Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

On the second day, Nathan took me around to visit some of the other areas in Tacoma
Pastures. He showed me the reading library (which had two newspaper subscriptions),
the ballroom, and introduced me to the two women who worked at the beauty salon.
Nathan and I spent the rest of the morning moving long tables and chairs in order to set
up for an evening event. Nathan then took me to the accounts office to sign up for lunch.
He paid for me that day, and I took a printed slip of paper and checked off in pen what I
wanted for lunch from a list of choices. When lunchtime came, which was around 12:15
p.m., I headed into the kitchen on the main level, and grabbed a tray. I was directed to
fetch my drink and dessert from an industrial size refrigerator. I found the selection of
juices that were already poured out in styrofoam cups and covered with a thin saran
wrap. After grabbing some cutlery, I headed to the food counter, and an Eastern
European woman and another man with a tiger tattoo covering his entire left forearm
served me my hot meal. I took my food, and found Nathan eating his lunch with a few of
the residents on the second floor of the health and rehabilitation centre. I pulled a chair
from an adjacent table and joined the four-top. Next to us, a few of the caregivers from
the health and rehabilitation centre along with some of the food servers (hospitality
staff members) were sitting down and having their lunch. All the residents were given
their food and drinks, and now the staff could take a few minutes for themselves. I
noticed that the two African caregivers were talking to one of the Eastern European
food servers about taxes, and joking around that they should be given more food
discounts at Tacoma Pastures. The food server jokingly remarked he would consider it
only if the caregivers would give him a discount when he got old and needed their care. I
turned to one of the residents on my table and asked him if it was easy to make friends.
I said it seems people are used to each other and friendly around here. He said, “Sure,
it’s easy to make friends here, even if a new person comes along like yourself. We just
ask ‘em, what’s you name?
The recreation staff members attend to residents in a very particular way. They often
say regarding their activities and visits, “We are the life of the party. We bring the
party.” Eddie, whose mother (Hawaiian) and father (Swedish) met during World War II,
said that before he started working at Tacoma Pastures, he went to Hawaii back in the
1990s to work as a gold crown denture maker. He was eventually sacked after six years,
and decided to move back to the area because of the lack of jobs and the increasing cost
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