By Ron Estes

In August last year, I developed an illness that put me in the ICU at Flagler Hospital. I stayed there two weeks being treated by physical, occupational and speech therapists. Then followed the same treatments for two weeks at Brooks in Jacksonville, and two weeks at Bay View, here in St. Augustine.

I was released from Bay View on the condition that I move to an assisted living facility. I was unable to walk, bound to a wheelchair, dress or undress, shower etc.,etc. without assistance. We chose the assisted living facility at Allegro. In October we moved into a one-bedroom apartment, with 24-hours-a day medical services available. The medical assistance was superb.

In 17 days  I was able to walk and do alone all the personal things I was unable to do previously. The recovery was remarkable.

In January we moved into a one-bedroom apartment in the independent living facility of Allegro, and in August moved into the largest one-bedroom apartment in Allegro.

Having decided we would spend the rest of our lives in Allegro,  we sold our home in Marsh Creek in May. We retained our membership at the Marsh Creek Club, and when life returns to normal that will be our entertainment center.

Luba was struck when our house sold in May. She was born in Harbin, Manchuria, of Russian parents, and as an infant moved to Shanghai. The Japanese had invaded Manchuria. The Japanese invaded Shanghai, and Luba moved with her family to Hong Kong. On the same day the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, they also invaded Hong Kong. Her father was interned as a Japanese POW, and the Japanese camp commander took their home and expelled Luba and her mother and sister. For 4 years they survived as homeless refugees in Hong Kong and Shanghai, often suffering from severe starvation. When the war ended, Luba finished British high school, and the family migrated to the United States. Luba went off to the Russian School of Ballet in London for two years before joining her parents in America.

When our Marsh Creek house sold, Luba despaired—she never thought that at our age she would be a refugee again: we were homeless. We had lived in Marsh Creek 23 wonderful years, the longest we had lived anywhere in our lives.

Life in Allegro helped alleviate the sense of loss. Life in Allegro is like living on a cruise ship. Meals are served in an attractive dining room, and the cuisine is special: for example, smoked salmon for Friday breakfast, eggs benedict for Sunday breakfast.

Allegro is a “senior living facility.” The youngest resident we have met is 64 years old. It can be a bit depressing to see, except for staff, only an elderly population. That ambiance has been exaggerated because of the inability of anyone to leave the campus because of the coronavirus restrictions.

The cruise ship lifestyle is pronounced by many group activities one would find on a ship : weekly bingo, an exercise class, a trivia game, Bible reading, meditation, line dancing , jeopardy and even a  discussion group. Everyone sits 6 feet apart.

The staff is extraordinarily efficient, polite, helpful, respectful, witty and quite gregarious.

The residents are as varied as any population of size. Most have had successful careers, or are widowed spouses of success. There are probably three times more widows at Allegro than widowers. Married couples make up a minority group.

Most of the residents are college graduates. Politics are not a frequent topic of discussion among Allegro residents. Trump is not popular, and often victim of scorn. And international affairs are never mentioned, except by a provocateur. I play that role. The population is typically American. They have little or no interest in what occurs outside our borders.  Most of the male residents are veterans, predominantly Navy, and they are very patriotic. As an example, the topic of the 8-member discussion group this week was the constitution.

No matter how pleasant the lifestyle in Allegro, Luba and I look forward with great anticipation to the lifting of the virus restrictions, and the opportunity to join again our Marsh Creek friends.