Sad news today

[Kathryn]

Tomorrows first job( pensioners that I really like) rang me this arvo to explain that they would be home. Then she told me that her other half had had a massive stroke. He cant see or speak.
I cant believe she was giving me insructions to spray the clover!
I know some of you have lost favourite oldies and ive always felt sad for you.im so sad for them

[courty]

It can be tough sometimes Kathryn.
I went to the funeral of one of my clients on Monday,55 yrs old and had battled a brain tumour for 2 yrs.

[Bluey]

Thats bad news Kathryn. Some of my clients are more like friends. I had a really nice old fella die about a year ago. Cut me up a bit because we always used to have a yarn everytime I went there. Maybe go see him in hospital to cheer him up a bit.

[regester64]

Yes Kathryn, Sad sometimes .I lost a few in Victoria and one in Hervey bay and a couple now having to make the decision to go in to a care home in their mid nineties.

[imoww]

My heart goes out to you Kathryn.
Sometimes we are the only friends or closest family to the oldies.

[Scooby Steve]

We have lost a few over the years, it always gets to you as the oldies are always great to talk too and they usually have a drink and some freshly baked goods out when you drop by.

[Blaktop]

I've got a couple on the way down.....sad to see how quickly they're declining.

[Fred's mowing]

We have lost a few over the years, it always gets to you as the oldies are always great to talk too and they usually have a drink and some freshly baked goods out when you drop by.

Yes, after u have heard the same story for the whatever time & u doubt the coffee cup was washed since u were last there.
But these ppl r the salt of the earth!
Sorry to here Kathryn, very sad.
Cheers fred.

[geoff]

you certainly do get attached to these old favorites....on several occasions I get the call from the mrs saying can you leave the lawn till next week as old fred passed away this morning ..to have all that going on and to remember to tell the gardener to reschedule is unbelievable....I do love my oldies and some i have for over 20 years...there a few in their 90s and lost one last week,you do feel sad but on many occasions you get a nice letter from the family saying thanks for being a friend to my dad or mum.... sometimes you are a part of their lives and you should feel privilege..there are hard nuts in this business that don't give a crap and just what cut and run and make money but sometimes you have to care..what goes around does in fact come around

[Fred's mowing]

Neil Maglashan, born 88 yrs ago in that very house (St.Kilda st Brighton). They have just moved him into a nusrsing home as he was going blind & could'nt look after himself any longer.
He would tell me the history of the area, tell me how his mother would just come out & not even bother going to the tramstop.
Simply walk out her front gate & put her hand up. Good mornin Bert........... Good mornin Ethyl. Thats how it was!
Tell me stories of where the tram terminated in Sandringham & then u would continue your journey to Beaumaris via horse drawn tram.
Then all of a sudden u never see him again
Still, 1 posative that came out of it, I did'nt have to pick up 2 weeks worth of schnauzer **** he could'nt find anymore
Then there was old Bill Cooper..........................
Cheers Fred.

[Greenie]

Kathryn, I feel for you, this is my second year and 1 of my very first customers just dies on me a month ago, she asked me to do some gardening for her turn into a big job and a good earner imoww, was booked in to help me even and she didn't call, it was very odd, I thought I better go and check on her and found a padlock on her gate, this was odd, in 1 year of mowing her lawn every 2 weeks there was never a pad lock on the gate, I left my card and her son called me and told me she died I was so Gutted not sure what to say, apparently in the last year she was Very sick and never told me, I used to sit with her and talk and drink tea with her ( I hate tea ) never new she was sick,
Still all I can say is be strong and smile when u think about the close customers

[GardenGuy]

I value my elderly clients because of their wit and wisdom. Some of them have only a few words to share, and those words are often gold. Some love to spend a moment and a cuppa. Both are really nice sorts to spend time with.

Likewise, I'm part of an organisation that has a mostly elderly membership. Despite logically understanding that time reaps us all, it doesnt soften the blow of losing a brother or a fellow creature.

It's Friday evening. If you're reading this, and have a drink near to hand, then please stand and drink a wee toast to those who are absent from this place.

Cheers - Garden Guy.

[Cranbourne Lawnmowing]

I have gotten to know the family of an old customer of mine over the last 12 months. The old fellow was into the old cars as is one of his sons. Mainly the old Ford thunderbirds. I got the chance to drive what was supposedly Johny o'keefes car, would have to be one of the best highlights of my life and the old fella had a look at the photo's of the car and said it sure looks like the real deal. We always had a good chat after that and you do start to see them as more than just a customer. Unfortunatly he had a fall and broke a couple of ribs so he went and stayed with family for a while and I kept mowing and maintaining his place. Because he lived only a five minute walk from my house I would drop round every couple of weeks and do the walk around, make sure everything was ok. His sons appreciated this and if anything needed doing told me just add it to the bill and they would take care of it but last time I was there one of the sons turned up and told me he just went down hill and passed away. Was a real shock,I always thought I would turn up oneday and he would be back home. I'll miss the old scoundrel.

Kathryn, its a sad fact but when you work in an industry where you are dealing with customers on a personal basis you cant help but have a connection with them sometimes. Guess its something that has its good and bad points.

[Kathryn]

too true fellas. im yet to hear of how max is going but apparently there was more swelling around the area of the brain where the stroke was. doesnt sound good. this is my first time losing a favourite.
you get some funny encounters on this job. mostly good. sometimes sad. i have 1 customer that call me up when she has a list of things in the garden that need doing. i went round there 1 time and it took her ages to get to the door. told me that she had fallen over that morning and was tired as it had taken hours to get back up again. she let me fuss over her but wouldnt let me call her family as she is scared of her daughter in law. how crap is that. the next time i was there said daughter in law was also present and treated me like total crap like i was conning her inheritence. the old lady is lovely and i always make time for a chat with her.

[Blaktop]

When I was running a CSP mowing gang up in Alice, we used to do a block of units full of elderly pensioners. One old Irish lady in her eighties always used to have a plate of biscuits for the boys....she was one of their favourites. One day I knocked on her door, no answer, knock again......then I hear a faint "help, I've fallen over, the key is under the pot plant". I retrieved the key, opened up and there's this poor old lady lying on the floor beside her bed. She'd fallen over at 5.00pm the previous day and had been there all night waiting for someone to come and help her. We got her up and called the ambulance. She came home again but was never the same and about 2 months later they moved her to a care facility. One of the neighbours told me she passed away a couple of months later. We're in a business where a lot of our customers are elderly......it is hard when you lose an old favourite.