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Expectations


                Today is our first full day "at home" in Florida. The trip down was uneventful, with only one minor glitch on my part. We stopped and spent the night in Columbia, SC then got into town here just in time to eat at Dad's favorite restaurant. After dinner, we tried calling one of the places Dad wanted us to go. No answer, no answering machine. We also called someone who was selling a mobile home. No pets allowed.  That was the first time Dad said that he thought maybe we should have stayed in Erie.

          The next morning we went back to the place Dad wanted to go. It's a dump, to put it mildly, but it is supposedly a very inexpensive dump. We never found out because we couldn't find an office and there was nobody around. Our next  stop was where the challenges of the day really began.  While I was in the office getting information, the car battery died. We got it jumped and got a new one, then returned to picked out a lot and register. We both wanted a lot close to the rec hall. There were none. The closest spot didn't have hookups where he wanted them. We finally settled on one that is straight across from one rec hall - across three other lots, and effectively two blocks from the other. Yay! A place to put our home. Next we went to get the home. It wouldn't start. A couple gallons of fresh gas later,  it started and he drove it the park. Then we couldn't get it into position. We don't speak the same language. After a while, a park worker arrived to help us but before he could do much it overheated, stalled and wouldn't start again. I'm not sure what else one can expect from a 1988 vehicle.  (The interior is about what one should expect, too.) We also found out that the connector for the sewer hose was broken.  Another unfortunate consequence of registering on Friday was the fact that the electric company couldn't come out until Monday.

                That brings us back to yesterday. Grace decided around dawn that she'd slept enough so I took her outside and then for a walk around the outside of the circle on which dogs are permitted.  I unpacked some stuff and found places to put them. In spite of the fact that he insisted that he would be able to drive down here and live here by himself, he's told me a couple times today that he's just too weak to do this stuff anymore. He's also said again that he's wondering if we should have stayed in Erie. 

          The people are friendly. Everyone around keeps telling me what a wonderful place we're in. Last night one man started rattling off all the fun activities the park hosts: bingo, shuffleboard, horseshoes, dances and concerts... in November, this place gets "hopping." I was polite. It seems to me that so far, nothing has met Dad's expectations. I think it's fairly certain that I am not going to meet my neighbors' expectations, but overall, everything is pretty much in line with my expectations.

          

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