Joe and Arlein’s Halper loved their home, their neighborhood and their lifestyle in Pallisard, the Pacific Ocean, and the plan was to stay there indefinitely.
Even if Joe hit 95 and Arline approached 89, neither of them considered themselves old.
Retirement community, etc.
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2001. He has won over 12 National Journalism Awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.
Then a fire came, which destroyed their homes and many Palisades.
So where do they live now?
In a 175-unit retirement community.
Arline said their sons are familiar with Playa Vista’s avoset. It offers both independent assistance to those in need of it, and offers plenty of amenities such as a rooftop swimming pool and fitness centre, bars, cinemas and daily meals for those without a stove.
Firefighters will fight a home fire from Bollinger Drive, Pacific Palisade on January 7th.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Halpers checked it five months ago.
They went in.
They are adapted.
“I feel different because I’m here now,” said Arline, a former teacher. “We have a lovely apartment…and the people are very warm and friendly.”
One major benefit: There is no risk of isolation among older people.
But to get used to community life, Joe said he had lunch in a regular dining room a few days ago, and three other palaces who had moved to Avosett have been evacuated.
“You can have dinner or breakfast. “Here is total sociability. And compassion too. But it’s just tired.”
nevertheless.
Joe, who worked for the Parks Administration and until recently as a commissioner for LA Recreation and Parks, went to the gym on the top floor of the building, where he works with Wait one day and makes his next swim.
Restaurants and shopping are within walking distance.
Arline picked up a pickleball at a nearby park.
And the bottom line is this:
Transitions can be difficult at any age. Especially the older you get. But it’s pretty good if you have a life after the Palisades and can afford it.
“This place isn’t cheap,” said Bill Klein, 94, a former UCLA law professor.
Bill Klein, from left, his wife Rennie and Joe Halper finished lunch at Avosett Playavista, Playavista’s independent retirement community.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Bill and his wife, Lenny, 85, were fellow members of the Halpers at Pallisard (Lenny and Allein were longtime volunteers with the Library Association). They all said that having a close company with best friends during the loss and regeneration would be a great help, despite the fact that Joe and Bill’s nurses left a bitter taste about the chaotic evacuation and the rapid spread of fires.
Former social worker Rennie said he was beginning to think that his 54-year-old home home was no longer able to care for him. Unlike the Halpers, their home survived the January fire, but the neighborhood was incinerated and they have not returned.
“This was deep inside me, but it wasn’t something we had planned at the moment,” she said.
“We had a disagreement about it,” Bill said. “I didn’t tend to come anywhere like this.”
Bill glanced at the dining room and spoke clearly.
“Look around,” he said. “There are a lot of old people here with pedestrians, but in my sense it’s not a lively place except in the forced way. I think the people here are trying so hard to deny that they live in old people’s homes.”
It’s not avosett or people’s judgment. It’s like a comment about the compromises that aging implies. Bill said he and Lenny had once visited his mother’s nursing home, but they couldn’t hide what he was thinking.
“You should let them grab me and don’t leave me here,” he told Rennie.
But Bill knows he’s fighting the inevitable.
“I had to admit that I belong here,” he said. “But I didn’t like it.”
But he’s coming with me. What he likes is “pushing weights” at the gym and swimming in the pool.
“I lived a good life here for myself,” he admitted, saying he devours a bunch of books that contain most of the non-fiction, including Jesse James and another about artificial intelligence.
Joe Halper Right and Bill Klein walk down the hallways of Playa Vista’s retirement community.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
There’s a library from the lobby when he runs out of his books. Daily video lectures by experts in a variety of subjects.
And while Avosett is age-specific, Bill and Allein said, the neighborhood isn’t. Going outside, you are surrounded by ethnic and generational diversity, with your neighbors walking to shops, restaurants and parks.
“You can cross Lincoln and you’re in the marsh,” Arline said.
Joining us for lunch was Janet H., another Pallisard evacuee. A retired teacher who asked me not to use her last name for privacy reasons said her husband was upstairs above their apartment and recovered from the illness that he landed in the hospital for a month.
“This place saved our lives,” said Janet, who lived in the Palisades home for 53 years.
Care on-site provided peace of mind, and in Pallisard, her home was somewhat isolated. At Avosett, Janet said the caring neighbors and staff are the comfort of everyday life.
And that’s not even the best part of the packaging.
“What’s really satisfying about me is that I never have to cook again,” Janet said.
As we spoke, 98 women went for a walk and greetings were exchanged. A few minutes later, her husband followed along with the pedestrians.
He’s just 100.
“We’re still going,” Arlin said.
“Well, the alternative is a little darker,” replied the gentleman.
For me, as a first-time visitor, Avosett had the vibe of a spectacular resort or luxury cruise ship.
Joe and Arlyn Halper share a light moment while walking with Rennie Klein to the left at Avosett Playavista.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
But does it feel like home? I asked.
“You’re right,” Arlin said. “We’re on a cruise, but we haven’t landed.”
“But that might be where we belong at the moment,” Janet said.
They belong to their chosen location and make the most of it in one year of immeasurable losses and unplanned reinvention.
It’s certainly a bumpy ride, but Joe observed where they were.
“It’s a soft landing,” he said.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
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