Marty's Senior Meals
January 18, 2010
My uncle Marty is old and frail. A big part of why he can stay in his apartment is the daily lunch at the local senior center. Or, because he lives in New York City, it's the two senior centers in his neighborhood. He alternates days. Although Marty claims that it's simply a question of menu, I strongly suspect that there are issues of politics and ethnicity. That's Marty.
When we asked him who he sits with at the Mon/Wed/Fri. spot, he told us that, when he first started going, when his wife died six years ago, he was led to a table, and he's just kept sitting there ever since.
But he recently informed us, with a straight face, that his table was the important table, because everybody there had an advanced degree. "Retired doctors, teachers," he explained. "But I'm pretty sure I'm the only retired physics professor."
Oh yes; Marty is an intellectual snob. But he's also all the other things he always has been – brilliant, opinionated, fascinating, charming. Maintaining his interests, and his status, are part of what draws him out of his apartment; along with that hot, nourishing, sociable meal.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.