Many years ago, I helped my room-mate at the time move his mother and grandmother from New York to Ohio. I became friends with them and they eventually ended up on my side when I kicked my room-mate out for not paying his rent. They actually wondered why I waited so long and have officially adopted me as their own. Which is funny since I’m the whitest white guy from Illinois and they are a pair of feisty black women from the Bronx.
I’ve blogged about them before, referring to them as my Former Roommate’s mother and grandmother since I don’t like to use names in blog – usually to protect the guilty.
I’ve now got my own place so this would make them my former, Former roommate’s…
You see how silly that gets.
So, I’ve decided to refer to them as the Ladies from New York. They seem worthy of a shared title and in any case I want to stay on their good sides. Even in their 60’s and 80’s, I would advise that they not be crossed.
So, the Ladies wanted to see my new house and I thought it would be nice for me to take them out to dinner as well. A few weeks ago, on a snowy evening, I picked them up at their apartment. They were a little disconcerted by the snow and debated about turning back, but I convinced them that I had no worries about driving in Ohio in the snow.
We went to my house first and though neither appreciated the stairs, they both thought it was a great house and a really good deal in a good neighborhood. Trust the Bronx natives to notice the neighborhood first.
We then went to Applebee’s for dinner and they both marveled at the quantity of food they got. We all had a nice time and they got to go boxes as we left. I took them back to their apartment with a promise to stop by at a later date to work on their DVD player and VCR.
Last evening, after my car issues finally got sorted out, I went back over to get things set up. While I was working on the cabling, the younger decided that she needed to run across the courtyard of the apartment complex to help her neighbor with something. She didn’t exactly run, but she moved too quickly. This was the one that was in the hospital with heart problems not that long ago and she over-exerted herself. When she got back she was nauseous, very weak and short of breath. Her mother helped her as best she could and chastised her for going too fast. I tried to stay out of the way until she was settled and it was clear she didn’t need a trip to the hospital. We talked for a bit and she said that she was “done”. I shook my head and told her she just needed to shift her gears down a bit and take it a little easier. She smiled and agreed that was a good plan. I finished my work and explained the set up. They were both a little confused by it – an A|B switch for the VCR and DVD since we didn’t have enough ports – but I’m convinced they’ll figure it out once they use it.
I’m glad I can do these little things for them. And hey, a little good karma never hurts.