Camera in good working order and at the ready, my excursion to take photos was cancelled by rain. I simply had no desire to be out in it. As you can see here, it is nasty and growing more so.
Instead, I've gone through the kitchen looking for bits of this and that out of which to make an early supper. Several emergency vehicles, sirens blaring, have passed by today, something that always gives me pause. I wonder about those involved and whether they will survive whatever particular emergency has occurred. Many live alone these days and in cities and suburbs, people have become strangers, even when they are neighbours.
I suppose I'm lucky in that my most immediate neighbour and I have known each other since the first day I moved into this condominium. She is now quite elderly and has lived with balance and other impairments for many years. She is also quiet and dislikes being the center of attention. During my last stint in grad school, I would sometimes take her out for a meal or a bit of fun.
One Sunday, with such plans pre-arranged, I arrived to collect her only to be told through the closed front door that she was unwell. As I walked back to my own flat, a strange feeling came over me and I returned quickly to her door, inquiring whether it was possible that she open up. The response was that the door handle was too high and beyond her reach.
I grabbed my mobile and called her son for his spare key, then went looking for the upstairs neighbour who was a fireman and paramedic. Both her son and our neighbour responded quickly. She was taken to a hospital, re-hydrated and then sent to a rehabilitation facility for a short stay. At some point, it was determined that my neighbour had fallen and been on the floor near her door for 20 hours. Had I not gone back when I did, I'm not sure there would have been a positive outcome.
Should the day come when I face an emergency of my own, I hope there will be someone there for me.
