Who were these\npeople? Daisy sensed she had occasionally run across them as patients\nin the hospital, but now she was living among them. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some never seemed\nto leave their rigs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some limped, used\ncanes, walkers, staffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several didn’t have\nvehicles. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some had blanched\nfaces. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some barely had a\nface. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those with dogs\nseemed happy. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many were grossly\noverweight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many flew tattered\nAmerican flags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most watched Fox\nNews<\/em> all day. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daisy could tell\nsome were addled in one way or another. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were all\nfriendly, but there was no community. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was no\nbulletin board advertising park events<\/p>\n\n\n\n because there were\nno park events. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n One afternoon,\nDaisy returned from the beach and a resident in a mobility scooter\nwas driving around in a tight circle, over and over again. She went\nup to him and he stopped. They talked. She adjusted something on the\nback of the scooter and he put it in gear and began to drive forward.\nHe thanked her. Daisy got a kick out of it. Helping him felt good.\nJust how long would he have driven around in circles had she not come\nalong. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was how it\nstarted. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daisy drove Roy to\nget laid in Bandon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n George to the VA\nhospital in Roseburg. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terry to the\ndentist, Lorenzo to the crabbing pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She walked their\ndogs when they couldn’t walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She picked up\noxygen tanks, picked up groceries. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n She helped change a\ntruck battery. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n She washed two\ntrucks. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n She loved doing it.\nIt was effortless effort. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n She never let on\nshe was a nurse. This is why I became a nurse<\/em>…thought Daisy,\nbut this isn’t nursing<\/em>. This is why I got into nursing and\nthen I became a nurse and it ruined it all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was Christmas\nEve and a spectacularly clear night, The stars were out. Daisy had a\nfire going and she pulled up a plastic lawn chair rescued from inside\na hedge. She lit a cigarette and sipped a stout. Lorenzo came over\nwith his dog. Daisy had discovered he was the saxophone player. She\ninvited him to retrieve his saxophone, join her around the fire, and\nplay some Christmas songs. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n One simple\ninvitation at Christmas can change a lot. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lorenzo accepted.\nHe began playing and Daisy tried to sing along. She goofed up the\nwords and made up her own lyrics, some of them bawdy. Lorenzo cracked\nup a few times but kept playing. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n George puttered\nover in his scooter with a jug of Gallo red. He parked near the fire\nand offered wine. Daisy sprinted to her rig for some Christmas mugs.\nWine was shared. They toasted to Christmas. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a party of\nthree for 30 minutes. A party of three for 30 minutes on Christmas\nEve can change a lot. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Daisy and George\nsipped wine, she entertained ideas for potlucks and game nights in\nthe laundry room. Maybe a movie night there, too! Anything to\nencourage and facilitate face-to-face interaction, anything to get\nthem out of their rigs and away from watching Fox News<\/em>. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, some ideas\nwould fail. But some might succeed. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n George and Lorenzo\ncalled it a night. It was 7:30. Daisy retired to the Vixen and\nsearched Lorna’s VHS collection for a Christmas movie. Nothing,\nnothing, nothing, then White Christmas<\/em>. Daisy laughed. What a\ncliche! She put the movie on, crawled into her bag, and cracked open\nanother stout. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomorrow was\nChristmas Day. Daisy would get up at first light, get a jog in. It\nmight rain a bit, then clear up. The sun might show and maybe a\nrainbow would appear. Either way, Daisy would get straight to work\nhelping residents in the park. She imagined there would be a lot to\ndo on Christmas Day. There was a lot to do every day, everywhere. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Who were these people? Daisy sensed she had occasionally run across them as patients in the hospital, but now she was living among them. Some never seemed to leave their rigs. Some limped, used canes, walkers, staffs. Several didn’t have vehicles. Some had blanched faces. Some barely had a face. Those with dogs seemed happy. 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