South Florida Retirement Living!

Here is the letter that I promised to post.  Just to set the stage a bit, the condo Gloria lived in is part of a larger community of condos. It is situated on 2 huge blocks of nothing but different retirement condo communities and all of them are loosely affiliated with each other and share bus services, a community theater, and other large amenities.   Each condominium community has it's own smaller private amenities such as pools and tennis courts.  The newer condos are huge groupings of high rise buildings. The older communities have 2-3 story buildings on spacious property that is lushly landscaped. 

My Life in a Condominium

           Condominium living has its advantages.  The landscape is lovely.  The clubhouse has programs and activities on a daily basis; some good some just fair, but a place to get together with others for a few hours.

           How are people accepted? If you have a car and are willing to take people around, you're in!!  If you're submissive and allow yourself to be pushed around, you're in!!  If you are assertive and express your own opinion, you're out!!

          People here are so self-absorbed, no one really cares if you're sick or alone.  Gossips and scandal are rampant, whether it's the truth or a figment of someone's imagination.  Next in line is jealousy.  Acquire a male companion and you will be dissected emotionally and figuratively.  The word bragging should be in italics.  Everyone had the perfect husband who had the most perfect and lucrative job.  All grandchildren are geniuses and very talented.  You hear this from the majority of the people and so often that it becomes ad nauseum.  Then the discussion reverts to themselves.  They constantly speak about their own illnesses and discomforts (include this in ad nauseum).

          Conversation?  What's that?  They do not discuss current events, books, news items, plays or an interesting occurrence.  If you get tired of listening to this constant drivel and want to steer the conversation to a different topic, forget it!  Before you get the first sentence out you are interrupted with their own stories and do not let you go on with your story.

         How about speaking to a giggler?  They laugh at everything.  These are the shallow and mindless ones.

         Do people think their lives are over because they are retired? Nonsense!  you can continue to have an open mind and learn until the end.  People here are hedonistic.  All they are interested in are fun and games.  So what am I doing here?  No one warned me in advance what I was getting myself into, so I signed, sealed and got myself incarcerated in this jungle, and here I must remain until judgment day.

                                                                                    by Mollie Stein

I think there is something so very poignant in the fact that feeling like an outsider or feeling alone crosses all age groups. Also, I really like this woman.  I think she has (had) style.....probably because it sounds like things I would say or write in a fit of pique.