Rita's Reflections: Marian Place is a gem in Monroe
Marian Place is an affordable, independent living, Trinity Health Care facility that sits along the River Raisin between St. Michael Parish and the Monroe Post Office. It is the place Mom has happily called home for the past nine months.
Mom has everything she needs in her cute and cozy studio apartment. Her walls are decorated with family pictures and mementos. She is fed delicious meals and chauffeured around town on the Marian Place bus. She is able to get outside when she wants and has walked uptown a time or two. Mom especially enjoys the quiet area in the back where she reads or enjoys the scenery.
The residents take pride in their residence and pitch in to make their home attractive and inviting; watering flowers, planting and maintaining the raised garden beds.
Larry and I have met some of the residents at Marian Place: Ken, James, Lois and Richard, just to name a few.
Ken keeps an eye on Mom and makes sure she stays out of trouble. We appreciate that. Despite being no bigger than a June bug, that can be a huge undertaking. Mom will be right beside you one minute and poof, she is off getting into mischief. Hailey, MP's service coordinator, caught Mom sitting on Santa's lap at the mall!
After several long-time, dedicated staff retired, the remaining crew of Dawn, Maria, Cindy, Autumn, Carmen, Dale and newly hired Jordyn and Craig are doing well under the direction of Joshua Delisle. Joshua took over for Sara Accardo as housing manager after nine years of dedicated service. In just a short time, Joshua has already become part of the Marian Place community who care for and look after each other.
At Sara's retirement send off, there was a bit of a celebrity roast vibe. There was just as much love and affection expressed.
A few of us were star struck when none other than Father Guido Sarducci arrived from Italy to celebrate Sara's retirement and to share some of her academic achievements while a student in Italy, before moving to the States.
Father Guido gained fame on Saturday Night Live during the ’70s and ’80s. Father Guido was not your typical priest. He was a chain smoker and always wore tinted glasses. He was a gossip columnist and rock critic for the Vatican newspaper. A very unlikely job for a priest at the time. Or, now really.
There are very few straight shooters like Father Sarducci around anymore. I think he nailed it when he said, “Life is a job.” Some days it feels like Larry and I are putting in too much overtime. We know we are not alone.
After a good-natured ribbing of Sara's days as a student, Father Sarducci, along with the dining room staff as backup singers, sang a musical tribute, “To Sara with Love,” sung to the tune of “To Sir with Love” from the movie of the same name, starring Sidney Poitier. It was good enough to be a musical number on SNL!
The act went over so well, rumor has it that Father Guido is thinking about coming out of retirement. A few observant people noticed that Sara hightailed it to Italy right after retiring. Very interesting.
Now, we all know how rumors go. Some come to fruition and some land like dirty duds. But I did hear from an almost reliable source who was eavesdropping through a closed door at the time, that Father Guido and Sara are discussing plans to hit the road with a new act. Whether they will be billed as a duet or they recruit the dining staff as backup singers, time will tell.
Frank Martin, a resident of Marian Place, wrote and played the part of the fabulous Father Guido Sarducci. Great job, Frank!
Kudos to everyone for making Marian Place a true gem in Monroe.
Rita Zorn is a wife, mother, grandmother and lifetime Monroe County resident. She can be reached at 7.noniez@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Rita Zorn: Marian Place is a gem in Monroe
