***Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman: A Feminist perspective***
If your heart aches for the 95-year-old man with Alzheimer's who was well-cared for throughout his life and had to live out his last week in confusion and solitude, why does your heart not break for the woman who took care of him for years, maybe decades, alone - and could have made it out alive but didn't?
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe home many days after their last contact with anyone. One of their dogs also died. Some have criticized Hackman's children for not checking in on their father: but adult children have their own lives. No, what bugs me about this is something else.
Betsy Arakawa and Gene Hackman were not found earlier because they lived in isolation. Maintenance workers had last had contact with Arakawa two weeks earlier.
This probably means they employed no regular housekeeper, cook, butler, maid or other aid within the house.
This means one thing: the day-to-day care of a frail 95-year-old husband, three massive dogs, and a 10,000 sqft home was entrusted to Ms. Arakawa alone. They could easily have chosen to have at least part-time regular help.
LivePaola