People often assume that Joslyn House is a nursing home, probably because a lot of old people live there. But it's not a nursing home. There's no anonymous art, no hand sanitizer mounted on the walls. It's a house. It's a place where up to 20 older people live independently together in a huge, elegant house furnished with their own things. There's socializing when you want it, silence when you don't. There's sociable silence. Residents are given a room, three meals a day, and rent is $1,980 a month.
I made this story back in the beginning of 2020, and I still can't believe we don't have a Joslyn House in every town by now: a place where you can help each other as you get older, where you don't have to worry about cooking, where if you're lonely at night, there's someone to talk to or sit with. In other words, a civilized place, a place where love is evident.
Thanks to all the residents who talked with me, and the beautiful Arlene and Becky Wright, managers of the house.
My friend Kelly Green produced this show with me. This show never would've happened without her. Plus Arlene used to walk Kelly's dog, Tippy.
Click here for more information on the Joslyn House.
The song for this show is "A Wave in the Air" by The Imperfectionists, from their latest album, Universal Consent
Rumble Strip is a podcast produced by Erica Heilman and distributed on the radio by Vermont Public. Learn more about the show here.
