Amid tears, the aged travellers mounted the bus Donald had summoned to the lodge. The tears were a mixture of happiness, sadness and fear of the unknown. These sweet old people had been through pain and anxieties, being homeless. They had faced possible elimination before their time. They had forged strong bonds with all of the others at the lodge and now they were headed back into Portland, hoping that the Presidential promises were real.
President Adams seemed to be sincere and it seemed that they would have their own safe apartment, but who really knew? Their other friends from the cruise ship had thought they were being treated to a wonderful spa day, but they went to their death. These thoughts were running through the minds of the ones travelling in a yacht as they enjoyed the amazing scenery along Alaska’s coast.
Everyone had their own beds this time since less than half of the elderly were returning to Portland. Nancy was handling the meals and she thought how much easier it was to feed so few people. She also had overseen the loading of the already prepared meals, which made it doubly simple to prepare the food.
Donald missed Bruce helping him with the handling of the yacht, but he had had so much rest the past couple of months that he was full of energy and knew he could handle the return to Portland.
The elderly arrived back in Portland from Alaska just before the big meeting. The meeting was being held in a large field, just minutes from the new apartments. There would be too many attendees for the courtyard of the apartments. There were bleachers so the people in the back of the meeting would be able to see what was going on. The platform in the center of the meeting was large enough to hold all of the top officials involved. Decorations were in spring pastel colors. The ex-homeless from the cruise ship had been being ferried in from the ship and driven to the meeting all morning. There were thousands of people milling about and food vendors scattered throughout the field.
Just before noon, the officials started taking their places on the stage. The microphones and speakers were tested and then an announcement was made for everyone to take their places as it was time for the meeting to begin.
Portland’s mayor called for quiet and made the popular announcement that the ceremony would begin for the relocation and beginning of a new life for the homeless people! They now had somewhere to go! There was a deafening roar of happy voices and applause that seemed it would not ever stop!
As it grew quiet again, the mayor introduced the governor. The governor welcomed everyone and he explained how things were going to work at the new apartments. He explained about the free childcare, the new jobs that were already lined up, about where the children would go to school and all of the intricate details. He also explained where they would go to pick up the keys to their new apartments and introduced Vivian Nelson to them who would be their housemother and chief problem solver. After his speech, the mayor thanked the governor and said, “And now I give you the President of the United States, William James Adams.” The applause was again overwhelming.
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President Adams held up his hands. “Thank you for that wonderful welcome. You have waited a long time for this day. Many of you have gone through things that no human should have to suffer. You have faced homelessness, sleeping on the streets, hunger, been looked down on by the very people who should have given you a hand up, not spit on you. Well, today, things change and you will have a place to live in that you can be proud of. This is the way things should be…People helping each other!” Again a roar of applause broke out. The President held up his hands again to silence the crowd. “This is a wonderful day for Portland. You are the spearhead of this movement and should be proud of yourselves!” Clapping broke out again. President Adams said, “Portland has inspired other cities all over the nation to do the impossible; to house the unhoused! The apartments for the ex-homeless are almost completed in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Atlanta and Miami and many others are in progress. Soon, every person will have a decent place to live!” The clapping went on for at least two minutes. It only stopped because the President jerked and fell to the floor.
There were gasps and people saying things like, “Did he have a heatstroke? Is he dead? What happened?” etc. The President’s personal doctor ran up to him and had someone call for an ambulance while he examined the President. President Adams was quickly loaded into the ambulance and they sped off to the hospital. The mayor rushed back on stage and tried to calm people down. “The President is in good hands, folks. Let’s take a minute of silence to think good thoughts for him. If you are a praying person, please pray for him. We will let you know what happened as soon as we find out. For now, let’s all move to the apartments and hand out the keys!”
Moving to the apartments was a helpful distraction. The people began settling in but there was an uneasiness in the air. Their hero, the man who had faced all kinds of odds to help them, was in serious condition and no matter how much getting a home meant to them, they couldn’t help feeling sad.
Donald had called home to let the others know what had happened, not thinking they were watching it on tv. Jim said, “Yeah we saw it. I’m glad you guys are ok. We haven't heard any updates yet. Let us know if you hear before us.”
The President’s wife was in the waiting room at the hospital. She was told he had been shot in three places and was holding on by a thread. Tears streaming down her face, she asked, “Can I go in and see him?”
The friendly nurse said, “Not yet, ma’am. He is in surgery, but I will let you know as soon as you can be with him. Do you need anything?”.
She said, “No thank you. My assistant can take care of that. I just want to hold his hand.”
