Unity Village: 3 Experiences

Ralph, a 72 year old man who uses a wheelchair, exits the elevator onto the first floor. He has come here to have his morning coffee along with many of his friends from the building. They often sit around the tables for hours, watching people come and go, going on about their busy lives. He is glad his life is no longer so hectic, and he and his friends talk about the days when they were rushing off to work, their days in college, and when they were kids and when their children were smaller. It is a nice spring day to go outside, and he is able to do so with the push of a button to open the door. He finds living within Unity Village to be fulfilling.

Zoe, a 6 year old girl, is sleepily dragged off of the elevator by her mother. Zoe isn’t a morning person. Her mother, about to go off to work, takes Zoe to the daycare, where she is greeted by other sleepy 6 year olds, none of them morning people. She hands her lunchbox to Courtney, her favorite daycare monitor, so that it can be stored away for later. Suddenly having a burst of energy- which may have something to do with the presence of her friends, the bright sunlight pouring in, or the bright, cheerful colors surrounding her (or maybe a combination of all of the above), she runs off to play, climbing the ladder, sliding down the indoor slide at the bottom of which she is greeted by a seven year old boy with a ball. Before she knows it, it’s the end of the day and her mother is back and she doesn’t want to leave.

Catherine, a 42 year old mother who works in the building’s small grocery store, has come downstairs to enjoy a cup of tea and look at the new collection of art she has heard is currently being displayed. She goes to the coffee bar and orders a cup of water and an Earl Grey teabag. She walks over to the art gallery area. The current exhibit is a collection of paintings done by college art students of the building working with children in the building. Catherine finds the one her son did with Manuel, one of the college students. She is pleasantly surprised at her son’s talent. One of her friends sees her and comes over, bragging on her own child’s work. They decide to sit outside and spend much of the afternoon talking while more of their friends in the building come and go.