(somber music)
- [Jacqueline] When I lived in Queens,
I went to the beauty parlor every two weeks;
I still do it here in this independent living community.
It's the same routine.
This routine is my life;
I have been used to it ever since I came to America.
Look, I'm 91 years old, and I can't stop the aging process
but I try to remedy whatever I can.
- [Thelma] If you want to call it a beauty routine,
see, I don't; I call it just taking care of yourself.
I do it as part of my living.
I don't think I feel beautiful,
I feel like I'm Thelma.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(soft piano music)
- [René] Change is hard.
Change is hard at any age.
But being a senior and leaving your home
and leaving familiar faces and starting new;
routine's important.
So if they're in the habit
of getting their hair done on a Friday at one o'clock,
they still want Friday at one o'clock.
I'm René Carpenito. I'm the salon coordinator
and hair stylist at Riverwalk salon.
I've been here for fourteen years,
and working in a residence like this,
it does give you enjoyment, being with them,
it makes them feel good
because that's what they're supposed to be doing.
They've been through it all.
Doing their hair and making them pretty
and making them feel good,
you also help them get through their day a little easier.
(somber violin music)
- [Jacqueline] I was born in 1927.
I was a teenager during the holocaust in France.
There were days when you couldn't take a bath
because there was nothing,
but during the war I had one lipstick,
and I remember it was called Rouge Baiser,
which means red kiss.
Lipstick made me feel beautiful, so it's important to me
to keep myself clean and to keep myself
looking the best I can.
We came to this country after the war in 1947.
I met my husband.
I was married 65 years.
After my husband died I felt very lonely,
and I was in terrible shape when I came here;
but the beauty salon is downstairs on the lower floor.
Morning.
I go to the beauty parlor every two weeks.
It's an intimate place.
I talk to people.
You feel very good going there;
I know that I'll come out and I'll look decent.
(gentle piano music)
- [Thelma] Two years ago my husband fell, and died.
I never thought that this would happen to me.
At the beginning I froze;
and I said, "Who am I?"
Always dressed, see?
This is the way my family was; we always dressed.
This is my life today, it cannot be what it was.
I have to maintain who I am.
I love clothes.
My hair is the same as it was when I was twenty,
It's very simple and I don't want to lose myself;
so far, I have not.
- [René] Thelma's been here
a little while. Good morning.
- [René] She's very sharp; she's very into fashion.
Thelma has her style; she knows what she likes.
- [Thelma] And not too short down here.
- [René] And I do what she likes, week after week.
She shares a lot of stories and she goes out often,
and she's just living life and enjoying life.
(gentle piano music)
I feel like coming here gives me the opportunity
to have 95 grandmothers.
It's a very comfortable place to be.
They're getting older,
and their life is getting a little harder,
so when you're the one that makes their day better,
that gives you so much more fulfillment.
(gentle piano music)