You never quite know where you’ll end up!
While Lou has seen many incredible places in this world, he excels at finding happiness where he is at any given moment.
Some people plan out their lives before they even begin living them. My husband, for example, knew what he wanted to be from a very young age and has pursued that goal throughout his life.
I, on the other hand, have meandered more. My values have remained the foundation, but my path is anything but linear.
Lou, a resident at Bruceville Point in Elk Grove, California, has lived a life of incredible experiences—none of which he could have dreamed of as a boy growing up in the Philippines during World War II.
Lou remembers digging through garbage to find something to eat during the terror of World War II. He saw his country destroyed, trodden by others, and could not envision a future for himself there.
When the Korean War began, Lou volunteered to serve as a way of getting out of the Philippines. Without knowing what he was getting into, he became a cook on US Naval and Coast Guard ships. It was far from Lou’s ideal job, but it was the only one offered, and Lou knew it presented more opportunities than staying home. “There was nothing there,” he remembered.
What happened next reminds me of the maps in geography or history textbooks that show dotted lines crisscrossing the oceans from different explorers circumnavigating the globe.
Lou explained how plane navigation was different when he first joined the Coast Guard. Ships served as beacons in the ocean to guide transatlantic flights, while also serving as ice patrol so no other ships suffered the fate of the Titanic. Being stuck in the middle of the ocean for a month or more at a time was exceedingly dull, but it was the experience Lou needed to get his next opportunity.
He transferred to an icebreaker. In the summer months, they went to an Air Force base in Greenland, breaking ice in the Arctic Circle. When winter came around and the ice was too thick to break, they’d head to the southern hemisphere to support research vessels in Antarctica.
Lou preferred life on the move and enjoyed stopping in ports and seeing the world. He especially liked his time in New Zealand. Not only was it strikingly beautiful, but he remembered the people were so kind. He imagined his future there.
Lou received several awards for good conduct, or as he put it, “staying out of trouble.”
Yet fate had other ideas. While stationed at a Coast Guard post in Mobile, Alabama, Lou suffered an unexpected accident. “It was crazy. This guy just started shooting, and I got hit with a bullet,” Lou remembered.
A few weeks earlier, he had met a woman and went out with her once or twice. He never planned on getting married, but once he was admitted to the hospital, she began visiting him daily. Lou decided that she was one to keep around!
Once married, Lou looked for a job in Alabama. He quickly learned the South was a difficult place to be nonwhite. His sister had moved to California and urged Lou and his wife to move West. In California, Lou reunited with his sister and several friends from high school who had migrated to the West Coast. Job opportunities presented themselves, and Lou and his wife raised their two kids among friends and family in California.
After 18 years in the Coast Guard, Lou spent three years working in the Army. He worked in government, retired once, went back to work for a school district, and then retired a second time. Not one to idly sit by, Lou began volunteering in his community.
Forty-three years into his marriage, Lou’s wife was diagnosed with cancer. Again, his life began turning in a direction he did not expect. She fought for ten years, beating cancer into remission several times. Toward the end of her battle, Lou and his wife looked for a community close to his family where his wife could get some care support.
One community reminded him of being back on a naval ship. “There was nothing to do! Meals were three times a day and you better show up at those hours or you didn’t get anything. That was it.” Lou had spent enough of his life like that.
Then he toured Bruceville Point. “They’ve got so many activities and the food, anytime of day, the fitness center. The stuff here is fabulous!” Lou raves.
Lou is always curious. Here he celebrates completing the Photography course offered at Bruceville Point.
Of course, the transition wasn’t easy. Lou and his wife moved in and spent every day together, Lou taking care of her as she received another round of chemotherapy. Seven months after the move to Bruceville Point, Lou lost his wife of 53 years.
“It was hard for me to stay alone in the room. To be so suddenly, so alone,” Lou remembered. In time, though, Lou began to venture out for games, meeting other people, and participating in fitness classes. Now, his son’s family—all four grandsons—visit Lou regularly. They stop by for dinner, to watch TV in Lou’s apartment, or play games and hang out.
Lou isn’t one to sit still for very long!
Lou really lights up when his two-year-old great-granddaughter comes to visit. He hosts his family, enjoys their company, and appreciates that he can stay in the convenience of his own apartment home.
Lou’s positive attitude, curiosity, and generosity positively impact all those around him.
“I figured I’d get killed in my 20s,” Lou remembered. Growing up in the war, all of his buddies anticipated short lifespans. He never dreamed of living so long, much less traveling so much of the world and landing in California. “There was no plan. I just wanted to get out of there, go other places,” Lou remembered. He wasn’t offered choices. He forged his path.
We wake up to each new day we’re offered, not knowing where it may take us. Sometimes, it’s the unexpected turns that make our lives most extraordinary.
Where will your path take you? If you are considering a move, our Counselors are happy to discuss your options and help foster your next adventure.
Learn more about Bruceville Point in our FAQs Guide: Answers to Your Questions from the People Who Make Tenfold Communities Amazing.
