“Under the Coral Tree”
Life Stories, Wisdom, Care Conversations & Thanks
Care Conversations | Still Growing
Sometimes it takes a bit of apparent nonsense to return us to the pith of common sense. This year being the century and a half marker of Lewis Carroll's Alice, that wisdom struck me again. As Alice ate the cake she kept growing. "Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice...
Poetry Rx | “Evergreen 6.22.15” by Cassidy Macdonald
A poem Cassidy wrote in memory of a beloved Coral Tree client, Mary, a Japanese-American woman, who lived in Irvine and passed away in June, 2015 at 90 years old. Mary was buried at Evergreen Cemetery, in Boyle Heights, in East Los Angeles. Evergreen is one of the...
Cassidy’s Corner | In Our Dotage
As I left the front door this morning, I saw the moonflower folding on its vine. A whiff of regret swept over me for the subtle and seductive scent dissolving, the green sepals forcing that purest white leaf inward. I stopped myself and looked hard at the dying...
Recommended Movies | Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory
A beautiful, amazing documentary. The ability of music to transform the lives of people suffering from memory loss (and other cognitive & physical disfunction) in this film is nothing short of miraculous. All families with a loved one suffering from dementia or...
Poetry Rx | “A Private Singularity” by John Koethe
The American poet John Koethe is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I used to like being young, and I still do, Because I think I still am. There are physical Objections to that thought, and yet what Fascinates me now is how...
Cassidy’s Corner | Home Equals Hope
Home Equals Hope: Edith Macefield's Legacy Sunday, I read an article on the front page of the NYTimes, "House That Wouldn't Budge (or Float Away) Faces a Last Stand." What struck me most in the article was this universal desire to live and die in our own homes. The...
Our Friends | The Song of the Sea Urchin
I was thinking as I ran on the beach this morning about the ephemerality of life, the beauty. I was thinking how much of a distraction beauty is, a wonderful distraction but a distraction that sometimes moves aside. This displacement of beauty can happen with its loss...
Pet Therapy | K-9 Companions for Independence
This morning I attended a meet-and-greet at Newport Beach's Oasis Senior Center with Canine Companions for Independence, a California non-profit that provides assistance dogs for people with disabilities. We are looking to adopt a therapy dog, or puppy/dog that...
Care Conversations | The Importance of Social Engagement
On Monday night I attended Living to Age 90 and Beyond, a public talk by University of California Irvine Health geriatric neurologist Dr. Claudia Kawas, part of the Medicine in Our Backyard series of lectures offered in collaboration with UCI and the Newport Beach Public Library. Since 2003 Dr. Kawas has lead the pioneering 90+ […]
Cassidy’s Corner | Children, Roses and the Aged Reflect Their Care
Nearing 90 by William Maxwell Out of the corner of my eye I see my 90th birthday approaching. It is one year and six months away. How long after that will I be the person I am now? I don't yet need a cane but I have a feeling that my table manners have deteriorated....