Isu Task Analysis

ISU Task #1

Creative writing:

I can't believe it when my mother announces that we are leaving Nova Scotia and heading clear across the country to Victoria, British Columbia. I'm going to be leaving behind all of my friends and the only home I have ever known, all for some grouchy 95-year-old grandfather I hardly remember.

If moving isn't bad enough, i'm shocked when my mother says she will pay me to act as caregiver for my grandfather until school starts at the end of the summer. At least the pay she is offering beats what I would get flipping burgers at McDonald's.

When I finally meet Arthur, I immediately have second thoughts about accepting this job instead of something in the fast food business. The old man totters along with the aid

of a walker and watches CNN, MTV, and reruns of Little House on the Prairie. When he isn't captivated by the TV, he is yelling for coffee and chocolate ice cream or swearing at me. Anyone observing our daily rituals would never guess that Arthur had once been a world famous cello player and renowned womanizer.

The relationship between Arthur and I gradually began to change. He is still a demanding, cantankerous old coot, but he surprises me one afternoon when he demands that I take him for a drive. Considering that I only have a learner's permit, it is rather amazing that Arthur trusts me, his young grandson to drive his most cherished possession - an awesome 1956 T-bird. The afternoon drives soon become a regular routine.

The summer I spend with my grandfather turns out to be valuable beyond my wildest dreams. Despite his often annoying manner, the old man has an excellent sense of humor that matches my own ironic view of life, and the alliance that forms between us provides benefits for the both of us. When Arthur is stricken with a series of strokes, I am crushed to see the gracious old man stripped of his dignity.