A Day Like All Days

The Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial, NYC

My patients often give me far more than I give to them. The inspiring ones have interesting life stories that model wisdom, courage, and resilience. A lovely 80 year old widower had been an accountant for a large Canadian corporation, travelling widely for work and pleasure. Recent cognitive changes led to investigations that showed multiple metastatic brain lesions, and doctors were doing tests to find the primary tumour. The brain disease had affected his cognition and mobility significantly, so I was asked to do a functional assessment. The patient had lost track of "place" and could not even remember his address, but when I asked what day it was, he replied with great drama.

"What sort of day was it?

A day like all days, filled with those events

that alter and illuminate our times...

all things are as they were then, except you were there."

He attributed the quote to Walter Cronkite and repeated it a second time so I could write it down. He was 100% correct. I am amazed at the deep memories that surface when more recent memories have faded.

Walter Cronkite hosted a TV show called You are There from 1953-1957. There was a brief revival of the program in 1971-2 on CBS. The series featured dramatizations of important events in American and world history. After the event was announced at the beginning of the show, Walter Cronkite would say to the audience, "You are there!" He would close the program with the quote given by my patient.

I remember several days that changed history during my lifetime, starting with the assassination of J. F. Kennedy when I was eight years old, the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and 9/11, to name a few. On a personal level, there have been significant events that changed things for our family and community on days that started as "a day like all days". 

My husband and I visited New York City in 2018 and spent time at the 9/11 memorial and Ground Zero. We also enjoyed Come from Away on Broadway, which tells the story of the community in Gander, Newfoundland who welcomed people from airplanes diverted from United States airspace on September 11, 2001. That day impacted the lives of hosts and travellers, creating many enduring relationships.

Central Park NYC

I walked an elderly Sikh gentleman in the hospital hallway to the 6th floor window that looks out over our city. He spoke very little English, but when he looked at the green treetops, blue skies and white clouds, he opened his arms to the view and told me, "This is a gift from God!" He then folded his hands prayfully and with gratitude. I couldn't ask him about his background due to the language barrier, but he made me think about the good things I take for granted in our city and country. My "day like all days" includes so much more than many people can hope to have in other parts of the world. 

We do not know when the next "event to alter and illuminate our lives" will happen, and it may not be anything earth-shattering or widely experienced. It may be a conversation with a cogntively impaired person, or someone who does not speak our language, that realigns our perspective and attitude.