A Place To Live

Ah, the golden years. Retirement--no longer chained to an alarm clock, free to travel, enjoy life at a leisurely pace. Minerva Gardiner, a socialite, suddenly finds herself a widow when her investment broker husband falls over and dies on the golf course. Minnie has never managed money or a budget, or held a job; and now she must navigate through insurance agents, mortgage bankers, and lawyers. All to no avail, for her husband of forty years has spent every nickel they had on his "sweet little thing" administrative assistant.

Minnie's only ally is her best friend and sister-in-law, Virginia Gardiner. Along the way, they encounter several other senior citizens who need help as well. Everyday occurrences such as lust, bankruptcy, homelessness, alcoholism, Alzheimer's, and even revenge make their way into the lives of Minnie and Ginnie and their friends and housemates. Minnie falls in love with a most unlikely hero, who, while fighting to keep his centuries-old log cabin home and ranch from being burned to the ground by an intruder, must also fight for his life.

There's no such thing as dull dreary days for these oldsters. Meanwhile, with two or three exceptions, the writer has not defined the characters by race, religious, or sexual backgrounds. This is left to the reader. More important is the message of learning to live together, to allow each person to live as they choose, to become a "kinder" person.