THE BIG YAWN
"Oh No!" I said to them as I looked around the table where we ten seniors were seated for our afternoon dessert. "Who started it today?"
"Started what?" asked Katie.
"You know what I mean," I answered, testily, "you all know what I mean. The first one yawns and one by one each of you follow. It's contagious...like a cold, sneezing and coughing. Gosh even the word 'yawn'makes you do it!"
"So, do we need a doctor?" said Emily. "There's a new one in our wellness office...cute too!"
"Well, not me" insisted, Katie, "I'm yawning because I'm tired; slept late, got up early..."
"So that's your excuse " I said. "And the rest of you? Same reason ...up till late...?
Renee laughed,"Doing what? Girls? I'd like to know...Having fun, I hope."
"I didn't say I was having FUN..." said Katie,"Just watching TV...in my room...alone."
"Sounds awful!" said Julie,"I don't like to be alone too much either.That's why I moved in here...
in fact I usually sleep with my TV on all night...keep it low...but it's, y'know...people talking...."
"ME too!" I said, "I keep it so low....."
"PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE ARE THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD..."
Fran broke into song and some joined in with her, but I did see some rolling eyes. and a couple of stifled yawns too.
"PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE ARE THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD..."
Fran broke into song and some joined in with her, but I did see some rolling eyes. and a couple of stifled yawns too.
"Hmmm, I wonder..." I said.
"What do you wonder?" asked a few of the ladies."Tell us, we can take it..."
"Well... maybe yawning comes, not from tiredness all the time...but...uh. boredom"
"Am I boring?" said Alice. She was offended.
"I didn't say that you were boring. But are you bored...with your life now for instance.Not just with what, but with who. Maybe some of your old friends...if you're still in touch with them..."
Alice smiled," Of course, I could never forget them...they are unforgettable."
" 'Unforgettable...' ''sang Fran, " 'is what you are'..."
Alice rolled her eyes. "There you go again. Now that's boring!
"OKAY!" Julie stood up, " Listen everyone, we have the most exciting news coming up. Have you heard about it...the moon and the sun?"
There was a stirring around the table; "What? The moon?" "The sun..."What...?"
"An eclipse! Tomorrow afternoon. We can watch it from here."
"The moon belongs to everyone, The best things in life are free..." sang Fran.
"Let's ignore her," called out a voice."Tell us more about the eclipse. Has anyone here ever seen one?"
"HA!" laughed Julie,"Yes, if you are 100 years old,...The last one happened 99 years ago!"
"Wait!" said Renee. "We have a 100 year old here, Sophie. She's at that other table...I'll get her."
They all waited while Renee helped the most eldest resident to her walker and then brought her over and seated her at their table.The questions were flying at her, "So, Sophie,you were alive at that Eclipse long ago. Do you remember it? Have you heard the news about the Eclipse we're having tomorrow?" Everybody was talking at once,"What do you remember about yours?"
"Mine!" Sophie beamed, "I like that! And of course I don't remember it but the family told me how my Daddy carried the baby ...(me) to the backyard and held me, but not to face the eclipse, 'Bad for the eyes', we were warned "This is your first of many you'll see in your lifetime," he told me..."
But he was wrong, we didn't have another one here until now.
A quiet evening and night passed and the next day everyone became excited for their coming EVENT. The crowd gathered in the large social hall and waited until the television was set up for
the program. The cameras everywhere were ready to focus on the beaming sun and then the moon approaching the path of that orbit. We, with millions more waited for the afternoon sky to darken even a little here in the Northeast. This would indicate that the moon had blocked off the rays of the sun to some degree. We waited and waited all together, but nothing happened,our sky never darkened! So although there were changes in other parts of the country and the actual Eclipse out there was magnificent for them all, here on the northeast for the real live event in our own sky, it was just a BIG YAWN.
the program. The cameras everywhere were ready to focus on the beaming sun and then the moon approaching the path of that orbit. We, with millions more waited for the afternoon sky to darken even a little here in the Northeast. This would indicate that the moon had blocked off the rays of the sun to some degree. We waited and waited all together, but nothing happened,our sky never darkened! So although there were changes in other parts of the country and the actual Eclipse out there was magnificent for them all, here on the northeast for the real live event in our own sky, it was just a BIG YAWN.
THE END
