Conferencing and Remembering

As I begin to write this, I am actually blogging on my phone and in the Detroit airport. While I have, perhaps, flown though DTW more than any other airport (MSP could be first), it has been some time since I have flown to the U.P.. I remember flying with Dale Sullivan to Atlanta from CMX as the Houghton/Hancock Airport was designated shortly after 9/11. I presented at the NCA Conference. What a crazy time to be flying it was back then. Amazing how we have become so accustomed to all the things this present world requires. I remember meeting a very nice student from Akron at the conference and having dinner with her. Her name was #Maria #Costa. She was such a help to me in the couple years that followed. She eventually moved to Florida and I lost track of her.

I am very glad to be going back to the Copper Country. It was 21 years ago I first arrived there. I had no idea how the towns of Hancock and Houghton would change my life, my path in life, or so much else, professionally and personally. I finished a profession and began a new one; I ended a marriage, got married again and ended that marriage too. If someone would have forecasted such things, I am quite sure I would have thought them crazy. I worked with some amazing people in a variety of F&B positions and they transformed me into a #foodie. While that path had actually been created way back in the 1970s in a restaurant called #Aunt # Maude’s, it was people like Jim Cortright, Cormac Rownan, and Eric Karvonen who all taught me so much and helped me survive. Working at #The #Library, #Steamers, or #Fitzgerald’s were such an important part of my life.

This weekend I am presenting a paper on issues of communication and gender in a memory unit. Watching Lydia in COH this past 2 1/2 years had taught me a lot. It is quite interesting how issues of tone and language affect the dementia patient and how he or she might respond to the care provided. It is also affected significantly by the gender combination of worker to patient or client. Finally, the education or training/experience of the caregiver, which can actually be quite varied, has a pronounced effect on how they communicate and consequently how the dementia or Alzheimer’s patient will respond. Finally, the training and caregiver/patient ratio which is a state regulation also affects the care.

While I am in Houghton, I will be busy because demands in Bloomsburg are still calling. I am hoping for a great conference and trip.

Thanks for reading,

Michael