Papa’s Return to Puerto Rico
Facilitated By Kate Garbarek
January 3, 2023
My father is 83-years-old and like all of us, with age his memory fades and increasingly, his conversational talking points often are cyclical. He gets hyper focused on specific tasks or stories, while mentally checking out of much of the rest of the conversation. While driving alone together, I told him about the beautiful question that I was asked in my initial introduction to TimeSlips: if you could look out your window to see any view, what view would you want to see? My father quickly started chatting about the apartment he lived in while in Puerto Rico in the 1960s, with open air balconies that connected neighbors to shared outdoor living space. The balconies were alternating by floor, so when you looked up, you could see the neigbors above you with easy. He talked about sharing dinners with his neighbors and that he always brought cocktails to the occasion - as the bachelor who traveled most of the year, he could purchase alcohol at duty-free prices and share with his many neighbors, while others would cook...a task he was happy to let someone else do. He met my mother while living in that building, although that connection, he clarified, was made in the basement garage as he met my uncle while they both carefully took care of their beloved cars. Their friendship evolved to include dinners, where he met a beautiful graduate student with long, flowing brown hair and a sassy disposition. "If I could go back to any of the countries of the world I've visited, I'd return to that balcony" he said. The conversation not only shared a beautiful part of my parents' shared history, but also invited a follow-up activity - to search Google Earth for their former apartment to see if the building is still there! (Spoiler alert, it is!) I am so grateful for the conversation and the light in my dad's eyes as he talked about his travels and meeting my mother - what a gift!
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