A unique thing about Europe is that it seems the elderly are never cast out of daily life. Unlike in America, where as soon as you hit 65 you move to Florida and start playing golf, Italians live downtown right up until the end. As such, you see mobility-impaired seniors going to the market, eating at restaurants, and walking down the street the same as anyone else. It’s actually quite amazing to think about how long it must take them to run their errands. But they’re out there doing it – living life as they always have.
We experienced this fact our first day out of our apartment. We were waiting for the elevator to take us down from our 7th-floor apartment, and when the doors opened up, a lady of 90+ years was inside, carrying a large bowl full of grapes. We both climbed into the cramped elevator hardly big enough for 2, only to find that for whatever reason, the elevator doors would not close. We didn’t know a word of Italian, so we weren’t able to ask our elderly friend if this was normal or not. Instead, we got off and she proceeded to speak to us at length in her native tongue. We had no idea what she was saying, but Tamarind stood transfixed, listening to her. After a few sentences, she responded in a seeming nod of understanding, “You want us to take your grapes downstairs? First floor? To Giordini?â€? The old lady nodded when she figured she was understood, handed us the grapes, and proceeded to ascend the stairs one-by-one up to her 8th-floor abode.
So we went downstairs to the first floor, knocked on Giordini’s door, and handed her the grapes, not knowing what exactly to say. She seemed to understand who they were from, and thanked us with a resounding “grazieâ€?. Obviously, our older elevator friend would have had an inordinate amoung of trouble descending 7 flights of stairs, but I have no doubt that if we were not there to make the delivery for her, she would have done it no matter how long it took her. It wouldn’t have been a matter of determination, either – it would simply have been done. And yet we complain when we have to drive a mile in our SUV to the supermarket to pick up a gallon of milk…