pronounced limp, then gets into a wheelchair
· How about this65ish lady with her leg braces, gratefully receiving help with pumping. I don’t know what her condition is, but she says she’s concerned that she is going to lose her arm strength, too.
· This young (25ish) guy, already burdened with being so rigid and cranky
· This 50ish guy with such a terribly stiff walk. I wondered what that was about, until I saw these awful burn scars on his arms and neck – they must extend over lots more of his body.
· This lady with such terrible eczema on her face
· This 70ish guy with the cleft palate – two in one day. He has had this all his life. I hope they are doing better work with these today.This 20ish guy with a stump of a hand