My RA Ch. 05

As they ate, everyone was going on about the day's activities. Apparently, the birds at the bird sanctuary was rather impressive.

Before they left the restaurant, Sarah called Zoe and said, "We will be back extremely late; Call the parents, we will have plus three tonight at the ranch. The hands took three bunks from the bunkhouse and moved the candle table away from the window so four people could pray there.

All the girls were fast asleep, and Sarah was not much better.

Daisy was still visiting Dog. She was a long way to figure out why. That may take a lifetime. It gave her a focus; she was starting to ask questions to God. Miss Penny was another question, why did all those people have to die?

After her visit, she ran up and woke up the other three girls, "Wake up, wake up. Prayer time."

"Daisy, we do prayers a night time," said Molly.

Daisy said, "He is here now, and we were asleep last night. We can't forget about God."

"What is the candle for?" said the girls.

Daisy said, "They bring our prayers to God. Molly has one also. This one came from Paris."

Each one apologized to God for sleeping. Prayer time lasted longer than expected.

They had to get up to speed with the girls.

While prayer time was going on, breakfast was being served.

"Penny", Sarah said, "I want to formally invite you to our 'Thanksgiving Bash'; most of us have no family or they are too far away. We invite all the shut-ins and lonely people, as well as many friends. We make our own family."

The developer of the gated community had joint meetings with the shut-in spokeswoman and the ADA planner so each could bring up issues they would like to have addressed.

The result of the meeting was that everything the ADA planner proposed went into effect. Some other things the spokeswoman suggested were a wraparound deck with easy access and a way to keep it dry when it rains. Enjoying the sunshine and tending to flower pots would be nice. That may include adjustment of height of the railing for easy watering.

Most of the houses would need a hitching rail and perhaps a trough for food and water, to be determined later, and at an extra cost.

The developer said, "If you can guarantee me eighty percent occupancy, I will put a community center in."

The shut-in spokeswoman said, "Just let us know when the model homes are done and let me get first pick."

"You are that confident you can get to eighty percent?"

"That is not the proper question to ask. The proper question to ask, is where are you going to put all the people you have to turn away?"

Most people did not wait for the model homes to be built. They had been at the hearing and knew exactly what the houses were going to look like. They even knew what additions they wanted.

The seniors started their homework. Michelle got the map and doubled the scale, then made little pictures of the one and two story houses. It looked like an old war room. Pieces were moved around, certain people wanted to live next to each other. In the end, the development looked very attractive.

As Michelle entered the developer's office she said, "Here is your map." We put each piece with each name on them. "Here is a sheet of paper of everyone who didn't get in, we could get more names." The sheet had around twenty plus names on it.

The developer was embarrassed, he had never encountered this before. "Yes, ma'am I will get right on it, thank you for the information." It was no longer his development, it was theirs.

Any time he thought about the project, he thought about his Mom and Grandma. While he did not like working with many of the people in the industry, the project was too big for him. First, he went to the planning committee with the spokeswoman and asked them what additions they would object to, as it is, it will look like a cookie cutter development.

"Sir we can talk about that as you build."

"Madame President may I approach?" she nodded, "Here is the waiting list that could grow. All the seniors planned out where people would buy."

"I just thought, if you are in a wheelchair, a bay window in the front and a sliding glass door in the back would be nice. Everyone seems to want a wraparound deck and a hitching rail."

"I want to get this done fast. I will have to hire five work gangs for each phase."

A notice was put on the district web site one week in advance. Walking tour for all commissions at new gated village, maps will be available. Public comment and voting will take place. This is the only thing on the agenda.

When all had gathered, the developer started talking. "In this tent, you will find our war map. I took some notes my designer gave me. First, access to all rooms; Second, sunshine; Third. Being able to talk with friends and grow plants outside while being safe at all times; Fourth, A community center; Fifth Church."

"I can't do too much about the distance to church, they are where they are. The ADA planner planned for all access to every room. I am hoping all our commissions will let us have more options available. Who wants to buy a new house then you decide to replace a brand-new window when you could have done it to begin with?"

"I am a developer, I see all kinds of houses, big bay windows, all kinds of sliding doors, lighted archways for safety, security lights going up the walkway, fiber-optic cables for everyone, gas burning mantles, and the list goes on and on."

"For those flower people, if it is too hard to water your plants on your railing, I suggest a free-standing bench or folding one on your railing that you can water."

The shade tree commission gave people a list of various kinds of trees to plant to make a good canape, the middle houses had a different list.

The spokeswoman came up to the developer, "I liked a lot of what you said, bay windows and sliding glass doors would be great. I like the lighted archway, they have a certain class to them. I also want to get my house totally wired. I want to use a new phone to unlock and lock everything and all the lights. I want an HD camera doorbell so I can see who is outside."

"Oh, and a slightly curved brick walkway on front and sides with security lights; I don't know if solar is better than normal. Do you think a wavy kind of walkway is better than a straight one?"

"Ma'am, in your situation I think security lights, camera and the like would be ideal; you can carry your phone with you. I suggest a straight walkway in front so the lights are all even. From the hitching post to your back or side door you could have a straight or wavy brick walkway with perhaps a motion detector light. Brick walkways would be good with all the people from the ranch visiting."

"Ma'am how long does the rail need to be?"

"Here is Sarah's card, call her now. She probably can suggest other ranch things like a boot cupboard."

Sarah and the developer talked at great length about many ideas and suggestions. "Remember, these are seniors who may want the insides to look like the kind of houses before WW I. What does the commission think about rails and the center? Or do they hitch at the residences then go to the center?"

"What about an extra-long electric awning above each hitching rail? The height would have to be more than twice the length of our biggest horse; when they buck then can reach a great height. It would simulate a stable. It would also create a dry area on the porch."

"Miss Sarah, what do you think about dividing the rail so it is on both sides of the stairs and the awning would cover the door area as well?"

"That sounds like an excellent idea."