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From the Editor

"Don't ever get old"

by Judi McLeod

May 27, 2004

"Don’t ever get old," my longtime friend, Bobbi sadly told me the last time I saw her.

a talented artist, self-professed soothsayer and a genuine character, I was not the only one who thought Bobbi would be there forever.

But Bobbi, Romanian countess by birth and distant relative of Vladimir the Impaler began going downhill at age 83. The hostess of a thousand and one barbecues in her spacious backyard, Bobbi wanted so much to stay in the Burlington bungalow she shares with her cat.

With the help of her loyal friend and fellow artist Darryl, she was finally accepted at a nursing home overlooking Lake Ontario and its legendary sunsets.

Just getting her there was a nightmare for Darryl. Bobbi, who paints everyday, refused to move anywhere unless it was somewhere with a ground-floor room, with enough space for her cat, easel and paints.

Ever since interviewing her as a rookie reporter with the now defunct Oshawa Times, Bobbi has remained a constant in my life.

Colourful beyond belief, the Countess insisted on reading everyone’s aura, a pretext, I think to lay a little truth on some reluctant victim. "You are having an affair with a lady in your own neighbourhood," Bobbi told more than one hapless married man at her many backyard barbecue parties.

No matter how large the backyard population, her cheery, "Come in, kids!" greeted everyone who rang her bell.

The tales she could tell and the salty language she used in telling them were not the usual stuff of 80-year-old ladies.

Bobbi accompanied friends and myself on a trip to the Dominican Republic where we wanted to build an orphanage, but were persuaded instead by then President Juaquin Balaguer into refurbishing the existing Dona Chucha all-girls’ orphanage.

Balaguer was completely charmed by her, preferring her company to the journalists in the group. We teased Bobbi about her "new romance" for years after the trip.

No one ever thought the sturdy, brimming with health and vigourous Bobbi would ever go into decline, but she did and what happened to the lovable old lady in her dotage is a true tragedy.

Friends, the same ones who dined on her Hungarian chicken for years, started pillaging the belongings in her Burlington house. Paintings by the truckloads were removed. Jewelry went missing and most sadly of all, money was even removed from the pensioner’s handbag.

Finally, a neighbour who couldn’t always keep watch reported the wholesale thievery to the authorities. Local police arranged for a trustee to take charge.

The lock on the front door was changed, as was Bobbi’s telephone number. But confused and lonely, Bobbi herself became a problem. It wasn’t long before she turned her key over to unknown persons and the cycle of theft repeated again.

Friends turned on other friends. The guilty pointed fingers of blame at the innocent. Little exercises in power saw some of Bobbi’s oldest and dearest friends tossed off the property by those with ignoble agendas.

Relieved to hear she had been placed in a nursing home, I basked in the feeling of knowing she would now be safe in the event of an accidental fall and in the knowledge that some cheerful nurse would be making sure that she was taking her medication in the right amount.

Unfortunately, Bobbi, who kept talking about her substantial will and the tracts of land she may still own in Israel, lured the unscrupulous all the way to the nursing home.

Unhappy events came to a climax when one of them charmed her way back into Bobbi’s new life and was able to prevent Darryl from visiting by virtue of wild and untrue stories.

Darryl, who truly loves the old lady, was in tears. So far, others have been unable to do anything about this turn of events, and Bobbi and Darryl remain separated.

The loneliness and the confusion of Bobbi’s life are eons away from the seemingly endless summers in her backyard. My mental vision of Bobbi alone, staring at the sunset won’t go away.

"Don’t ever get old" brings no comfort when we know that’s exactly what all of us are getting to be.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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