Ophelia wrote:
> Julia Altshuler wrote:
The advertisers want to
>>make the item sound fun or cool or time-saving, but the real target
>>market is the elderly.
>
>
> What a wonderful idea! I hadn't thought of that.


Thanks. It was the grater that put the idea in my head. I'm able
bodied and had seen an ad for a ridiculous cheese or vegetable grater.
What, I thought, could be easier than a cheap, low tech, box grater that
never wears out or needs replacement? Hold it in one hand, apply
pressure while moving the cheese up and down with the other. Had to
better than washing all those moving parts in the electric version.


Then a friend took a vacation and put me in charge of looking in on his
elderly mother. What an eye-opener! She wasn't entirely disabled but
needed help with a number of small household tasks. I drove up to see
her 3x/week to go grocery shopping for her and to do whatever needed to
be done. Doing the tasks was no trouble. Thinking of what she might
need in advance was huge. Like opening child-proof medicine bottles or
grating cheese so she could make dinner for herself.


It occured to me that the fancy-schmancy stupid electric cheese grater
could be put together and operated with one hand. Perfect for someone
who wants as much independence as possible. No problem if I took it
apart and washed it when I got there, it could still be a nice thing for
her to have, an option that might make things easier for her.


--Lia