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02/23/2008
Carmen
Carmen, my first old lady after my beloved Tia, would have been 102 years old today. I met her in Vicente Lopez, when I was doing errands. She lived in a filthy, cockroach-filled apt. The apt. belonged to her niece. One day the neighbors alerted Carmen’s niece to the fact that sometimes Carmen forgot to turn off the gas. That’s when she was taken to a nursing home. Carmen’s retirement check paid for her room and board there. I would go visit her once a week. She looked forward to my visits and I liked going to the neighborhood of Floresta in Buenos Aires. There were some beautiful houses from the late 19th and early 20th century that I enjoyed looking at. Carmen was so thin that when I hugged her I was afraid I would break her bones by accident. She had come to Argentina from Northern Spain in 1930 and when I knew her she still spoke with a thick Spanish accent—as if she had just gotten off the boat. Soon she was working as a maid for a wealthy family who had made money in the jewelry business.
I grew to care for her. When her niece put her in another nursing home, I followed her there. I ate dinner with her and the other nursing home residents. In 1993, we had a party to celebrate her birthday. She was happy and smiled for the camera.
One thing I am sad about is that I couldn’t be with her at the end. It was necessary for me to travel back to the US. They told me that she asked to see me. I am very sorry that I wasn’t able to hold her hand and kiss her goodbye. She was a feisty, smart old lady.
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