Patience, Patience, Patience

Patience, Patience, Patience

By Jim Shorr, Portland, Oregon

Let’s call him Don. He entered the retirement center activity room silently. He nodded to show he understood, shook his head only once and softly said his name and room number in the circle. He is a senior with a twinkle in his eye.

In a group of six to ten T’ai Chi Chih practitioners, he’s our fastest learner despite having suffered a concussion years ago. Don stares intently at my every move. Except when he’s in pain, he never misses a TCC session, shedding his walker and concentrating intently on his balance. He speaks phrases now and goes to coffee hour with us after TCC sessions.

Last week Don invited another student and me into his three-room apartment. He has four certificates for a hole-in-one in golf. He quarterbacked the 1966 Stanford Cardinals into a Western Conference championship and is shown in a photo holding the trophy. Another photo shows his dad winning the national polo championship in England. Modesty is Don’s trademark.

Never a boastful word. Don wrote on his napkin last week, “Patience… patience… patience. Practice… practice… practice. Sincerity in the practice.”

That says it all from Don of the Edgewood Downs Retirement Center. We’re all

proud of him and TCC is his current guide.