pretty ladies

Last weekend one of my favorite Free Press reporters, Lauren, and I went over to The Arbors in Shelburne to photograph a girl, Danielle, who comes in on her day off every other Saturday to set up shop in the facility's salon for a day of all out beauty. This girl is really cool and really gives the residents some very special extra care. I should've prefaced this by explaining that The Arbors is a facility that cares for the memory-impaired suffering from dementia and alzheimers. So, the ladies really appreciate the work she does and how beautiful she makes them look afterwards.

Lauren and I collected some great moments from two of the residents, Blanche and Rosetta. Rosetta was a little firecracker! Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky she had the sweetest little southern drawl and a real quick wit to her. Her memory slipped from time to time as we spoke with her, but her humor stuck by her side and kept all of us laughing. What a sweetheart.

This assignment really "tugged at my heart strings" as I couldn't help but think of my own grandfather who suffers from Alzheimers. Some of the silent moments and vague glances just broke my heart as I watched these women struggle within themselves to form a response to our questions. Nobody deserves the torture that Alzheimers inflicts, it is such a terribly sad disease for anyone to deal with.

Of course, I collected audio as well on this project and put together an audio slideshow for you to enjoy. Click the link below to get a taste of how fabulous these ladies are.

www.burlingtonfreepress.com/legacy/slideshows/042608arbors/index.html