Carol Kirkpatrick, possibly the brightest writer I ever met in a writing group (proof positive being her ability to scribble out a pithy, brilliantly crafted story on the spot) had the additional charm of treating me to an oral history of Brooklyn whenever we walked its streets together. Combining warmth, depth, humor, and subtlety well into her 90s, she will always represent perfectly what I’d like to be when I grow up. My hope is to charm you with this sample of her writing:
He Had A Dream
It wasn’t as far-reaching a dream as that of Martin Luther King, but its thrust was also enfranchising a group whose rights are frequently compromised.
My friend Richard had spent some time in a nursing home recovering from surgery. He learned from experience how patients’ rights are too often abridged due to lack of sufficient staff, lack of enough staff training, and other factors. He knew patients are often afraid to speak up for fear of staff reprisals. Who could and should speak up and advocate for the patients? Their family members.
To this end he formed an organization…The National Alliance of Family Councils…to link family councils throughout the nation, so that the various groups of family members could share ideas and experiences in creating more empowering life situations for persons confined in nursing homes.
Then Richard died. Now we are seeking a new leader to take his idea forward. It is my personal feeling that other groups of persons in special situations…in hospitals, in prisons, in reform schools…could also use some form of similar support.
