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Excerpt
from Book:
Ruby
and Raymond were kind of set in their ways. They had been
married for fifty-one years, after all, and they had fashioned
a routine for their lives, which they really liked.
Things
had changed a little when Raymond retired. They tinkered with
the routine of their lives. They adjusted just a little, but
not too much! They liked things to stay consistent!
They
were rather resistant to change, yet when it came time to,
at the urging of family and friends, they did make a move
to The Manor Retirement Community. They felt that they were
being quite adaptive and cooperative!
At
first they had a little cottage on the grounds of the Manor
Community, which they loved. They fixed it up to look as much
like the big house they had owned on Brown Street as possible,
though a great deal of paring down was necessary.
In
their little retirement cottage, they were pleased to be able
to go on with their lives much as always. They followed the
routine that they loved, and had followed pretty much all
of their lives together.
When
they needed to go to town, they climbed into
their black, 1967 Chrysler New Yorker, which Raymond still
kept gleaming and spotless. Raymond loved driving "his
baby" and Ruby loved to ride and watch the scenery go
by, as they glided along the road, smoothly, like a boat in
the water. The New Yorker was wonderful to drive, and delightful
to ride in, just as it always had been. Raymond made sure
of this!
It
was terribly difficult, some years later, when Raymond had
to give up driving his beloved automobile. The doctor said
that neither of them should be driving anymore. Friends and
family gently urged them to give up the car too.
Again,
they agreed- reluctantly.
The
car sat day after day, gleaming in the carport, begging to
be driven. "Ah well…" they thought, and followed
the doctors orders.
They
even agreed, when the social worker suggested that in addition
to giving up the car, a move to the apartments in the main
building of the Manor Community would be advisable. "Just
in case you need a bit more help," the well-meaning social
worker had said.
©2003,
Michael D. Purvis
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