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a restaurant because they never learned to cook. There are many
unpleasant facets of cooking, starting with getting to the market,
making the proper selection, and getting the heavy purchase
back to one's dwelling. One needs to know which utensils to use,
what quantities of what are needed to prepare a food item, and
tend to the esthetic clea nliness of the kitchen and disposal o f
wastes. I was familiar with so mebody who could finish his mea l
before arriving to be seated where intended to eat it; sitting
down to a meal in the presence of no one but himself was not
his cup of tea.
This person was obsessive about letting nothing go to waste,
and nowadays there's monetary payment for recycling; he knew
clearly how the waste of abundance becomes the wealth of the
impoverished. Water used for dishes and other grey wate r
resources went to the lawn, w hile peels and shavings fro m fruits
and vegetables became compost for the garden crops. Uncertain
of how sound the econo mic value of this strategy or how muc h
effort to devote towards it, he kept empty bottles and plastic
containers of all sorts and shapes. Nylon shopping bags were
strewn about the floors and tabletops of his living habitat. Had
a caring individual imposed his presence there in, the process
would have sorted itself out as to what and how dispose of that
which had no monetary value.
Meal preparation techniques are a matter for elderly
education, such that no old person is left without an apron and
a good cutting board. To learn the logistics of freezing daily
portions; meat and fowl, soups, kneading dough to bake brea d
rolls (very good exercise for the upper back and shoulders), and
even freezing slices of ho memade pizza are all part of a wise
econo mic strategy to avoid shopping, cooking, and cleanin g
chores. An often-overlooked factor as to what people consume
is the degree of nourishment in the products mass -produced,
frozen, canned, manhandled by machines, and packaged for the
ease of distribution. Many proble ms result from the modern
style of eating what's readily available, so a course with a
dietician is as important to the elderly as coo king class. Suc h
social involvements can also add meaning to the existence o f
people who like to share their expertise with others.
Calisthenics: The human physiology needs exercise, as does
the human mentality. It is a known fact that a twenty minute
walk, or run around the track, Pilates, Feldenkrais, swimming,
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