LETTERS: Love and compassion

To the editor:

To all the wonderful people who showed up for the parade at Country Manor, in Whitefield. My wife is a patient there so, of course, I agreed to be in it. What surprised me was how many came. I figured maybe a couple dozen or so, but instead almost a hundred showed up when we all lined up in our trucks and cars, led by a fire truck, followed by a farmer’s trailer with people in it, and then a couple dozen motorcyclists and then us.

One kind lady saw I didn’t have a balloon or other decorations so she helped me out. As the parade started, it was all I could do to hold back the tears, seeing such an outpouring of support and love coming from everyone. The parade line stretched over a mile long and many of us were allowed to turn around and get back in line, which many of us did. I even went a third time as I was worried my wife didn’t recognize me the first two times, even though I was only six feet away in my truck. But that is Alzheimer’s for you.

This lockdown is hurting, not only the patients at Country Manor, but all of us loved ones who want so much to visit again, but I commend Country Manor for keeping that awful virus away from there. Thank God.

It sounds vain but I wish we could have gotten a snippit like the home in Augusta got on Saturday’s 6 o’clock news on NBC. To see and watch the love and compassion taking place is almost heartbreaking.

Frank Slason
Somerville