The fixit bureau: the idea

April 27, 2026

Here are some points for Thursday's working lunch.

The two big questions at lunch:

(A) Can some old people find more practical help where they currently live?

(B) At the same time, is the time coming soon when some people with practical gifts (artists, therapists, athletes, activists, other smart people) get access to good work with fair wages, by doing this kind of practical work?

(See photo of an article about Sumo wrestlers in Japan doing elder-care, sent by Ricardo)

Blocks:

1. We need more practical details about what some old people miss, and what some may long for. I've hired Livia, aspiring film-maker, to record interviews with a (growing) list of old people/their middle-years kids/their grandkids/their friends to find answers. This will be turned into a paper booklet and an online resource.

2. Money is an issue that needs to be clarified. Many old people have pensions, including CPP. Old people or their families/friends want to find useful ways to spend that money well.

3. Old people are often slow and sloppy and go in and out of having funny ideas. Plus they're wrinkled. Being around them can be very annoying and strain their helpers' patience. Old people find each other and even themselves annoying and so they can get quite grumpy.

Key words:

Practicality (motto: let's make it work)

Competence (finding paths out of klutziness, especially for the old person who wants to stay competent, and also for the helper, who wants to fix what's not working)

Stealing ideas (checking to see what's worked elsewhere, and adapting it to try at home)

Friendship (the nourishment of affection, collegial and also younger-older and older-older) as opposed to saving people or chucking them under the chin Curiosity (keeping on talking)

A name, if this moves along:

"practical help fixit bureau," fixit bureau for short? Or something else?

the bureau

Headquarters:

The little house behind 242. Sub-branches: the Celos shed at the park, various houses of workers or old people.