Besides feeling sorry for her and offering your help? Especially if she’s down on your production schedule for the next two columns in a row? (One because it’s her turn and one so you could spend the weekend with your surrogate daughter?)

Now I don’t want to sound unsympathetic, but business did cross my mind in the midst of saying “Oh, no” and “Does it hurt?” and “Your cast is what color?”

And I must confess I said, “You were doing what…at your age?” The answer  - playing soccer with a visiting grandson – really surprised me. “I thought you weren’t supposed to use your hands in soccer,” I said. “Well, you stop the ball if it’s going to hit your head,” she said. I thought she sounded a bit cranky, but I suppose it’s natural under the circumstances.

The first reaction of my partner’s grandson to the confirmation that her wrist was broken and would require a cast was, “Do I have to go home now?” When reassured that he didn’t, he started to pitch in to help her. He and his grandpa made dinner from a favorite family recipe and he stood by ready to take on computer tasks, answer the phone, and generally help his Grammy.

It will be a summer he won’t forget, one that will help to build his pride and confidence.

Anyway, after offering my own sympathy and help, I began to think about our columns for the next four to six weeks. I know if she isn’t tied down she will soon start to pick out something on her computer and try to garden with her left hand, so I wanted to plan ahead. My partner has a very capable husband, but he has a job four days a week, so she will have to depend on other people to give her a hand (pardon the pun).

She’ll probably dictate her contributions to me, sitting beside my computer and tapping the screen with her good hand. “Put it over here, “ she will say.  And, “Why did you do that? I’m not done yet. Wait until I get my facts.” (Sound effects: papers rustling and falling on the floor.)

Her dilemma got me to thinking about how much we seniors need each other at times like this. I’ve often heard friends say they couldn’t have got through a crisis or trauma without the emotional and practical support of their friends.

Statistics on aging tell us that one of the most important components of a long and happy life includes the elements of friendship, companionship and connectedness. As we age, the cocoon of family starts to shrink. Husbands and wives die, children move to distant places, friends lose their abilities.

Loneliness and isolation are like battery acid to the elderly, so we try to stick together. Some friends make you a casserole, some put in your eye drops for you after surgery, some drive you hither and yon, some make sure to keep up the cards and phone calls.  Probably the most important connection is the person you can tell your worries, troubles and complaints.

Sometimes just an airing or a venting can help you get back on an even emotional track.

Someone once said older folks should always have younger friends. Not just to raise that stuck window or to replace that ceiling light bulb, but to help keep one’s mind actively engaged in the business of the world around us, to help us through the labyrinth of computer terms, or to take a look at that investment we are about to make.

I have a young (well, fiftyish) friend coming to visit soon. To the horror of other shoppers, she will chase me around the supermarket with her cart. She will drag me to shop at discount stores, holding up thongs and bikinis for me to try on and I will let her choose her own birthday present at the outlet shops. All the time we will be talking about her business world in The Big Apple, catching up on her daughter’s life in college and laughing, laughing, laughing. I can’t wait to hear about her recent business trip to China, where she stayed in a Venetian style hotel complete with a canal and gondoliers. Well, Marco Polo did get the idea for spaghetti in the Orient.

Besides having younger friends, we should share with friends our own age. Before we need to use the many formal caregiver services available in our area, it is important for those of us who are active to be caregivers to our friends. If you are going to an evening social or cultural event, think about someone you know who can’t drive at night and invite that person to join you. When you head off to the grocery, call your friend with the bad knee and ask if you can pick up something (preferably something heavy). And when we are all shut in during the icy winter days, make a few phone calls to be sure your friends are not lonely.

We can all age comfortably “in place” …with a little help from our friends.