Japanese Shiro, stubborn goat
the japanese, shiro oguni, was visiting a shelter for elderly people with memory impairment or memory loss. he was saddened by their psychological condition, their complete isolation from society and everyone’s neglect of them, and the harsh loneliness that shrouded the hearts of the shelter’s inmates.
then, he got a unique idea to run a restaurant and hire them as waiters and waitresses. he cared to serve tasty food to attract customers in addition to the humanitarian factor that is to hire elderly suffering from dementia.
dementia is the case which makes the elderly forgetful because of many reasons including some suffering from chronic diseases. alzheimer’s is one of the most common types of dementia, and it is characterized by a gradual decline in memory and the deterioration of mental and executive functions in particular, and it occurs as a result of the formation of abnormal deposits in the brain that affect neurons.
the restaurant project succeeded, commercially and humanely, in a way that exceeded the expectations of its owner, although 37% of the customers’ orders were contrary to what they asked for, and that was the source of laughter for both parties, which made the project special, but 99% of its visitors came out happy with the experience, the distinctive food, with promises to come back.
civilization is not a religion, a fancy car, an ornate temple with high ceilings, wide streets, huge schools, organized and complex educational structures characterized by advanced technology, excellent infrastructure, implementation of governance, and cultural development among the population. humanly, this is what we are missing, with great regret, in our societies.
the story of the restaurant reminded me of an old anecdote that i touched on years ago about a couple who always complained of poor memory, and that was the reason for their disagreement a lot over small matters.
they, on the advice of their children, visited a number of doctors and performed various blood tests and examinations, but they did not seem to worry much, and the last mental health consultant advised them to accept the matter as it was and to try to write down what they had to do, to avoid being forgetful.
they returned from the doctor’s office, and on the evening of that day the man told his wife that he wanted to prepare himself a tomato and cheddar cheese sandwich, and he asked her if she wanted him to prepare the same for her, and she said she would love to have one but with cucumber and white cheese!
she told him to write her request on a piece of paper so that he remembers what she wanted, but he repeated the request and promised her that he would not forget because he did not yet suffer from dementia, but she insisted on her request, and he also insisted on his position and left the room angry.
he returned after a short absence, carrying a plate containing a tomato sandwich with cheddar cheese, and another plate containing two fried eggs, and placed it in front of her. she nodded in acceptance, saying; but you forgot to add the fries and ketchup as i asked you to!
