A Scooby-Doo Mystery Solved – With S’Mores

When my phone rings and Auntie Mame (AM) is on the other end, I never know where the conversation will lead or what will come up next. It can be a regular Scooby-doo mystery!

Take last week, for example. I was at my Older Son’s (OS) house, hanging out with the family and making s’mores with the grandkids. Fun night, delicious treats . . . what could be better?

Then the phone rings. Of course, it’s AM. And she’s all in a tizz.

It seems that she and some of her friends in the retirement community where she is now living were sitting on the front porch after dinner that evening when “an old lady” (in AM’s words) was seen wandering around and trying to get into the doors of the community. AM said that she had seen the woman wandering around the area several times over the last few days and that she was very concerned about her. AM had gone so far as to try to call the police to help the woman, but the other residents vetoed that idea and she didn’t feel good about it.

Now AM was calling to put this “problem” in my lap.

Me: Do you want me to come by there and see if we can find this lady?

AM: Yes, I think that would be a good idea.

So, I left OS’s house and drove toward AM’s retirement community. I drove past the front entrance and around to the back but didn’t see anyone wandering around the property. It was after 7:30 pm and it looked as though everyone had gone to bed. By that time, the doors were locked, so AM had to come down and let me in. She and I looked out the window at both entrances and she agreed that no one was out there, but I wanted to get a better idea about the woman she was so worried about.

Me: Tell me more about this woman, have you seen her here before?

AM: No, just this week, when I’ve seen her wandering around outside at the street.

Me: Well, there are several apartments and neighborhoods around here. You don’t know where she lives.

AM thought about that for a second and then she said: Oh! 401.

What?

Yep. The woman in question – the one that has been wandering up and down the street for the past week – lives in the same building as AM. In apartment 401.

Instead of driving around, trying to find someone who might be wandering, we just rode the elevator to the 4^th floor and knocked on the door. After several minutes (and several knocks) the sweetest, oldest woman came to the door and was SO HAPPY to have visitors. She invited us in and I could see, on the GIANT thermostat on her wall, that the temperature in her apartment was set to 82°.

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

She was incredibly nice and welcoming, though, and I told her that AM wanted to check and make sure she had gotten home safely. We spent a few minutes looking at the WWII-era photos on her table of herself and her husband. They were such a cute couple. I saw a photo of her, closer to the age she is now, with a younger man and asked if that was her son, but she said no, it was her husband. I was trying to ascertain if she had family close enough to call or be involved if she was actually wandering, but it sounded as though her closest relatives were an hour or more away.

So, we had to leave it at that.

She was determined to give us a lovely send off, so she stood at her door and waved good-bye to AM and me as we walked to the elevator. And continued to wave as we waited for the elevator. And waited for the elevator. Finally it arrived and we could give her one final bye-bye wave as we jumped on and rode to AM’s apartment.

As we descended, I told AM the visit had worked out well. Now we knew the woman’s name – Maureen. If AM ever saw her wandering again, there would be no reason to get upset or worried, now AM could walk with her and say: “hello Maureen, I know where you live. Let’s walk to your apartment.” AM felt much better about that.

No need to involve the police, everyone is safely in their apartments, the mystery has been solved and it was nearly 9 pm by the time I got home. Yikes! But if I ever sent my thermostat to 82°, everyone will know there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with me!