Gambino Falls (Closed)

[The Unknown Shadow]

This is a tale of a little retirement community within the town of Gambino and the daily tales and lives of the people within. A place where the young visit the old to gain wisdom, and the old are left to reflect on their glory days while enjoying the final years of their life. A place called Gambino Falls.  

[The Unknown Shadow]

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[The Unknown Shadow]

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[The Unknown Shadow]

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[The Unknown Shadow]

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[The Unknown Shadow]

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[The Unknown Shadow]

Our story begins here...

It happens to everyone. That dreadful day always comes. The day you wished you died in your sleep because it’d’ve been better off for you. Sure it starts out as any day does. You get out of bed, you get dressed, you turn on the Mr. Coffee and you feed your dog.
It used to be that they delivered this thingamabob called a newspaper, and the paperboy also played pitcher in the little league. But with everything going electronic, you’ve got to move on too.
So you go out to your porch, you sit down with your coffee, and sip it reading the news. But what makes it different is when you get a call from your son who never calls you to begin with and he asks the question:

“Hey Dad?”

“Yes son.”

“I’m on my way over, can we talk?”

“Sure son.”

And you know what it’s going to be about, even before you press the red button on the phone.

So he comes over in his Prius, because he thinks he’s saving the Earth by driving it. And he plops two pamphlets on your kitchen table, and he says to you:

“Dad we think it’s time that you be put into a home.”

And you have a meltdown because it makes you realize your own mortality, & that you promised you’d never get old and suddenly you’re getting the push out.

“I DON’T WANT TO BE PUT IN SOME DAMN HOME!!!”

“But Dad, we were thinking that there’s this one, Gambino Falls, that would be perfect for you. You could connect with other people your age, they’ve got a swimming pool, golf course, racquetball court, a gymnasium sized LAN computer gaming room, a rec room, and more!”

“But I don’t want any of that malarkey!”

“Dad, Mom’s long passed away five years. We see you just moping around lost all day, just fixing things and drinking coffee on the front porch reading the news.”

“And what the hell is wrong with that?!” you say. “I put in many years of work to be able to afford that luxury.”

“You need to chill. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s worrisome.”
“You need to shut up. And spare me the factual mumbo jumbo, I’m far beyond the point of listening to reason.”

“But you’ll like this place Dad. It’s affordable and you won’t be trapped in a drafty ol’ house like this.”
“This ‘drafty old house’ your mother & I built from the ground up into a place of love. If you don’t like coming here, you don’t have to bother.”
“That’s not what I meant Dad-“ He stammars. “Look, it’s time for you to move on. You’re worrying the family. You’re going here, and that’s that.”
“I’m not going to have my son tell me which way I’m going to pee. You’re not sending me to a place that’s just a couple of steps above a pugertorial jail.”
“Don’t think of it as a jail-“ he’ll say “Think of it as a fraternity house. You’ll be able to do all sorts of fun things.”
“As long as it involves not leaving the campus that is.”

There was a pause. A pause that seemed to go on forever, but in reality didn’t last for more than thirty seconds or so.,

Finally, you’ll give in.

“Alright, I’ll look at your damn brochure.” You find yourself saying.

“Great Dad! I’ll call you early tomorrow to hear your choice.”  

[The Unknown Shadow]

Sleeping wasn’t easy that night. You never stop to think about your own mortality. You never stop period. But time waits for no one, and you find that it gets away from you rather quickly. Almost too quickly. One day, you’re a kid spinning your Stone’s records, saying you’ll never get old. Rock n’ Roll will live forever. Sharing your stash with your best friends, racing on the street after midnight, calling the cops pigs when they saw what you were up to, trying to take you away. Times at the Drive-in. Times at the Sunday flea market. Times where you fell in love. When cars had lap belts and you could run to the corner store and get Grandpa cigarettes. And the next day, it all comes down to this. 40 years later, you’ve got a bag for a belly, you spent the best days of your life kissing your bosses bum & being strong for your family’s sake, you still have little income to live off of and even less to pass on, and now you can’t even enjoy your time without your adult children putting you in some kind of country club penitentiary. So the question is do you move on when your adult children force your hand, or do you rebel?

Honestly, I’m too old for that crap.

~*~

The first time I came to Gambino Falls, my initial thoughts was how stale the building’s architecture was. It looked like a dentist’s office right down to the fake chandelier in the vestibule. Everything was sterilized, lifeless, cold, boring.

“Good morning. I’m here to check in my Dad.”