Elder Interview

Elder Interview

Tim Semenov

California State University, Sacramento

Elder Interview

        In an effort to learn about the issues of aging and what it means to someone who is considered an older adult, I interviewed my grandpa who just turned ninety-four late January.  For the purposes of this paper, I will refer to my grandpa as Mr. S, a fictitious name in order to protect his privacy.  People usually have individuals in their life that mean everything to them.  For me, it was my grandpa.  Throughout my entire life, he has always been there, sitting silently on the bed waiting for someone to come and maybe interact with him for a bit.  I had known a lot about him, but I knew I could always learn more.  I never had the opportunity to ask him about his childhood and I knew this would be the perfect time.  The elderly sometimes need that extra assistance from families that sometimes may require time that the families are unable to adjust due to their personal lives.  There are personal care homes and nursing homes available that can and will take up the slack, but some of the families along with the individual themselves do not want this type of environment of personal living for them.   Since my grandpa is old and can’t take care of himself much, our family decided that he should stay and live with us.  This made it much easier for me to interview him and get the story of his life in detail.

My Elder’s Life Story

The life of my grandfather spanned nearly a century.  During this time, the political system changed several times.  My grandfather was born on January 7, 1921, in a small village of Zozov, near the famous city of Rivne, Ukraine.  His family was catholic and consisted mostly of his parents, two siblings, and my grandfather himself.  His father was originally from Russia, serving as a driver in the garrison of the Royal Army.  My grandfather’s mother on the hand, grew up and orphan and was brought up first by her relatives.  As she got older, she started working as a maid for the wealthy people.  The parents of Mr. S met in their young years and later got married.  One noteworthy detail my grandpa expressed was of how his mother brought up the courage to emanate the question of marriage.  After dating and meeting a couple of times, she had one condition for her possible future husband; “Either take me or do not meet with me” (Mr. S, personal communication, February 17, 2017).  My grandpa explained that she was always serious and didn’t want to just play around, but get it straight and come to a conclusion.  Their wedding was really modest, with only the groom, bride, and a couple of military friends.  The newlyweds settled in the village of Zozov and bought a small plot of land to build a family.  

My grandfather grew up, like all the boys of his fellow villagers, running around the fields and the playing around in the poor neighborhoods.  Summertime walks around the fields, especially early August, when the sunflowers are in bloom, were one his favorite things to do.  Sometimes you would stumble upon farmer’s hanging out in barns chattering over a few glasses of “samigon”, or moonshine, and wash it down with pickles.  After a long, cold winter eating mostly potatoes, carrots, beets and cabbage, summer is a very welcome reprieve.  The markets overflow with apples, pears, cherries, plums, watermelons and all kinds of assortments of peppers and tomatoes.  Living the simple life, my grandpa thought that one day he will be living in America with his children that dearly love him.  

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