The morning after the bull moose had been harvested, everybody was in for a surprise when the curtains were opened for the day. It was snowing and had apparently been snowing all night! There were already two feet on the ground and there was very little visibility! Nancy had the kitchen make hot chocolate for breakfast and mouth watering cinnamon rolls! Everyone was in high spirits and the snow helped everything seem magical!
The youngest men were doing the snow shoveling around the house and out to the pantry and processing shed. The framers finished up the shelves in the pantry so that the next clear day, all of the canned goods and other meals that were made for the future could be moved out there. The ground was way too slippery to risk working on that today. Sue, the nurse, had suggested to Donald that only the ones who absolutely needed to go out today, because of fall risks for the elderly.
After hearing the forecast the day before, Donald had made the trip into town and loaded up on fuel for the generator and salt, sugar, flour, bacon, beans and some fresh fruits and veggies since he didn’t know how long this snowstorm would last. He was thinking about how his life had changed. He had never had a wife and children to be responsible for and had only experienced having to watch out for the outfitters that he worked for infrequently, so having a lodge with 81 people, including himself, to care for was very sobering. His money was not his own anymore. He had to make sure everyone had their needs met and he was trying to stretch the money he had as far as he could. How long was this situation going to last? He started feeling resentful as he realized these people had nowhere to go and he was probably going to have to take care of them from now on. “I guess I didn’t think this whole situation through when I signed up for rescuing the elderly,” he mused.
Then a thought occurred to Donald as he drove back to the lodge. These people have lost everything. I have talked with several of them and heard their life stories and this is not how they planned on spending their golden years. Most of these people worked hard all of their lives and planned so they could retire and travel or just live comfortably in their own homes. Being a burden on me was not in their plans. Let’s face it, I still have my home, my yacht, my lodge and my business. I need to quit complaining and be grateful I could be a little help. I will have something to show for my lifetime! He drove the rest of the way home at peace with himself.
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Ray Moss had an uneasy feeling all morning and decided to revisit the resort. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was that was bothering him. The news report had gone off without a hitch, in fact making it look like the elderly were being well cared for and spoiled. So why was he so uneasy? He drove up into the mountains to the resort, enjoying the scenery along the way, just with the nagging suspicion under the surface. Once there, Ray walked around the perimeters, marveling at how quickly the construction crews had not only gotten everything built, but at how quickly they had gotten the clean-up done , as well. The sprinklers had been installed and the grass was as green as if this had been a golf course! There were beautiful gardens of colorful flowers and grecian urns on cement stands. Clearly there was nothing wrong out here.
He went into the cafeteria and stood there watching for a moment. No, everything was running like clockwork, it was full of the happy noise of people visiting while they ate and was perfectly clean, with workers standing by ready to clean up the least spill. Then Ray checked the kitchen and saw no problems there, except the Italian chef cussing at someone in Italian!
When he walked out of the kitchen, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. There was a man with a TV camera and a pretty young lady who looked like a reporter getting on the elevator. Oh no, what were they doing here today? Ray ran for the elevator but just missed it. He watched the indicator to see which floor they were going to and when it stopped on the bottom floor where the rooms were for the disposal of the elderly, he completely freaked out! “Hopefully the doors are locked to the rooms,” he said to himself as he ran for the stairs, not waiting for the elevator!