Jose was sitting in his chair by the window as I opened the door to Room 111, which I found easily by the picture of Jesus that was hanging from it. Jose was dressed in a navy and red striped long sleeve shirt, suspenders and a scarf. He wore white zip up tennis shoes, but his left shoe was not zipped up all the way. He had the most sincere smile as I introduced myself in Spanish and sat down. After telling Jose a little about myself, I asked him if he had ever played any sports like soccer when he was younger. He replied that he had once but got hit in the eye and after that he decided that sports were not his thing.
Just a little while later, we were joined by Leah another visitor who was also inspired by Jose story and Jessica a volunteer Spanish translator. Leah had brought with her Jose’s favorite Spanish flan and I had brought Jose a personal cassette recorder.
We asked Jose many questions and learned about his past in Cuba. He had been a political prisoner for 15 years in Cuba and his wife happened to be pregnant with their second son when he was incarcerated. His family often visited him during those years.
At this point in our conversation, I began to cry. I never met my grandfather because he died very young. My grandmother has told me stories of how she raised my father, Samuel and his brother David while she was 8 months pregnant with her third son, William, when my grandfather unexpectedly died of heart failure just a few years after returning from WWII.
I felt this strong emotional connection as I was overwhelmed to be talking with a man who to most would be considered a stranger, but to me it was as if he in a way was encouraging me for those times I never got to sit and talk with my grandfather and listen to his stories.
Jose sang us a poetry piece that he wrote for his wife, but his throat hurt and he was unable to finish. However, he did use the recorder I brought him and he even told me that I better save him a seat at my wedding and that he will sing a song for me on that special day.
He also shared with us that he enjoyed painting. He said, “I used to be able to paint a sketch of you right here If I wanted”, but since he had been shot in the neck he had lost the use of his right hand and the cataracts on both of his eyes have worsened over the years.
Next, Jose rolled up his pant leg and showed us his knee that had been giving him pain. He then explained that his right shoe was not zipped up because his foot was swollen from his leg pain. He said that if the doctors did not take away the pain he was going to have to cut his leg off himself. When asked if he was nervous about having knee surgery, he replied, “Why should I be?” “The Lord is with me” His faith and belief in God was encouraging and his sense of humor at age 85 was delightful. He asked us to take a picture with him before we had to leave.
Leah, Me, Jessica and of course Mr. Casanova himself!
I wished Jose a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year thanking him for our time together. Leah and I stood in the parking lot chatting with each other when we looked up to see to our surprise Jose speeding by in his scooter wearing his red cap and grinning from ear to ear.
I was so thankful for this great opportunity to meet with Jose and I hope we will meet again!
As a public relations student, I have learned that spending quality time with your audience and knowing who they are is necessary to be of value to your customers, clients, colleagues, etc.
Listening is another key to being of value. Understanding Jose’s Cuban culture through listening to his stories actually helped me to learn some things about myself and the things that I value most in life including the ones I too often take for granted, God, family and friends.
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