For my Health Communication class, our professor exclaimed to us that we were to make it our mission to become friends with a person at Clemson Down's. Now, If you don't know, Clemson Downs is an Assisted Living Facility located just in the heart of Clemson, SC. This is a place where elderly people are allowed to live as free as they please amongst others who are similar to them. Not to get this confused with a retirement or nursing home, persons in assisted living facilities are free to live in the bounds of the building or in actual houses that surround.
When first hearing of this semester task honestly, I couldn't even picture taking time out of what I called a busy week to sit and talk with an elderly person about God knows what. I was already thinking of what he would be like.
Would he be a super old white guy?
"God, I hope he's not a racist. I wonder if he likes pudding?"
Literally, so many redundant questions filled the temples of my brain! As soon as my professor presented us with his cell phone number, I texted him almost immediately. A long text indeed, I elongated the idea about finally being able to meet in person and hearing all the wonderful things she had to say about him. I waited and I waited … and a response never came. I told my partner Arianna Conti, that this affirmed everything I initially thought, he hated me before even meeting ha-ha!
Well come to find out, we had the wrong number. We finally met and I went on and on to my roommates and everyone at my job about my waited anticipation. Here was the moment of truth...in walked Arianna and me into the doors of the Clemson Downs...
Dick Hall first introduced himself with a casual handshake exchange. He was gracious enough to let us into the doors of his home and I was more than willing to plop down and make myself comfortable. I can vividly remember Dick's first two questions off bat.
"You said your names were Arianna and Makayla was it?"
Yes, sir, that's us...
Shortly after that, Dick ended up telling a joke that I was too dumb to understand at first. I explained to him how my mother always told me that I had book smarts and no common sense. It was then that he re-explained his joke, we all laughed, and it was at that moment that he understood my mother's sentiments exactly.
*here I wish I could insert the crying emoticon*
"So … this is supposed to be something for a class, right? What are you guys looking to get from this?"
Completely shocked, we answered as honestly possible...
