91 years old; 5' high, almost blind, smart as a whip, and funnier than heck.

91 years old; 5' high, almost blind, smart as a whip, and funnier than heck.

This is a partial description of my "new"  (since 2007) friend Betty M.  (We are never too old to make new friends).

I was at her home on Thursday 30th October for 5:00 p.m. beverages and nibbles (and to visit with her son John, who was in town with his wife Karen, from their home in Colorado). ( Karen had hoved down to Englewood FL to visit with one of her friends so she was not with us on Thursday).

Of course it was a lovely time  (and all the more so for Penne who "adores" Betty).

Betty's near-blindness is because of macular degeneration.  She voiced a concern:  "What"  she asked, "do I look like when you talk to me?"

Her concern was this:  she wanted to know whether or not she "looked" in the direction of the speaker (John or me) when we chatted. (What an unexpected and interesting question from an almost blind friend).

We assured her that she indeed looked towards the direction of the speaker, and that no-one would ever notice her disability.  We assured her that she looked utterly "normal".  She was relieved.

Then I got to be silly.  I added, "Don't worry Betty, you look like (Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives)  John Boehner!"

Her wit chimed in:  "Ah", she said, "the orange man!". Funnier than heck eh!

American friends will "get" this wit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since Betty is both short in stature and deprived of sight, it is hard for her to adjust her aircon/heating thermostat.


So at her age of  91, Betty decided to investigate the possibility of getting a "voice activated"  thermostat. 

At my  age of  70,  this would never have occurred to me.  

Tech-savvy Betty was right, She now has her voice activated thermostat.

(I told you that she is as smart as whip.)





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