NASHUA

We made it to our new apartment in Nashua. The management of the complex, true to their word, had a ramp poured onto the porch for us. It actually made code and went right to the parking lot.
We unpacked boxes, put the furniture in place and the bed put together! THIS WAS HEAVEN! We were about to settle in ,when maintenance dropped by to see if the apartment was ok. We explained we had just arrived and hadn't gone through yet, but thanked him profusely for the ramp. He walked through with us and all seemed fine until we got to the bathroom. Although the chair fit in and the layout was perfect, there were no safety rails in the tub. The maintenance man made a note and disappeared. I am guessing it was 2 hours later when the guy showed up lugging a pile of stainless steel, heavy duty rails, looking very smug that he was able to come up with them so quickly. He dropped the rails in the bathroom and left abruptly, only to return a few minutes later with a HUGE toolbox and various power tools. I don't have that many power tools( and I adore them ) (that's for the OTHER book). He asked Bob to tell him how he wanted them placed and where.
He then kicked Bob out of the bathroom and went to work. Amid the din of the power tools, cursing (in a language not understood by sailors) ,we decided to leave for awhile. It was unbearable. Bob asked the guy how long he thought he would be and the guy replied "Have her ready in about 2 hours". We took our leave, went to dinner and returned to find a safety rail on every wall and the tile and bathroom were immaculate. There was no other sign that anyone had been in the room. Bob could have transferred in every configuration a physical therapist could come up with and there at his fingertips would be a safety rail. I now had a place to hang every towel I owned!
As we were standing in the doorway, in awe of the spectacle, the doorbell rang. Standing in our doorway was a rather perturbed woman with a 5 year old boy trailing behind. "Can I help you?" I asked "What the hell did you guys do in this apartment, Did you get permission to go into my apartment?
“What is wrong? We didn’t go into your apartment. Maybe it was the maintenance guy? He was here awhile ago installing grab bars for Bob”.
“Just come and look! Oh, I am Alice and this is Mathew, we live next door, and you are?”
“Bob and Lauren (Bob’s the short one), nice to meet you. Now let me go see what’s happened.”
Alice took me into her apartment, down the hall, to the master bathroom. Low and behold! I immediately saw the problem and the reason for the “Hissy-Fit”.
Her shower wall was now nicely decorated with HUGE NUTS ! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO not the kind you eat. The kind you use to secure a HUGE bolt !
I did manage to speak after what seemed like an eternity, and tried to explain the unexplainable. Then it hit me. The last thing Bob explained to the maintenance guy about the grab bars, they had to be secured enough to pull is weight across the transfer board without ripping out of the wall.
Just a little “over-kill”-ya think?
Once we explained the situation, she mellowed out and welcomed us to the building. The maintenance guy’s handi-work was greatly appreciated by all. As far as we know, a tornado could remove the entire complex, but that wall and those grab bars were secure. They weren’t going anywhere!
It didn’t take long to become friends and Mathew was a true “Charmer”.Alice worked during the day and it wasn’t a big leap that we became after school sitters until Alice got home. Mathew and his “Complex Buddies” would show up after the bus dropped them off to check in with us before he went out to play. Eventually, we got into the habit of an afternoon movie, pop corn and all.
Saturday mornings were the big movie day. The old Horror movies were on. Mathew and the “Complex Gang” arrived at 9:00 am and promptly aligned themselves on the couch-near where Bob parked.
This was a win-win situation. Bob loved the old horror shows and need the kids to protect is “macho“ image, and the boys needed protection.
The kids would be totally engrossed in “The Mummy” eating popcorn with one had and covering their eyes (sort of) with the other. They were fun to watch.
This led to our first problem in the apartment.