THE WORLD'S A STAGE

THE WORLD'S A STAGE

By Duncan 

They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Can I dissect this picture for you?  

The focus, or your eye, could go to Shelly on the right, or your eye might go to Bloor sitting in the middle. Then you might notice Aaron on the left and see me last. But you don’t know where we are and who all the players are on this stage. 

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players, they have their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his act being seven ages.” William Shakespeare.

The dining room is one of several rooms at Marquette Manor, a retirement community. Bloor, the gentleman in the center of the picture, is 92 years old. Many more years than Shakespeare believed a man’s life. 

Marquette Manor prides itself as a Life Plan Community. 

“We make aging in place simple.” 

Bloor’s hearing and eyesight are not what they used to be. Bloor only sees shadows now and can’t see details. His hearing is, as you might suspect, “challenged.” So, talk a little louder. 

The people in the background are a different story. I don’t want you to leave them out of the picture. I want you to see them too. They came to my attention as I noticed several elderly people eating alone. And my emotions were caught off guard. “That could be me someday.” 

How did I end up at Marquette Maron having lunch with Bloor? The story starts like this. I was sitting in front of Bloor at his Anchor Standard Federal Saving and Loan Association office. The Small Saving and Loan with the Great Big Name. 

Anyway, I was told he was looking for a mortgage loan guy who knew how to sell mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Fannie Mae is the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and Freddie Mac is the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FMCC).

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work in a small savings and loan, but was encouraged by several people to at least talk with Bloor. As I listened to him, the S&L was putting all their mortgages on their books. The mortgage loan documents were in the safe in the back of the office. They had never thought about selling mortgages to an outside source. Why would they want to sell loans now? 

This is the part where I talk numbers. I'll be brief. The operation was about $40,000,000. (Forty Million.) Forty million was the amount of savings accounts on the books. The business model is fairly simple: take in savings and lend that money to people who want a mortgage. (You said keep it simple.) 

On average, about 10% of the mortgages would be paid off in a year. That means they need to make more mortgages to replace the ones that paid off. An average loan of about $100,000 means they must make 40 new loans a year or 3 loans a month. 

Of course, the reason they (Anchor Standard) wanted to keep the mortgages and not sell them was this idea that the customer would think they (The S&L) didn’t love them (the customer). If they sold the loan, the customer would think the S&L disliked them and thought they were a risky investment.

In reality, you sell your good stuff and have to keep the risky ones because no one wants to buy the risky stuff. 

Anyway, as I sat there, I thought I needed to leave. I would not make money making 3 loans a month. I tried my best not to be crass. I tried telling Bloor that I was the wrong guy for this operation. He then leaned across the desk and said, how would you run the mortgage loan department if you were in charge? 

I found that statement an interesting proposition. I thought for a minute or two and said I would need to make 25 monthly loans. Then, sell them and make another 25 loans the next month. Are you willing to sell mortgage loans? 

Yes, I accepted the position. And Bloor is the first boss I ever worked with, and not for. Over time, we had a wonderful relationship. I went through the Saving and Loan crisis with Bloor, and we were merged into Arsenal Saving Association, a much larger S&L than Anchor Standard. 

I was asked to train Aaron (An Arsenal Employee) to be a mortgage loan guy. Aaron was selling trust accounts to funeral homes. People make arrangements for their funeral, and the money is placed in Arsenal until needed. They wanted to shift Aaron over to the mortgage lending area. That’s also when Aaron and I became close friends. 

Things changed again, and Arsenal was in trouble and was merged into Union Federal Saving and Loan. I moved out of the S&L industry and returned to the mortgage brokerage business again.  

I lost track of Bloor for a few years, and Aaron called one day and said,

“Hey, I found Bloor; he lives at Marquette Manor; let's call him and invite him to lunch.” 

We called and set the date. Bloor suggested we come by his room at Marquette Manor. So we found his room and had a good visit. He very much enjoyed the company, and as we were leaving, Bloor said, 

“You will have to come back!” 

Aaron and I looked at each other and the conversation went something like this. 

“I think that is a good idea, Bloor. Let's see, it's October, and we have Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year coming up. Then, there will be cold weather. How about next spring?”  

Bloor: “Spring? I was thinking about next week.”  

Aaron and I looked at each other with a smile on our faces. 

“Okay, Bloor, how about next month before Thanksgiving?”

It was set. We picked the week before Thanksgiving.

Bloor wanted to have lunch at “The Grill.” It seems the food in the main dining hall has no seasoning, and he dislikes the food there. But “The Gill” is cooked to order. So we all had a very tasty cheeseburger and crispy french fries.  

Aaron, Bloor, Shelly (Marquette Manor Receptionist), Duncan

Again, moving around Bloor’s Retirement Community can be a little depressing. There are people there who are enjoying life and have a smile on their faces.

Others look like they are hurting by moving from one location to another. 

We took Bloor back to his apartment and talked for a few more minutes. His family was coming in the following week to pay a visit. Bloor was excited about seeing them.

The question of when we will return and pay another visit should have been touched on. I did not bring it up.

His life is his chair and his audiobooks. Let’s not make any mistakes about what we are looking at here. We will all be in that chair at some point.

I hope we see Bloor again in the spring.