Thatfall,theymovedin agreyhound namedTarget, a
lapdognamedGinger,thefourcats,andthebirds.They
threwoutalltheirartificialplantsandputliveplantsin
everyroom.Staffmembersbroughttheirkidstohangout
afterschool; friendsand family put ina gardenatthe
backofthehomeandaplaygroundforthekids.Itwas
shock therapy.
An example of the scale: they ordered the hundred
parakeets for delivery all on the same day. Had they
figured out how to bring a hundred parakeets into a
nursinghome?No,theyhadnot.Whenthedeliverytruck
arrived, the birdcages hadn’t. The driver therefore
releasedthemintothebeautysalononthegroundfloor,
shutthedoor,andleft.Thecagesarrivedlaterthatday,
but in flat boxes, unassembled.
Itwas“totalpandemonium,”Thomassaid.Thememory
of it still puts a grin on his face. He’s that sort of person.
He,hiswife,Jude,thenursingdirector,Greising,anda
handful of others spent hours assembling the cages,
chasingtheparakeetsthroughacloudoffeathersaround
thesalon anddeliveringbirdstoeveryresident’sroom.
The elders gathered outside the salon windows to watch.
“They laughed their butts off,” Thomas said.
Hemarvelsnowattheteam’sincompetence.“Wedidn’t
knowwhattheheckweweredoing.Did,Not,Knowwhat
weweredoing.”Whichwasthebeautyofit.Theywere
sopatentlyincompetentthatmosteveryonedroppedtheir
guard and simply pitched in—the residents included.
Whoever could do it helped line the cages with
newspaper,gotthedogsandthecatssettled,gotthekids