“Our Women in Business group is having a guest speaker today,” said the facility director. “You are invited as my guest.”

Each of us drove our own car to the meeting. The guest speaker stepped to the podium.

“What can we do to make our work environment more pleasant and lighten the mood?”

To demonstrate, she put a French beret on her head.

“Something different such as you wearing a unique hat perks up the workplace and invites conversation.”

Wow, I thought. If wearing one hat could do that, what would …

I didn’t stay for after-speaker refreshments.

“I need to get back to work,” I told my boss.

At the facility, I explained the results of the meeting and a suggestion. The facility staff, residents and visitors dove into action.

When the boss returned, she was met with not just one unique hat. If one hat could perk up the place and invite conversation, what could 50 hats do?

Visitors had rummaged through their cars for hats. The activity director pulled out the hat collection in the Halloween decorations boxes. Witches, firemen, gaudy creations with feathers, dainty pillbox-styles, and oversized cowboy hats all invited conversations — and laughs.

Conclusion: Unique hats can add zest to the workplace/care facility.

The boss’s response to me: “You are not invited to any more business meetings. You don’t need any more motivation to liven up the place.”

One of the most inspiring concepts I learned at college: “Realize the value and worth of an individual.”

From the person in charge of the facility to the part-time night custodian, each is an important member of the whole team. Has each been properly trained? Has a person been trained adequately, but fails to meet expectations?

We are all more than a diagnosis. I ask myself — what can we do today to improve that resident’s quality of life?

“Why no evening activities?” I asked staff at a larger facility.

“The residents don’t want them,” a staff member said. “After dinner, they want to get ready for bed.”

A chat with the activity director. She agreed to my suggestion.

A live volunteer band played the oldies and goodies, and 98 out of 102 residents showed up. That turned into several well-attended evening events.

Many elderly residents enjoyed opportunities to be outside. On my lunch hour, I helped residents start seeds for a flower garden. Plant morbidity ran high. A donation paid for bedding plants. Residents invited to be involved.

“Henry doesn’t like to garden,” said a resident’s wife.

“I didn’t know,” I said. “Henry volunteered to help with the strawberry plants. He planted and watered them.”

A few shallow raised beds in the backyard filled with potting soil — the vegetable site. What to plant?

Residents’ suggestions: corn, potatoes, pumpkin, watermelon.

“We might look at some smaller plants considering the size of the beds,” I suggested.

We settled on compact tomatoes, bush green beans, a few onions, green peppers, and the makings for lettuce salads.

Time for harvest. Looked marginal. Picked six green beans.

Who will eat the beans? Three women did the most work in the garden.

They each received two beans. Disappointing crop.

Turn that into a celebration — The 6 Bean Celebratory Dinner!

The six cooked beans served with a flourish, along with the meal, accompanied by cheers.

Calls for speeches from the bean recipients. A fun time except for the house cat hiding under a bed.

(FYI: The above incidents didn’t occur in Eastern Oregon.)