by Henry, Barbara, Christine, Evelyn, Maxine, Margaret,
Barbara, Ellen, Margory, Patricia, [Alice]
[What should we call her?]
Mrs. Butler
[Tell me about Mrs. Butler.]
She’s sitting by the window, got a smile on her face, so she
isn’t sad. She has a good friend she
works with, does some television work.
She’s the pleasant hostess of a talk show, very intelligent, and she
knows what she’s talking about. She
seems to be that way. She’s
thinking about something pleasant.
Good things going on. She’s
soft spoken.
[What is Mrs. Butler doing?]
Going out to eat lunch. She thinks before she starts. Something light.
Nothing heavy. She says, “I
love them, I tell them anything I want to do, if you get in trouble, you come
to me. Don’t go to anybody
else.” Maybe she’s a helpful
person in her own home at the dining table.
She thinks before she speaks. I wish I could be like that. She’s one in a million. Mesmerizing.
Mesmerizing is what I do a lot, when I’m not busy.
[Tell me about Mrs. Butler’s talk show.]
Her special guest is someone she knows very well, an
ordinary woman with a different view on a question. Anyone can change their view. It’s a good idea.
[What is the question?]
The question she will ask is, “What is intelligence?”
[How does her special guest answer?]
How your brain operates. Somebody that’s smarter than somebody else. Your brain is way ahead of other
people. You’re real smart. Your brain works real fast. Brains to go ahead and know what you
are doing. I’ve separated from
that. They have the brains. She is the perfect one. She wants to know what she knows now,
she’s going to be asking people.
[What else does she ask her special guest?]
“How does a zoo operate?”
[What does her special guest say?]
Feed the animals, bring them out, make arrangements for
other people to feed them. A
director. They need water from the
lake or the same place where they get the food from. A pond.
Someplace like that where there’s water. They have special feeding people for the dangerous animals,
with a lot precaution behind a door or fence and not out in the open.
Mrs. Butler asks her, “What kind of animals?”
Small and medium assorted animals. If she can find one and put it down [storyteller is talking
about me typing when he says “put it down” - he points to the keyboard], it
would be a big help. She’s taking
care of the animals and making sure they are properly cared for. She showed the people who are
interested some of the animals.
She brought them with her on the talk show. The audience reacts emphatically.
[How does the story end?]
The story ends pleasantly. Life goes on.
Quite entertaining, Alice. I bet you enjoy this writing project - it sounds delightful!
ReplyDeleteIt is very satisfying and enlightening, working with these special people.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for doing this. As a daughter of a father with mid-stage dementia, I appreciate the respect with which you treat these individuals. Susan Young
ReplyDelete