Legacy
Legacy
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Today, in the fourth of NLC volunteer Mike's popular blog posts about his experience supporting Mitzi, we learn about a growing friendship -- and how that can even offer a little dating advice...
BY MIKE NILES
Mitzi doesn’t travel very far anymore. She’ll venture across London for medical appointments when absolutely necessary and she’ll oblige by meeting with old friends in a 1 mile radius of her house but that is pretty much it. Her illnesses make travelling a nervous challenge: if she gets caught some distance from home, it’s a stressful operation to get back to the safety of ‘the furnace’.
After asking about my upcoming weekend plans, I explained I’d be heading to Brighton where I’d be getting some tattoo work done. After the obvious ‘why on earth are you ruining your body?’ discussion that happens with anyone over a certain age, Mitzi explained she’d had some great times on the south coast.
“I once travelled to Brighton on the back of a motorbike. No helmets in those days and by the time we arrived, I wasn’t even holding on.” She could tell I was impressed by the story and it was a glimpse into the kind of character I was beginning to realize she used to be. “I have no idea what the guy's name was who was driving the bike.”
This isn’t the only story Mitzi has shared about former partners.
She told me about the time a man from her work took her to a swanky restaurant in town. She says she wasn’t actually that interested in going in the first place but his persistence got annoying and she just gave in. It was a seafood restaurant. “One of those that you go and choose your own lobster from the fish-tanks”. Mitzi made her excuses and walked straight out.
In the middle of changing the lightbulbs in her kitchen one visit, she told me to be very careful that I didn’t electrocute myself.
Mitzi: “I once had a boyfriend who was a hairdresser many years ago and when he was plugging in a hairdryer one day, he got an electric shock”.
Me: “Oh no, was he OK?”
Mitzi: “Not really. He died.”
Now, before you criticize my insensitivity, Mitzi herself did appreciate the way she’d delivered this story had been funny but it was another example of a time when she had someone with her. She also takes an interest, and some amusement, at my dating life. It’s not a feigned interest either: the advice and support that now goes both ways is testament to how beneficial this partnership has grown to be.
Read previous entries in Mike's blog by clicking the links below, and stay posted for the next instalment...
1 - Time for Plan B
To support an older neighbour as Mike does Mitzi, please sign up and we'll be in touch with more information very soon.