One September Day a year ago
A gracious lady stepped across our sill.
She entered, looked around, and said
“This is the place. I like it here. I think I’ll stay.”
Who was this stranger, this pretty lady from the west?
She looked quite dignified, upscale corporate stuff!
Briefcase and all, why had she come?
It didn’t take long to find out.
We noticed first her smile and friendly laugh,
A look that said, “Hey, I’m your friend.”
The whispers over dinner were all agog:
“I hear she’s here to take Joe’s place.”
And across the table came the reply,
“I heard she’s only temporary.”
“But she does seem nice,” another diner offered.
And so it went, curiosity, wild, untamed,
But only for a few brief days.
Her name was Marj.
And as happens so often here at Park Centre
This stranger quickly became our friend.
Marj was soon one of us!
Her title was dignified enough: “Interim Administrator.”
Better than Interlude Facilitator or Intermission Superintendent,
Recess Ringleader, Interval Executive or even PC-CEO!
Her days here were quickly full of details,
Long lists of things to do
To keep us all happy, content and safe.
She shuttles back and forth to home in Des Moines
Where two sons keep her busy
When she isn’t “Interim Administrator.”
At home Jason and Adam know her as “Always Administrator,”
But we hear she’s a loving and devoted mother,
The kind any kid would cherish!
Currently she is truly helping us grow!
Doing all she can to smooth the great transition
For all our new neighbors moving to the new addition,
Helping them all she can to get in and settled
With a minimum of pain, and a maximum of peace and joy!
She has some terrific qualities we really like,
Besides her striking smile.
With Park Centre’s interests at heart
She works with diligence, is careful, fair and prompt,
She’s honest, kind and gets things done.
And her enthusiasm for her work does show!
She listens closely to those of us with tales of woe
That never seem so bad, once Marj takes hold.
Sometimes she’s been seen pushing a wheelchair,
Cleaning up a mess, lifting someone off the floor.
Doing all kinds of jobs, because she loves us and cares.
So now we have come to trust her,
To depend upon her, to love her.
But soon she will be departing from us,
Far to the east she says.
So we can only say:
“For all you have done with and for us
Here at Park Centre. Just for being yourself. Thank you, Marj!
Blessings on you as you move out and away from us.
Whenever you find yourself in Iowa
Do drop in and say, ‘Hello.’
We all love you!”
(August, 1997)