I was very lucky to be given a free concert ticket last week. I've been to concerts at the Hall for Cornwall many times since my recovery; this one was particularly interesting for two reasons.
First, the free ticket was for a prime position: five rows from the front, and dead centre. It's the row which you can walk infront of....and the row where wheelchair-users are given places, as the seats can be easily removed. There was a gap just beside me, and an elderly lady in a wheelchair, pushed by an elderly man arrived and took up position. I was aware of the man wheeling her into place, putting on the brakes, lifting her up so her position was more comfortable etc. It felt strange to be watching it from the perspective of onlooker; a few years ago I would have been the wheelchair participant....equally kindly being manoevered and arranged into my place by my partner.
Secondly, on my other side was another elderly lady. She seemed quite popular; lots of people came up to her, pleased - and surprised - to see her. Apparently she'd had a knee operation recently. What fascinated me was the way in which she talked about her recent op and ongoing recovery. She briefly mentioned discomfort and very quickly moved on to talk about how delighted she was to be at the concert, and how every day it was getting better. She was an expert at filtering for useful information, and minimsing less useful information. She compeletely stepped into all the positives and neatly avoided stepping into anything less positive. If I was the sort of person who made predictions, I would predict she would make a speedy recovery!
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