Gifford Brewster

Gifford Brewster

From the hospital by ambulance to

Royal Megansett Nursing Home,

I go. For two weeks I'm in quarantine.

Then a roommate comes.

Skinny, long scraggly, unkempt beard,

with a black patch over left eye,

wearing a red watch-cap and mismatched

clothes, the eighty year old is assigned the next bed.

Gifford Brewster's surname and given name

indicate a lineage from the early days

of Europeans on Cape Cod. He shows

traits of those old Yankees. I ask if he's

from Falmouth and get just one word – Nope.

He's crotchety, taciturn, and stingy with word.

Gifford is from one of the islands, was a plumber

and has a house mate to help him. What brought

him to the hospital and what his many health

problems are, I don't know.

His ancestors created the character of the area.

They were frugal, hard working people,

and they gave money to fund schools,

libraries, museums and hospitals.

These institutions, some with the names

of the benefactors, continue to serve us.

The infirm man in the next bed has

this as his heritage whether he knows

it or not. All New England today

shares in the patrimony.

View from window at sunset at Royal Megansett.