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Oscar2

Mar 16, 2009, 1:33 PM

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Mexico, Mexicans and the Aged.

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Last Sunday we were at a very large swap meet very popular in southern California. We arrived 2 hours before closing and were a bit hungry. So to shore up my appetite I had to stand in line seemingly forever. Not because the line was long, but because the service was ungodly, slow. When we got the tácitos and sat down to eat, right in front of us a very, very old Mexican woman, withered, and hunched over was wrapped both in a black blanket and shawl covering her head while being pushed by wheel chair by another middle aged woman. The blanket kept getting caught on the front wheel and the feeble effort the old woman in making gestures of helplessness and trying to figure out why, stopped the world for me in thought of this old woman’s life, easily assessed as a great grandmother of many here and back in Mexico.

Yes, my heart went out to her and she sat there seemingly in a daze but time had not only physically shrunk her into a small hunched over ball of a woman, hanging on for dear life while her relatives tended to her. I sat there eating and watching everything including this old woman, which I knew, could be shades of my/our future. We looked at each other and estimated this woman was at least one hundred years old or better.

While we sat there, two large Mexican men dressed like many I’ve seen in Guad, were appareled with the trousers and long sleeve shirts, large belts with large buckles and caballeros boots. The kind of extra large caballeros straw hats set them apart from the rest and then I knew the old woman was venerated and being taken care of well, as is much the cases with Mexican families. It made me feel good inside seeing this, and upon leaving, I got up to throw the trash away and so did one of the old women’s caballeros. As we passed each other, I asked him, discúlpeme senior, quantos años tiene la señora. His reply was wrapped with tenderness and he said, mi mama tiene (88) ochenta ocho. I smiled and said gracias as we continued toward the shopping booths.

As we walked, I had to mentally brace myself with a kind of relief, surprise and yes, extreme thankfulness, why, because my mom, still living, driving her own car and attending parties and all, was this old woman’s same age…. Some times it really doesn’t take much for a reality check and to see and feel a sense of good fortune…..