Found in a residents room after he passed away.

Crabby Old Man
What do you see nurses? . . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . you're not looking at me .
I'll tell you who I am . . . . As I sit here so! still,
As I do at your bidding, . . . as I eat at your will .
I'm a small child of ten . . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . who love one another
A young boy of sixteen . . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at twenty . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . that I promised to keep.
At twenty-five, now . . . I have young of my own .
Who need me to guide . . . and a secure happy home .
A man of thirty . . . my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . with ties that should last .
At forty, my young sons . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . . to see I don't mourn.
At fifty, once more, . . . babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . my loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . and the love that I've known
I'm now an old man . . . and nature is cruel.
'Tis jest to make old age . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . A young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . I remember the pain .
And I'm loving and living . . . life over agai! n .
I think of the years all too few . . . gone too fast .
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last .
So open your eyes, people . . . open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . .Look closer . . . see . . . ME!!

Remember this poem the next time you meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within . . . . . we will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or touched. They must be felt by the heart.

New Friends

Today I visited my buddy. She invited me to lunch and it was her husband's birthday (he's also my buddy) It was my last visit for a few weeks since we are travelling to Israel on Monday.
Every week we call their family in Israel and when we are there we will be visiting them. So today was "paparazzi" day. We took tons of pictures to give their family. We'll also take photos there to bring back. So very soon I will be part of an extended buddy family.

I will have another buddy to visit when I return so I will be going twice a week. I am looking very forward to making that connection too.

I love the opportunity to spend time with my buddies. They have so much to give us. I am fascinated to hear their stories. Some are sad and some are not. Stories are important to the storyteller and a privilege to the listener.

During one of my visits a friend of my buddy came to visit. We were speaking about different things and she remarked "Ach, I am finished, there is nothing for me to do here in life anymore". A bit later I asked her about her life in her country. She told me some stories and I told her about my grandmother's experiences in that same country.
I noticed that before she left to go back to her own room she sat up a little taller in her wheelchair and kissed me European style on both cheeks and gave me a loving hug.
I realized that when we listen to people tell the stories that make up their life to a listener that is really hearing their story, something almost magical happens to both.

The SOS program has been one of the biggest gifts I have received. Thank you SOS.

From A Volunteer

Hi Altie,
I wanted to get this email off to you before we leave.
After thinking it over, I have decided to also be a buddy to Gita.
So I will use Tuesdays and Fridays for my visits.
The Teishmans will have Tuesday as their day and
Gita will have Friday.
I am really happy about this arrangement. I love the
Teishmans and find Gita a really lovely and compelling
woman. She is Russian and I am second generation
Russian from both my parents so it makes a special heart connection.
Russian was even my first language but today I remember nothing.
We are having lunch and a visit together since it is my last visit until I return.
I'll begin my 2 visits a week when I return.
Altie, this program is so good for me. I think I may get
more out of it than my buddies. Last week I was feeling
a bit off thinking about my son being so far away and
some other things. I was grateful that it was my day to
visit my buddies so I didn't need to "wallow".
The visit was uplifting and I left smiling.
Gita came into the Teishmans room and we had
some serious "girl" time. It was lovely.
Bye for now. Be well.
Paula

Smile On Seniors to the Rescue

After reading the article from Austin, Texas, -about the way Smile On Seniors makes such a difference...I wanted to share a story. Something that I was a part of last summer....
Every Shabbas, various SOS volunteers visit a local senior facility here in West Orange, NJ. I was one of those volunteers on a day in July. Looking back, it's pretty amazing to me that when I awoke on that particular day, I had no idea that I was going to make such a difference to one particular person in my life.
I had seen my SOS buddy the prior day and she had agreed to meet me in the lobby of the building for the Shabbat program. Well, she was always on time. She said she would be there, and I was sure she would be. I waited, trying to stall the start of the program for everyone...and began to worry. I phoned up to her room several times, but no answer. I thought that perhaps she went out for the day. No one had seen her recently. Not knowing what to make of it, and just to be sure all was okay, I decided to take the elevator up to her room. As I stepped on to her floor, approaching her room, I heard moaning. Her door was unlocked. I entered, calling her name...only to find her face down on the floor of her apartment. She was concious, but in pain. I pressed the button on her wrist alert band--with no response. I didn't see the phone...I yelled out the door for assistance, and an employee came. I had the employee stay with my buddy, certain not to move her at all. I had to get immediate medical attention. I have never run so fast in my entire life. I knew what I had to do. Within minutes, a full medical staff was there as my buddy was taken to the ER via ambulance. Thank G-d I was in the right place at the right time. Fortunately, she recovered from her fall with a broken wrist and nothing worse. It could have been much worse. She said she was walking to the bathroom without her walker. I'm sure she never did that again. And that day was confirmation of how very much the Smile On Seniors programs, throughtout the world, can really make a difference in the life of a senior. I am glad I was able to help.

The Lancman's West Orange NJ

Copy of letter sent to SOS Headquarters:
Dear Rabbi Klar,
Happy Holidays!
I want to thank you for the Smile On Seniors Program. My mother, Phoebe L., lives in Brighton Gardens . Her mood improves every time she had a Chabad visitor. Yesterday she was able to say the blessing with the Lulav and Etrog – it was a wonderful day for her.
Please use this small donation to support this great program. It makes a HUGE difference.
Sincerely,
Barbara L. ( Plantation , Florida 33324 )

Smile On Seniors Austin Texas

Tuesday The Rabbi Was Late AUSTIN, TEXAS -- (October 7, 2008)Malka Phillips
(lubavitch.com) It was a beautiful Tuesday afternoon in Austin. The sun beamed overhead in a cloudless blue sky, and throngs of Austinites were outdoors enjoying the balmy temperatures.
But for 80 year-old Mrs. Wald, the day had turned dark and frightening. Alone in her room in the senior citizens home, Wald had lost her footing and fell hard to the floor. Her head cracked against a table as she fell, and she now lay bleeding profusely and unable to call for help.
Frantically, she pressed her panic button, kept for moments just like these, but the mechanism failed.
Desperately clinging to consciousness, she tried to calculate how long it would take for someone to come by, for her absence to become noticeable, counting the passing minutes that, judging by the rapid flow of blood loss from the wound on her head, she evidently did not have.
Then Anna heard a knock on her door. To her great relief, someone had come. Someone had stopped by to visit her. Someone would find her before it was too late.
Unable to move or call out, she waited. Whoever had come to visit her would alert a nurse. The nurse would open the door to check if she was all right.
Knocking gently on the other side of the door was Rabbi Yosef Levertov, director of Chabad activities in Austin, with rabbinical student Eli Phillips.
With the sun now low on this first day of Rosh Hashana, and with a two-mile walk back to the Chabad center ahead of them, Levertov and Phillips were wrapping up their visit, part of Chabad's newly inaugurated Smile on Seniors program, making one more stop to visit another patient that the nurses at the desk told them, was Jewish.
"The nurse who'd given me Mrs. Wald's name, came with me to the door, and was surprised that Mrs. Wald wasn't responding when we knocked," Rabbi Levertov told Lubavitch.com.
More nurses were called, the door was opened, and EMT's were quickly dispatched, rushing Anna to Seton Medical Center where she would be treated for her critical head wound.
By now, congregants at Chabad were worried. The Rabbi was now more than an hour late for the second evening of Rosh Hashana services. But greeting his congregants after the long uphill walk back, he humbly told his anxious congregation, "I think we saved someone's life today."
Smile on Seniors of Austin

Shofar

Hi,
I spent yesterday afternoon with my SOS buddy. We had a wonderful time talking about the upcoming holidays, and the holidays of the past. She is truly looking forward to Rabbi Mendy visiting her senior facility...with the shofar next week! In fact, everyone is!
It was wonderful to see so many seniors with such a special experience to look forward to....
As always,
Julie

Just wanted to remind you all the this Sunday,
September 7Th 12:00pm - 10:00pm is the 30Th Jewish Renaissance Fair.
Please come and be apart of it.
Don't forget to tell you friends and family!!

more questions to ask

My name is Julie Levine. I composed the questions involving ideas to encourage a conversation during senior visits and presented the list at an SOS board meeting. Several questions were omitted from the list , by whomever posted them....Many seniors love to talk about the cars they learned to drive on, and get quite animated! Even talking about their pets they had growing up. So, there are many other ideas that were not included in my original list. Let me know if anyone needs the original listing.....

A Birthday Celebration.....

Amy, a volunteer in West Orange NJ along with her children, Rachel and Laryssa celebrate Molly's Birthday.

Amy with her Bubby Buddy.

What Chaplaincy has taught me

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share a little thought that I had about participating in Smile on Seniors.

I originally wrote for my monthly L'chaim! Newsletter. Here goes:

In my job as Chaplain, I spend much time visiting patients in the hospital, meeting Jewish patients and even making house calls to people who can use some company. I was thinking over the past few weeks about how lucky I am that I get to do this.

It is definitely difficult to witness people suffering pain and hardship. However, over the past few months I have learned to look deeper. There is something that everybody has in common. I meet many different types of people. Some are believers, some can’t bring themselves to belief, some are religious and some are against religion.

Despite all the differences people may have, what I have discovered is that everyone shares the same humanity. Everyone has their story, their happiness or sadness, their successes and their shortcomings. Some of us may smile and some of us may frown, but what makes us all really the same is our experiences and aspirations.

I would like to share this very important lesson with you. To look beyond the surface and to see who people really are. To find the friendship and life in all of us.

“Ideas to Encourage a Conversation During a Jewish visit”

“Ideas to Encourage a Conversation During a Jewish visit”

Who do you admire….and why?

If you could live someone else’s life for a week, whose life would you choose to live and why?

If you could meet one person from the Bible or from history---who would he/she be?

If you could stand up and fight for one cause, that would make a difference in the world, what would it be?

If G-d were to grant you one wish, prayer, or favor, what would it be?

If you could be any animal on Noah’s ark, which one would you be? Why?

If you could invite anyone in the world to your home for Shabbat, who would it be?

What “Mitzvah” has someone done for you recently?

What “Mitzvah” have you done for someone recently?

Who is your hero and why?

Did you ever stand up for something you thought was right, even though people disagreed with you?

What Jewish food is your favorite? Does it have any special meaning or memory for you?

If you had to choose what things you value most in life, what would they be?

Which individual has most inspired you in your life?

Describe your most memorable Shabbat.

What was your favorite Jewish holiday and why?

What makes you feel happy?

If you could possess one quality that you don’t think you have now, what would it be?

What is the most important thing your parents taught you?

Have you ever been to Israel? If the answer is yes, tell me about it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our elderly have so much life experience they can share and wisdom beyond our years.

Let us continue to gain from them as much as they gain from us….

...I do.

Thank you all!

Rabbi Mendy Kasowitz

chesed--kindness

I know how much it means to her when I visit but sometimes the thought of going back makes me uncomfortable. I'm worried that at some point my niceness will wear off because we often forget what we tell one another and end up repeating the same facts and same stories. Giving without expecting to receive is such a hard trait to acquire. I think it's one of my greatest challenges.

I always expected the elderly to be full of a lifetime of stories. What are some novel and creative conversation starters that will intrigue her daring tales of a distant past or perhaps some of her more interesting experiences in the present?

Today, my SOS buddy told me about some of her fondest shabbat memories....

She used to work in Woolworths, on Pitkin Avenue, when she was in highschool. She sold makeup behind the counter there. She was earning 10 cents an hour! Back then, that was like gold. She wished she could sit at the Woolworth's luncheonette counter and have malted milks, but it was too expensive. Whenever she got paid, the money was received in a small, yellow sealed bag. She would never even open the bag. She would bring it directly home and give it to her mother. On Thursday nights. It was always on the night that her Mother did a lot of baking, and cooking. All for Shabbos. Her Mom would be starting the Challah recipe she loved so much, just when she would be entering the front door. My buddy would give her Mother the wages she earned in Woolworth's and her Mom would smile, so proud of her. One of her favorite parts of Shabbos was being able to wear her red shoes. Her Shabbos shoes. They were special not only because she loved the color, but because her brothers bought them for her as a surprise.

Good Shabbos

Julie Levine

Hi,
It's me again---Julie.
I just have to tell what happened last night.....
I went to a benefit performance at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, NJ. There must have been over 600 people there. I was a bit late, and most people I knew were waiting in the theater's lobby. Well, I walked in to hear a woman shout, "The SOS lady," and come over to hug me! I didn't know her....but she knew me! Then someone else came over and greeted me with, "Hey, SOS lady!" I can't even tell you how good that made me feel. And how wonderful it is to see the program, all the work of Altie, and Rabbi Mendy, word of SOS---it's out there. And we are making a difference.
One smile at a time!
Love it!
Julie Levine
PS. I don't go ANYWHERE without some SOS brochures!

Hey, everyone,
I just got back home from visiting my SOS buddy! Today, I took my Yorkshire terrier, Avery. It was wonderful...and Avery even wore his Yarmulke for his Jewish visit! All the seniors at Brighton Gardens love him. Especially my SOS buddy. When I visit her without him, she always asks for him. Today, she was extra happy with our visit--and even asked me to leave my doggie when I had to say goodbye!
Good shabbas, all.....
Best regards from West Orange, NJ,
Julie Levine