The Wormlips Scrapbook

Yesterday was my day to tutor my Bhutanese refugee. Before the lesson I met her at Oakland’s annual Refugee Day, an occasion I’d not known existed. Here’s a picture of her with her granddaughter.

One granddaughter. Many granddaughters. During part of the day’s ESL instruction we worked with singular and plural. I spontaneously flew around the room with plastic Aquafina bottles in my hands and placing them here and there. This bottle. That bottle. These bottles. Those bottles. Either it was helpful, or she had no idea what I was talking about: one or the other.

She’s been coughing a lot since I’ve known her, but today more than ever. I’d had a suspicion of why, but was afraid to acknowledge it. Sure enough, she has TB. She’s being treated for it, but ran out of medicine over a month ago. Also, some of her teeth are falling out. On Monday I’m going to try to get her a doctor’s appointment. She can’t do it herself because of her lack of English. She also doesn’t have medical insurance.

I’m also going to write to my volunteer agency to find out if it’s better if her social worker does this stuff, rather than I.

[Ed. note: check the audio link now. It should be working.]

The dreaded day is almost upon us, so it’s time to put up my Valentine’s Day program. I get so gloomy at this time of hear year that I find myself chanting my grandmother’s old poem: “Nobody loves me. Everybody hates me. I’m going to the garden to eat worms …”

Without further ado, here is Attachments, produced as part of the national, CPB-funded series I did with Adi Gevins which we called A Gathering of Days, and for which we commissioned suitably hokey theme music, which you’re about to hear…

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Molly sent me this YouTube video. It’s really stupid. But it is seasonal and goes well with the spirit of my Christmas program I put in my previous posting and lightens my dark holiday mood just that wee bit.