John Evans refuses to cut himself any slack: “I had
a fall and hurt my back. It was my own fault,” he
says simply.
Amica at Somerset House
Deddeda Stemler
But he’s looking forward to getting back soon
to regular exercise and believes the level of
fitness he had before his fall is helping speed his
recovery.
“I’m 84,” John says. “I never ever thought I’d
find myself doing Tai Chi! I don’t think I’d even
heard of it till I came here. But it’s a great thing;
it really keeps you loose and gives you some
strength. That and taking a walk two or three
times a day keep me going.”
Isobel Borland would agree with that. When the
weather’s too bad, she walks the halls of Windsor
Court Retirement Residence in Fredericton.
“There are some people,” she starts and then
stops herself and laughs. “I was going to say ‘some
older people,’ but that’s me! I’m 97. When I moved
in six years ago, I was younger and I was able to do
everything. Silly games. They’d say, ‘We’re going to
play golf tomorrow.’ They set something up indoors
and you had to hit a ball. It was all good fun. They
put a lot of thought into what works for people.”
Other regular physical activities include
“stretchercise” and even light weight training, says
Elizabeth Clarke. She’s 91 and says, “I enjoy both
of them. You have to have to lots of activities. If you
have a lot of people who can’t hear very well talking
to a lot of other people who can’t hear very well, it’s
hard to sit and have a good conversation! And no
one can ever remember everybody’s name.”
“I used to do exercises every day,” says Isobel.
“I enjoyed it but I started thinking it was a little too
much for me. Someone said, ‘Walking is the best
exercise.’ And I thought, ‘Well, I can do that!’ I’ve
covered a lot of distance in here.”
She, John and Elizabeth all play bingo, though
Elizabeth thinks the residence’s Scrabble games
are more interesting. John has three women—“You
couldn’t call us a club”—whom he plays cribbage with.
“Even the bingo is well organized,” says Elizabeth.
“There are volunteers to help anyone who can’t hear
properly. And really big bingo cards for anyone who
can’t see very well.”
“You try to keep yourself young,” says John.
“That’s what it’s all about.”
“We laugh a lot together,” Isobel adds.
“Laughter’s very important.”
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