Although he’s technically retired, Louis has a packed schedule. His only day off is Wednesday, but he likes it that way. “It’s good to have something to do,” he says. “I’m lucky I’m doing something in retirement.”

Louis volunteers as a tutor for several elementary students, working with children from kindergarten through fourth grade. He helps those who have fallen behind in their classes due to physical or learning disabilities. It’s something Louis can relate to, since he also struggled in school. “I wasn’t an ‘A’ student,” he admits.

Louis dropped out of college in his junior year. As a young man in his early 20s, he never intended to finish. He didn’t see the point. Instead, he moved to California and became a massage therapist. But every so often his older brother would bring up school, especially once Louis moved back to the city. “He wanted me to graduate,” he says. “He was telling me to go back to school for 47 years.”  

Unfortunately, Louis passed away before he could see that happen. His death pushed Louis to enroll at John Jay — his brother’s alma mater.

Louis had always been close to his family, who accepted him even after he came out as gay, but his relationship with his brother was special. “My brother was my idol,” Louis says. “I always wanted to be like him.” When Louis finally graduated at 65 years old, he brought his cap to place at his brother’s grave. “That’s when I graduated.”

Louis completed almost all of his classes online. If it wasn’t for the internet, he doesn’t know if he could have done it. A few years ago, after he went to the doctor complaining of frequent dizzy spells, Louis was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. A disorder of the nervous system, it makes daily tasks he once found simple more difficult. “Your brain does not connect with your body,” he explains.

I can’t stand up and go back and forth to the stove. 

Since then, he’s noticed how it’s affected his mobility. He needs a cane to get around, even just around his small studio apartment. And the lack of coordination in his hands makes it hard to type — when he texts people, he uses the speech to text speech feature.

All of this makes any food preparation beyond microwaving a meal tricky. “I can’t stand up and go back and forth to the stove,” he says. “I haven’t used my stove in two years.”

Grocery shopping is also an ordeal, especially in his Midtown Manhattan neighborhood. “Kindness is not a given,” he says. “People walk fast and they knock me over.”  When he does make it to the store, the selection there is limited, since it mostly caters to tourists. It’s expensive, too. “The prices are outrageous,” says Louis. As someone living on a fixed income, he can’t afford to go there often.

It’s part of the reason he’s so grateful to Citymeals on Wheels. The home-delivered meals he receives save him money and provide him with healthy options. They’re also delicious, even the vegetables, which Louis would usually avoid. “It’s better than what I would make,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t care how Italian I am — I can’t cook.”  

Louis does most of this tutoring virtually. When he does go into the schools he volunteers with, he’s allowed to stay in one classroom and have the students come to him instead of traveling from room to room like other tutors. “It was too much for me to go up and down the stairs,” he says.  

When he’s not teaching or in physical therapy, Louis spends his time writing. “I’ve been a writer my whole life.” He likes to write poetry, often about his family or the experience of getting older. “I have a good life now,” he says. “I’m living a dream in a lot of ways.” Louis wants people to think differently about aging and how they view the older people in their lives: “We’re not all sitting in rocking chairs!”