Part 6

The Power of a Smile to Change Lives:  Mr. Dillard’s Story

Part 6

The disco ball was out and lights were strung around the room.  Food and drinks had been served and the music played vibrantly.  New Year’s Eve had come to Mr. Dillard’s senior home, and though the party raged at 6:30 pm, everyone knew they would be sound asleep before 9pm.

Macy watched from her seat beside Mr. Dillard at the decorated table, as the Southside Chicago Seven gave their swinging rendition of “Bill Bailey”.  She was amazed at what she saw.  Many of the seniors danced nearly every song, taking periodic breaks to stop and puff on oxygen tanks through their canulas.  No lung ailments were going to stop these dancers from having a good time.  Dancing was serious business!

Mr. Dillard singing off key to the tune, still delighted his young friend.  “This was first written as a ragtime song in 1902 by Hughie Cannon.”  Mr. Dillard was such a wealth of information and random facts, Macy mused. He had no need for Google.  “Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bobby Darin certainly changed it up over the years, but it’s a good song no matter how it’s done!” 

Rosie dropped in the chair beside Macy, “Geez, I’m pooped!  That’s the most exercise I’ve gotten in a long time!”  She picked up her water glass and took a drink.  Trying to catch her breath, she asked, “Do you dance, Macy?”

“Oh no!  I have two left feet!”  The thought of making a fool of herself in front of all these people terrified Macy.  Rosie grinned back at her.

The other members from the Card Club came to join them.  Zev was busy explaining to Lena something he thought very important, while she found herself staring at his teeth.  “Hey, you got your teeth fixed!”  

Startled at the sudden change of topic, Zev replied, “Yes, of course.  I went in to Dr. Yeoman’s office and zey were able to repair my denture for me the same day.  Zey also add my name inside it.  Have you heard of this?”

Rosie laughed. “You bet!  I once heard a story about a lady with early stages of Alzheimer’s who misplaced her dentures.  She lived in a home much like ours.  Going around to everyone’s rooms, she collected dentures into her purse and tried them all in to see if any fit.  It wasn’t until morning that the nurses discovered the denture thief, and the real mess began while trying to sort out which dentures belonged to whose mouth!  Can you imagine? A name inside the denture would have come in handy there!”

Lena chimed in, “Last time I went into surgery, the nurses mixed up my teeth with someone else’s!  I was sure glad to be able to identify the correct ones without having to put them in my mouth!  Yuck!”  Macy looked squeamish.

“Well now, I use the name in my dentures as an ID to receive the GET Bus Senior Discount.”  Mr. Dillard kept a straight face and the table was quiet for just a moment. Then laughter exploded all at once as Mr. Dillard’s friends realized they’d been had. It was a good, though rather disgusting, joke.  They pictured the reaction of the bus driver as old Mr. Dillard gave proof of his senior status in a rather unorthodox way.  The laughs continued until they were interrupted by a younger fellow who approached the table.

“Hey everyone!  This is my great-nephew, Max. He's here to join us for the evening.”  Rosie gave Max a hug.  “Here Macy, he’s going to make you look good dancing out there.  Don’t worry, he takes after me!”  Rosie grinned wide as she spun an etiquette trap that coerced shy Macy to get out on the dance floor.  The friends smiled to each other as they watched the youngsters take the floor.