A new Boss!
We have a new Executive General Manager effective January 31! He seems like a nice guy with plenty of experience in the field and is planning to stay. He is making an effort to meet people and he remembers names! Everyone is happy about that. The first thing he has on his program is the remodeling of the main building. It is ten years old and a lot of things need change and replacement. They will be starting in two weeks at the fourth floor and gradually come down to the first. Only the main living areas are getting a makeover, not the individual apartments, nor the cottages. But it will be great to get a new color scheme throughout.
Yesterday they were throwing a party with “cocktails and hors-d’oeuvres” at 3:00 p.m. to officially introduce the new Manager. When we got there, chairs were being set up in the Café and a man started to play music and handing out brochures. Then someone said: “The party is in the Players Room across the hall”. Carts with appetizers were wheeled in there, and they were pouring glasses of sparkling grape juice. “Real wine is served across the hall in the Café.” Oh? We walked across again to get wine, then back to the Players Room for appetizers. In the mean time people sat down in the Café and started singing and clapping to the music. The man handed out little flyers that spelled out: “You may have only five hours to live. And if you die, what then? Where will you go? If you want to go to heaven etc…..” A lot of small print and an address and phone number to contact “if you want to go to heaven.” The music was so loud that some people left and the Boss had to signal to the singer to tone it down and fifteen minutes before the time he signaled to wrap it up. Many people were upset and wondered why this guy had been hired without first checking what kind of music he played. Imagine someone, in a place like this, to talk and sing about the last five hours of your life! Sign here or else…Two events mis-scheduled at the same time, one of which was totally unheard of and it messed up the introduction of the new Manager. He borrowed the microphone from the performer and introduced himself.
Flower woes
While this “Party” was going on, I noticed that the maintenance man with a helper picked up the large flower arrangement from the center table, walked out with it to the balcony on the rear deck and poured out all the water. What!? When they came back through the people gathered in the hall I called after him: “Hey John! What are you going to do with those flowers?”
“The Boss says to dump them because the roses are dead.”
“No way! Many of the other flowers are still good. Where are you going with it?”
“To the second floor Trash room.”
“All right. Do not dump them but leave them on the floor. After the party I will come and take the good flowers out.”
I was really upset. And I am not easily so disturbed. The large basket came from the Mass in memory of one of our residents who had passed away ten days before. I had asked the person at the Front Desk to make sure someone, anyone, would keep checking the water in the basket. Well, two days later the water was all gone. So I got a watering can from the flower room downstairs and filled the reservoir to the top. It held pretty well. A few of the rosebuds started drying out, but it was still beautiful. And now this.
I selected an armful of still good looking flowers from the basket in the trash room, one of the other residents brought four vases, and I made four lovely bouquets. Meanwhile the girl at the front desk gave me a list of the people who had come back from the hospital recently. One resident took one bouquet to one of those, I took two bouquets to two people in Assisted Living and a small one to the office of the Boss. Four people were surprised by a bouquet of flowers and the memory of our friend lasted perhaps another week.
Collar magic
I started walking with Lani on her new collar on Monday, January 27. A week later, after another PT session on the 30th, I have had four days without any pain at all and I cancelled my future PT sessions. What joy! They called me and asked if I could come in one more time for assessment and give me exercises to keep doing in the future, in order not to get a relapse, and I guess that is a wise thing to do, so I will go back one more time. To give Lani some excitement we took her to Camp Bow Wow again today and she can’t wait to get out of the car and into the door. Then she comes back exhausted after six hours; that dog play is really what she is missing with us and she loves it.
The weather has been really nice: today we had 70 degrees and sun! And it is still light when we walk home from the Club after dinner.
It’s a Wonderful Life!
Until next time,
Ronny