“What do you think of…The C’Dogs?”
“What?”
“The C’Dogs.”
The fellas sat crammed into the TV lounge, watching. I continued.
“Well, a Sea dog is a sailor who’s been around a bit…someone who’s lived a lot. They call Charlottesville C’ville, so this is a pun on that. You guys have lived a lot, you live in Charlottesville, so, The C’Dogs.”
“What about the C’wolves?”
“Yeah, I like the C’wolves.”
“…but…the sailor thing.”
***
“Tim, this is why there’s more women in the nursing home.”
He laughed, and rebalanced.
The finish guy from the homebuilder perched on a stepstool which braced on a board, wobbling mightily as it tried to find level on the memory foam mattress.
There was a spot on the high ceiling that needed mending. A girl would have moved the bed and used a regular ladder. Wimp. Tim went surfing.
***
Retirement communities trend strongly female, in residents, staff, and outlook. Safety and care are the points and the guiding stars.
Then I come in and cause trouble with music or talks or whatever.
“You know, Gene Kelly jumped on something during this point of the song” a lady said the other day, eyeing my speaker set on the floor.
I had to. Nobody thought I could jump like that, either. (In a way, it’s a pity, because they must get tired of watching each other fall. A Josh wipeout would be infinitely more entertaining–and louder.)
***
Recently, the men’s group at a Charlottesville community has tasked me with hosting a podcast. The tangle of wires keeps growing, and we’re nearly at hi-fi status. (I’ve got one more piece of gear on the way.) We’re all learning the format, getting comfortable. One day we’ll have the ladies by, and interview ‘em.
“It’ll be like a senior Whatever podcast” I joked. Thankfully, nobody got it.
There’s the idea of recording oral history, and capturing stories. There’s the idea of sharing advice and wisdom. But most of all, there’s the format of a few guys sitting around, shooting the breeze, with a place to talk and be human; a healthy use of technology to make the world our front porch.
We stuck with the C’dogs name.
–Josh