The Older Black Man At The Nix Hospital
It was another typical day at the Nix Health hospital in, where I worked as a housekeeper from 2014 to 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. I was ready to be off, after the excitement of cleaning what felt like a million patient rooms on floors 18 to the 24th. The chats with nurses I got along with and my co-worker Melanie helped make the day go by, but, now I was ready to unwind for the last hour — before I left the old tall building in downtown San Antonio.
I had one more patient room to check on before I could coast — until it was time to leave the Nix for tonight. I was on the 19th floor bracing myself before I knocked on the door. I knocked and say ‘’Housekeeping!’’. Someone in the room says ‘’come in’’. I go into the room and see a middle-aged white woman in the bed with a smile on her face. Right across from her, was a middle-aged black man sitting inside his chair with a stern smile.
She had said something to him, that made me guess, that they were a married couple.
I give a professional smile to both of them — before I went to their restroom to clean it. After a couple of minutes of cleaning, I go back into the main area of their room. Before I proceed to clean, the older man starts to talk to me. He began to talk to me about black American history and ask me questions.
