Elderly Parents’ Day Out … after a Category 4 hurricane -II

By Amitabh Sharma

We are here in the sunny Caribbean, on the island of Jamaica, where a group of parents and grandparents decided to go on a day bus trip right after a Category 4 hurricane passed the island.

As her parents were on a high adrenaline mode, back home, Sue* was worried … there was no way to contact her parents or their friends as the cellphone services had not been restored … “Now I know why I don’t have children of my own … these two are enough to drive my blood pressure through the roof,” she remarked jokingly, but then it was a serious situation.

As she was frantically trying to reach out to whoever she could, and even in half a mind to drive up to the north coast in search of her ‘kids’, a different adventure was brewing for the senior citizens on the day trip.

After the safe descent from the mountains, the group of friends, we would have thought, would have made their way home. But the allure of the blue oceans and the silver sand was inviting … it was time for Vitamin Sea!

Out came the entourage, onto the beach and dipping their feet in the ocean – some were having a hard time under the bright sun and the hot day, great for getting tanned (or sunburnt), it was a small price to pay for the fun and frolic.

A couple of hours at the beach, was a breath of fresh air for these seniors, and now it was finally time to go home. “But wait,” one of them remarked, “where are my grandkids?” They were referring to their grandchildren who came along with the group … they were not to be seen anywhere on the expanse of the beach.

Adventure number three was unfolding, now began the frantic search for the teenagers, anxiety was on a high. Where they could have gone, hope they are okay, a myriad of questions were being asked. Not finding them on the beach the group decided to hop on to the bus and drive around the town. They would have gone around town a couple of times, and finally found the kids sitting and enjoying some fried chicken, oblivious of the time. A sigh of relief and hallelujahs rang out.

The return journey was without any hitches; by the time they reached home it was night, and it was pitch dark (the power hadn’t been restored). Sue’s parents finally got cell signals and they called her. “Listen!” she said, “I have never been so tense in my life; I was happy that they were safe, and we spoke till they reached home safely.

“I was not pleased,” she continued, “They found the entire thing funny and when I started speaking to them strongly, their inner parent hulk came out again.”

What a day it was, the parents frolicking and the children getting worried sick … the cherry on the top that evening was when Sue got a photo from her mother … it was a selfie of her mom and dad in their Sunday best, in the bus, posing for the camera.

Parents, we tell you …

*Not her real name.

Click here to Read Part I of the adventure

(The column Postcard from Jamaica appears every Wednesday)

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Touchscreen phone and the dilemma of a Senior