Western Towers

 

 

Western Towers: The Healthy Tree Massacre

By Jim Potter

The so-called “Golden Years” weren’t golden for Archie Lemon. He and his wife, Nancy, had over a million dollars in safe investments and were still working when he had his life-altering accident.

Gradually, things went from bad to worse. Archie required more care than his wife could give him. But, during their tour of potential nursing homes, Archie and Nancy were ecstatic when they visited Western Towers. On the outskirts of town, it was an attractive, almost rural, retirement community with a variety of trees that attracted a welcoming, diverse population of birds.

On the WT campus, the Lemons kept seeing sky blue signs announcing, “Blue Zone.” The tour guide explained that the retirement community was working towards being one of the few Blue Zones in the world. The zones had a high concentration of people who lived abnormally long lives with a healthy, high quality of life.

Archie and Nancy learned that Western Towers offered a range of services, from independent living duplexes to memory care for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s, and skilled nursing to serve residents with advanced needs.

Archie became a fixture at WT and connected with the people and the trees, especially the Hinoki Cypress outside his apartment window. It offered him beauty and brightened his day.

When Archie watched his Hinoki, he was reminded that he couldn’t change the past, but he could ruin the present. If he obsessed over his physical condition due to his accident, he blocked his effort to be grateful and live a full life.

Suddenly, Archie saw the tree cutters returning to the scene of the crime; one of the three men carried a chain saw. Archie’s blood pressure shot up and he was no longer in the promised Blue Zone.

Archie turned to Nurse Karen and asked her, “Why are they still cutting down healthy trees?”

“I don’t know, I can’t get a straight answer from anyone in authority,” she replied. “Things have changed around here since Jake Adams, the new groundskeeper, was hired,” Karen continued. “Billy, who cuts grass and shovels snow, told me that Jake must have something compromising on the big boss. Jake has been overheard raising his voice to the CEO, telling him, “If I was in charge around here, there wouldn’t be any trees left. They’re a nuisance to yard maintenance by slowing us down.”

Archie’s voice rose a notch as he kept watching the tree cutting crew planning their next massacre. He hurriedly asked Karen, “Why would Western Towers hire a groundskeeper who doesn’t like trees?”

Staring out the window, Karen shook her head but didn’t answer.

The man with the chainsaw approached the Hinoki Cypress, the noise from his chainsaw overpowering Archie’s music, “Philosopher’s Stone” by Van Morrison.

Archie took a deep breath. He considered his limited options and made a quick decision. Wheelchair bound, he rolled himself out the doorway, into the hallway, and pulled the nearby fire alarm.

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