Jenifer’s Journal: The Cane Mutiny

Here I am, a gimpy old widow-woman with a cane, in her 80th year, snowed-in (or was), for the fourth time, in a world that’s imploding hourly. 

I hear another old broad, Lady Liberty, is rumored to be turning in her resignation, both of us feeling alone, utterly powerless and, in all ways, just plain stuck. Happy New Year!

Not that I’ve had anywhere to go beyond the shuttle service I provide for my G-kinder Monday through Friday. Nobody’s been trying to beat a path (even if therewere one) to my door, either. And I can’t blame them. Who am I? Since the 20th of December, when my meniscus went on strike, I am certainly not the witty, relatively well-preserved woman of a certain age, that inveterate walker with plenty of energy, who often expressed to anyone listening (or not) with only the barest whisper of self-satisfaction my deep gratitude at being as fortunate as I am. 

The upshot is I can’t walk-walk. I can mince, I can shuffle, but for the time being, I’m supposed to use a cane, and I do because it hurts otherwise. At first I was taking it personally. The powers-that-be should be aware that I’m not supposed to need a walker. I am a walker, a fast one who walks for exercise and mental health and my (from a distance), girlish figure, but now, oh, poor, poor me. I can tell you who I am, all right: the attitudinal equivalent of an ingrown toenail, a nay-saying negator fairly percolating with self-pity. In fact, I am my own worst nightmare: boring. 

So, I’ve taken the radical step of paying attention to what other “certain-agers” are doing on this island, in spite of canes, and walkers and the deep-freeze winter and crazy world we’re all experiencing. They’re showing up for one another, some volunteering at the Senior Center, the Library, or the Haven’s House, joining choirs or online book clubs, even some seniors demonstrating for human rights in the 17 degrees-and-falling temperature of last Friday night, contributing their time and their many undimmed talents to the greater good of the Island they love.

And that Island, and its organizations, loves them back. Here’s some coming attractions that sound mighty attractive:

A Trip Down Memory Lane at the Shelter Island Havens House. The Shelter Island History Museum extends a special invitation to Shelter Island Seniors to attend a presentation on the history of the Havens Family, and their experiences during the Revolutionary War as the Museum kicks off its programs for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Feb. 10 from 1-2:30 p.m at the History Museum, 16 South Ferry Road. For more information, call 631-749-4111.

But don’t return back to hibernation too soon. Two days later, Island seniors, 60-plus, are being invited to a Valentine’s Day Senior Lunch, which will include a sweet spinach salad, baked ziti a la vodka cream sauce and red velvet cupcakes for dessert, all accompanied by the music of vocal stylist John Hughes. At the Community Center on Feb. 12 at high noon, jointly hosted by Shelter Island Recreation and the Senior Center. To register, call Bethany at 631-749-0309 or Kelsey at 631-749-0978. (I plan to be there, looking for some likely Valentines, oh, yeah!)

Turns out Jenifer, there’s so much to do, so many connections to be made, and we don’t have to be perfect, or young or Misty Copeland to do it all, because, as Sally Coleman and Maria Porter remind us in their Seasons of the Spirit: “We are all treasures, enduring survivors, bright, beautiful and full of goodness. We are farmers and merchants and artists who delight in our toil, craft and product. We are singers of song and creators of love poems who write by the light of a desert full of stars. We deserve to dance under the sun and play in nighttime seas. We are unique in creation, made from the Creator’s hand.

“We are tall, short, freckled, black and brown. We are more lovely for our imperfections. We are the builders of the next generations and have given our best grace and wisdom. We are also the humanness of mistakes.

“We are more than we imagine. We are connected through our love and tears to one another. We are all equal and worthy of love. Freedom and fellowship. We are beautiful in this moment, exactly as we are today.”

P.S. And, because some people like to be read to and I like to read to people, I’ll be at the Senior Center tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 6, at 10 a.m., to discuss just what you might to like to hear — short stories, poetry, “War and Peace” — the sky’s the limit. Oh, and I’ll introduce you to my cane, Michael.