Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Lighter Side of Senior Parks

I must say that there is nothing quite the same as workin' for the folks at our only local 55 and over mobile home park. Don't get me wrong, they are truly a wonderful bunch to work for. They always want to feed you, tell you everything that everyone else in the park is up to (picture a crowd of 75 year old gossip machines!), and all of them have great stories to tell from their past. Most of these you will hear three or four times. Even every time you visit!

Most of the work there is just repairs that are good for a few bucks like fixing a roof leak or plumbing problem. Sometimes I find it hard to charge much some of the quick fixes when they are on a fixed income, make you a sandwich and tell you that story... again.

There are times when it seems like I'm a fix it machine that they pass around to eachother; "He's at my place now. Then he has to go to Sue's. But it won't take long, so you can have him after that."

Over the years they have had a hard time finding good help at this park and of course have told me all about people that worked for them in the past. In fact, a few of them told me about it yesterday... again.

Once in a while one of them will treat themselves to a new deck or some laminate flooring, and when that happens and I kid you not, I could sell tickets. The second you start, those ladies (my wife termed them my "golden groupies") start calling everyone that is one of the good side of the gossip list.

One thing that you quickly become aware of at a senior park is when ya get up there in years people like anything else wear out and start collecting various medical problems. Many of those are obvious while others you prefer not to hear about......again......while eating that sandwich. One problem I can see is possibly not enough entertainment and exercise. One legged walker races, perhaps?

When the day is done and it's time to go home, I have to remember one thing: LEAVE EARLY! Even though the entrance to the park is only 400' away, it will take you up to 45 minutes to get to it. They watch for you. They will stop you. And they will talk... alot. At least you know how long. You heard that story last week!

All in all I do enjoy helping my 'golden groupies' with all those things that need to be repaired or replaced on a mobile home. They like to keep their places clean and well maintained which makes my job so much easier.

The best part is it's like having a lot of wonderful grandparents!

So to my "golden groupies", I would like to say thank you!

~SJN

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