Once upon a time, there was an older woman – and a man – who lived in a shoe. They no longer had any children at home so they determined that they would take a look and see if they wanted to stay in the shoe. The shoe was located in a rural area of Wisconsin where the cold was starting to be troublesome to them. They had been making cheese balls for forty five years, and felt that perhaps there were other things to do.
They bought a computer and after a couple of months looking at it, hired a guru and learned how to use it. They made a complete search of places of retirement in Arizona, South Carolina, and Florida etc. Eventually, they came across a gigantic retirement place that appeared to have everything they wanted. Certainly, there were all sorts of things to do. They even found a cheese ball making club, although they felt that they would most likely not join as it might make them homesick for Wisconsin.
The one requirement they had for a new home was that it had to be another shoe. After living in one for so long, they did not feel comfortable in anything else. They were not certain that the development would build them a shoe as they could not find any for sale on the web site. They drove down and looked around at all the houses and could not find even one shoe. This was disappointing as it was a lovely area, and they would have thought that there would be a few shoes at the least.
They had a number of neighbors in Wisconsin who lived in shoes. True most of them were people who still had a bunch of kids, but they too would eventually want to retire, so they thought that the development should give some credence to that. Therefore, they went to the nearest sales center of the development and talked to the representatives there to see if they could have a shoe built. They talked and talked without much luck. Finally, as they were about ready to return to cold Wisconsin, the developer said that he had a cul de sac at the western edge of the development where he would build them a shoe.
They were ecstatic even though the back of the lot looked at a swamp. However, they were told that it was a preserve area and there would be an extra charge for the view, and they were happy. Thus the developer built them the nicest looking designer shoe they had ever seen. There was no doubt that it was a premium effort. They moved in and were quite pleased as it was just what they wanted. However, after a few weeks they decided that the shoe laces were not quite right and they had them replaced. Then, the toe seemed to be rather cramped so they expanded it. The heel rubbed them the wrong way and they expanded it as well along with the lanai. In Wisconsin they had never seen the need for a pool but they felt the need as it was much warmer in their new area, so they added that too.
Finally, they put pavers on the driveway and redid the landscaping. Now that they were satisfied, they invited some of their Wisconsin neighbors down to visit and see their shoe at 1803 Allen Edmonds Lane. (They had convinced the developer to name the street after the Wisconsin shoe maker who had built their old shoe). Their old neighbors were impressed, and it was not long before they were moving to Allen Edmonds Lane and the cul de sac became filled with some beautiful designer shoes. People came from miles around to see the unique street, and the developer was well pleased.
Now this occurred not too any years ago and the street is still extremely attractive although a few soles have had to be replaced along with some shoelaces. However, the most important matter is that they are all living happily ever after – just the way a “once upon a time story” must end!
Barry Evans writes about Life in the Villages for Villages-News.com
