Sunday Stealing: Storywise

I'm linking up with Bev and the rest of the "thieves" at Sunday Stealing today. Of today's questions, Bev says:

This is kind of weird.  It's from a set of "Storywise" cards that were made for Alzheimers patients, which they have at the facility where my mother lives.

Working in the dementia unit of a nursing home I'm very familiar with cards like this. We have several sets, though not this particular one. The name of the game (all the games) is to engage the residents and try to spur their memories. Many "live" in an earlier time in their memories and will talk of things gone by as if it is the present. The rule? Meet them in their reality. If they think they are 18 and getting ready for the sock hop, don't try to convince them of the reality that they are 85 with grown up grandchildren. You will only upset them and cause distress. You will find that many residents in such places are more comfortable and happy knowing family members as friends because if they are that 18 year old, how can their sister be old? Or if they think they are a young mother, how can their sweet baby be in their 50s? Imagine their distress when someone insists on pushing the issue. 

1. The strangest place you've ever been.  I think that honor has to go to Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum, a tacky little roadside place along U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania. It's a personal collection of everything and anything to do with elephants, a candy and toy store, and a rather creative garden. See for yourself...

2. Unusual food combinations you enjoy.  I just answered this in another meme the other day, but maybe my thinking cap is on a little straighter today and I can think of something. I know! People like apples with cheese and apples with peanut butter. I like my apples with both at the same time.

3. Your best cure for hiccups. Breathe in deeply through your mouth, hold it for a moment, and then swallow without exhaling. You can exhale after you swallow. If you can manage that, it usually cures the hiccups. I've used that method for years as I get hiccups all the time.

4. Something you have never done but would like to try.  Swimming with dolphins.

5. A routine you do every day without fail. Get up. Go to the bathroom. Let the dog(s) out.

6. Something new you've recently learned.  There's an app called "What's in my refrigerator?" My niece was telling me about it yesterday. You input what's in your fridge and it scans the universe to give you recipes using what you have. I'm going to look for it today.

7. Your keenest sense.  I'm not really sure these days. It used to be my hearing, but if I'm honest, I have to admit that sometimes these days I have a bit of trouble hearing conversation in noisy situations. I guess, maybe, it would be my sense of smell, but again....not so sure since working in a nursing home can really bombard you with odors and I don't always trust my sniffer. I'm also getting pretty good at shutting out smells when I need to.

8. Whether you prefer cooking or cleaning up.  Cooking. Cooking is creative and fun. Cleaning up is drudgery. 

9. Where were you the last time you saw the sun rise.  Here at the house.

10. A recent time you were embarrassed.  One day at work a long strip of toilet tissue got stuck to my shoe and I walked all the way from one side of the building to the other before anyone pointed it out, even though I saw plenty of people along the way. 

11. An everyday sound that delights you.  My grandson's giggles.

12. The last conversation you had with a stranger.  Yesterday afternoon at Walmart. I had a very long "discussion" with the pharmacist concerning the amount of time I had waited for Tim's prescriptions. I dropped them at 2:00 and was told it would be 30 minutes. I went and did some shopping, got Colton's hair cut, browsed, etc. and returned 50 minutes later. The woman at the counter looked it up and said they were nearly done and it wouldn't be long. So Megan, Colton and I sat on the bench to wait. 

We waited and waited and waited. After 30 minutes Megan called her husband to come get her and Colton because she is pregnant and wasn't feeling well. After 40 minutes I started giving the cashier pointed looks...which she tried to avoid. After 60 minutes I finally lost it and went to the counter and demanded to know the reason I had to wait so long. No one could give me an answer and amazingly, they were able to put my prescriptions in a bag right then and hand it to me. 

Basically, I sat for an hour waiting while they continued to fill prescriptions for people who weren't sitting there waiting. I sent Walmart a complaint and told the pharmacist I wouldn't be using their pharmacy any longer. His response? I'm no where near the first person to say that and then he confided that he doesn't even use it.  

I told Tim he was lucky he didn't have to come bail me out. If ever there was a time I felt like punching someone in the face...