Please Be Seated
On the first night of winter, Lydia and I returned from viewing the Holiday Tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square to find Lorraine, 84, making good use of the bench in front of our home (our painted invitation “Please Be Seated” beckons).
Lorraine was obviously confused and chilled, so we brought her inside for tea and cookies. As she warmed up, we learned what led her to her spot in the dark and cold. Lorraine, whose two daughters live out of state, forgot where she had parked on Northeast Broadway after visiting her favorite florist for holiday arrangements. She wandered the neighborhood for two hours looking for it, finally stopping to rest at our bench.
As the tea and cookies began to clear Lorraine’s head, Lydia and our friend Gillian looked after Lorraine while I hopped on my bike to search for her car — “an aqua-colored four-door Ford parked north of Broadway.” I discovered aqua is difficult to see in the dark, so after sweeping the neighborhood for a half hour, I gave up the search and was headed home.
Just around the corner from my house a kind of blue Ford came into view. It turned out to be the correct vehicle, the last one I saw.
In the meantime, Lorraine had called her friend Nancy, who had arrived to escort her home.
Lorraine is selling her home of 30 years to move to Philadelphia in order to live with her one of her daughters. She’ll miss Portland but looks forward to her next adventure.
Your friends in Irvington wish you a Merry Christmas and best of luck. And I hope at least one of Lorraine’s new neighbors will have a bench and an open invitation.
Tags: Investing in Communities