Police cooks pasta for an elderly couple after neighbors heard them crying.
A story about urban loneliness and an act of kindness.
Last Tuesday police in Rome were called to a block of flats in the Appio area of the city after someone reported hearing crying and shouting.
Four officers attended the scene and found 84-year-old Jole and her 94-year-old husband Michele in their small flat. The elderly couple hadn’t committed a crime. Nor had burglars attempted to break in.
Jole and Michele had started to cry while watching television. The former had asked her husband why there was so much hate in the news that day and Jole had cried so loudly that someone in the building called the police.
The elderly couple, who have been married for nearly 70 years, felt lonely. It had been ages since someone had visited them, they told the officers.
On the kitchen table there were only some old grapes, and few signs of a recent proper meal. So as police waited for an ambulance to check in on the couple, one officer prepared a plate of pasta for Jole and Michele – a simple dish, spaghetti with butter and parmesan – while the other three officers sat down with the couple for a chat.
For any one of us who know any elderly people, it is so important to give them a call on the tele, drop by with some food or just visit once in a while. It makes a world of difference, we can not assume they have family or friends with whom they have meaningful relationships.