For decades on my desk, a small sign has served as a reminder of the one thing I know to be absolutely true: I am not dead. Though visitors often find it troubling, I’ve viewed it simply as a comic-serious...
The beard is dead. Long live the beard.
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 11, 2024
Imagine you’re an elderly rehab patient, maybe trying to recover mobility after a stroke, and receiving treatment in a long-term care facility. Your therapist is a ferocious taskmaster, constantly...
The smiling robot
By
Gary Tetz
May 16, 2024
When I was still a prepubescent boy with many questions, never once did my father take me aside and explain how smiles are made. As a result, I’ve always been a terrible smiler, simply because I never...
Knitting a team
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 18, 2024
I can still remember the clicking of needles and the feeling of chunky strands of cotton passing silently between my fingers. It was early in my elementary school epoch, and we tiny people sat cross-legged...
A beautiful noise
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 04, 2024
My first reaction was paralyzing shock, followed by bewildering bafflement, quickly replaced with intense feelings of personal revulsion. I must have stumbled across something truly horrible, right?...
The underappreciated bartenders of long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 21, 2024
Before you think poorly of me, let me explain. I was in the bar that afternoon only because I had heard such great things about the nachos. Not buying it? How about this: I was conducting an in-person...
Beyond the love meter
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 07, 2024
Love may be a many splendored thing, but it can also be elusive, at least in my experience. So when I read in McKnight’s about new “love meter” technology now available, my mind whirled with possibilities. ...
Feeling stressed? Use your chopsticks
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 04, 2024
We’ve long known that mindfulness programs can improve the physical and emotional well-being of nursing home residents — and the rest of us too.
No place for a pessimist
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 22, 2024
My new co-worker’s eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation when he said it, like a child on Christmas morning expecting to find a Red Ryder BB gun under the tree. “I love...
Bad news, it’s worse than we thought
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 08, 2024
A mere couple of blogs ago, I shared my concern, based on excellent McKnight’s reportage, that seniors are becoming just as addicted to their devices as young people. That seemed shocking, given our...