Introducing Bill

I visited my elderly dad, Bill, in Santa Barbara over President's Day weekend; he lives in a loft unit at El Zoco, a low-cost housing community built in the 1980s especially for artist residents who qualify for low-cost housing. (See photo, below.)

Bill has lived in Santa Barbara since the early 1960s. He is 88 years old, twice divorced, and has lived at El Zoco since the late 1980s. I am Bill's only child and have a family of my own in Oakland.

Bill currently lives independently. He suffered a fall a couple of years ago, for which he did not undergo sufficient physical therapy or rehabilitation to regain the full use of his hips and legs. The result is that now he is virtually immobile without the use of a walker to get around. He gets around his studio by scooting in an office chair from computer desk to bed to bathroom to kitchen.

Bill spends most of his time streaming Netflix on his large-screen Macintosh computer (he favors English dramas), playing computer solitaire, and occasionally spending time with friends who come by to visit. He receives regular, light support from Brian, a dear friend who comes by regularly to ensure that Bill has enough food and is otherwise okay.

Professionally, Bill spent most of his adult life being involved in graphic design and typography: from printing, to pioneering photo-typesetting systems, to design and layout, to desktop publishing. He has a keen aesthetic eye and loves beauty in all forms, whether it be found in a flower, an old engraving, a fancy font, or a young woman's face.

During my visit to Santa Barbara, which I make about every three months, it became clear that Bill needed more help than he is currently getting. While he claims that "everything's fine," he could sure benefit from someone coming in more regularly than two or three times a week to bring hot meals, do light cleaning, and help him with personal hygiene.

We discussed the possibility of Bill selling his unit and moving to the Bay Area (East Bay) to live closer to me. He had never been open to this idea in the past -- he always had many excuses for why it was not a good idea --  but this time he said it sounded like a good idea! This is a serious 180 degree turn, and now I am inspired to find a way for Bill to move out of El Zoco and into a senior living situation where he can comfortably spend the rest of his life, and receive appropriate care according to his changing needs.

This blog, then, is intended to be a journal chronicling my efforts to move Bill out of El Zoco and into an assisted living facility in the Bay Area.

I am usually a meticulous writer, but this blog will ignore good style in exchange for information.