From her chair, the 81-year-old Kentucky native can see her cable television, a wall clock she and her late husband bought so long ago she can't remember where they got it, and a cross-shaped plaque hanging next to the door that a church parish gave to him for his years in the choir.

"He loved singing," she says.

Thornton has plenty of memories to keep her satisfied and enough activities at the Lincoln Glen Manor retirement home to help her make even more memories.

She moved into the retirement complex in October 2002 to be closer to her 54-year-old daughter, who helped Thornton make the move from Reno, Nev. Thornton had been living alone there when she fell and lay on the floor for about 16 hours before a neighbor got worried and checked up on her.

Thornton's situation is a common one in the three retirement communities in Willow Glen that market themselves as "assisted-living" facilities.

The other two retirement communities—the Inn at Willow Glen on Pedro Street and the Willow Glen Villa on Gatton Drive—are both owned by American Retirement Villas, based in Costa Mesa, Calif. ARV ranks seventh out of the top 30 assisted-living facility chains, according to the National Center for Assisted Living.

NCAL 2000 statistics indicate that approximately 800,000 Americans reside in assisted-living facilities. The average age of residents is 80.

The managers at Lincoln Glen Manor and the ARV facilities also say that the typical assisted living resident is an 80-year-old woman who is mobile but needs help with at least some daily activities, such as dressing, bathing or taking medication.

Loren Kroeker, executive director of Lincoln Glen Manor, says many people come to assisted living facilities "because they mess up very potent medications."

"Your doctor may prescribe a regimen for you, and if you get off that regimen pretty soon you'll have all kinds of cognitive problems or other issues," Kroeker says. "All because you didn't take your medication as it was prescribed."

The term "assisted living" is relatively new, says Kroeker, who believes those in the health care field "just made up that term because it took too long to say 'long-term primary care facility.' "

"Assisted living has been booming over the last 10 years," Kroeker says.

ARV defines assisted living as "a combination of housing, personalized support services, hospitality and care in a home-like setting."

Kroeker says that assisted living takes on a "social model," whereas nursing is more of a "medical model." Assisted living facilities don't provide medical care.

The "social model" of care requires licensing from the California Department of Social Services, and these retirement homes are regulated under the Community Care Licensing Division. Nursing facilities require licensing through the California Department of Health Services.

"Residents just need a little help with taking their medication," Kroeker says of assisted living, "but don't need a licensed medical professional to dispense medication."

Lauren Becker, executive director for Willow Glen Villa, says, " 'Assisted living' is more of a community. What I was used to hearing before coming here was 'convalescent home,' and that's too much of a sterile way of looking at it," she says.

Change is the only constant, as any elderly person can tell you. That particularly applies to the terminology for such facilities.

NCAL claims that assisted living is an umbrella term that encompasses the concepts of "residential care, personal care, adult congregate care, boarding home and domiciliary care."

Life in an assisted-living community can be social or solitary. As with any neighborhood, the degree of social interaction is completely up to the residents.

In the dining commons at Inn of Willow Glen, Harry Braddock, 83, sits alone, patiently waiting for his dinner.

"There's a lot of people who sit alone or sit with some friends in the same place," he says. His answers come slow, and his voice is low and in a monotone.

"There's so many things people talk about, but mostly they like to talk about the games they play," he says, alluding to the bingo tournaments and bridge clubs that are popular at the center.

He worked for IBM as an engineer for more years than he can recall. He remembers getting married, but it didn't work out, and he can't remember when his marriage ended. One of his daughters arranged to place her father in the Inn at Willow Glen.

"It's funny how many things you forget after being in a place like this," he says. "But it's nice."

A few tables away, Marilyn Ponti, 82, enjoys dinner in the company of her friends, talking about the day's events and plans for tomorrow.

"We have to keep ourselves revved," Ponti says, giving a knowing wink to her companions.

"You have to have a sense of humor to live here," says Peg Dirk, 88.

In the library, a book discussion club—made up exclusively of women in their 80s or 90s—talks about their book of the week,

Club member Jeanne Zizlavski, 84, remembers that it took her awhile to adjust to an assisted-living environment. After Zizlavski fell twice, her daughter decided to place her in the Inn at Willow Glen, she says.

"I fought it for awhile," Zizlavski says, "but I soon came to like it. After two bad falls, sending me here was the smartest thing my daughter did for me."

One fear Zizlavski had in coming to a new place was that she wouldn't make any friends. Not only did she make several friends, she was pleased to see that many of them weren't assisted-living residents but independent-living residents.

"There're no cliques here," Zizlavski says. "Everybody gets along."

Most residents get along fine, but be careful coming to the twice-weekly bridge club meeting at Lincoln Glen Manor, where 87-year-old Berth Soley takes no prisoners.

"I play to win," Soley says. "The others can play to play if they want to, but I like winning."

But any rivalry stays at the table. Bridge club member Jim Toda, 77, appreciates the comfort of being surrounded by friends during trying times. He and his wife moved into Lincoln Glen Manor, and eventually her health required that she move into the assisted-living sector. She died a few months later.

"When my wife passed away, I got a lot of support here," Toda says. "From everyone."

All of the Willow Glen assisted-living facilities have various activities going on at all times, but the trend has been that mostly only the female residents take part.

"It's really hard to get the men involved with the activities," Becker said. "I guess the men feel they don't need to be entertained as much as the women do."

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Wake-Up Call: Lincoln Glen Manor resident Shoji Takimoto, 90, and Marion Zimmerman are among the regulars in the morning exercise class that the retirement home offers three times weekly. The class is led by the manor's assistant activities director, Bekki Isdal, whose class focuses on stretching and keeping residents active.

"I work part time just to keep myself going," Buller says.

He retired in 1988 and moved to Kansas, where he lived for seven years, but then moved back to be closer to family.

As for maintaining the place, "it's not too much of a challenge. It's all fun."

But it's not all fun. Buller and other residents in retirement homes worry about being able to continue paying the rent. Buller is concerned about how long he can live at the Lincoln Glen Manor, having to rely on his investments and Social Security checks to make ends meet. With the instability of the stock market, there may be a time when rent becomes more than he can afford.

"It's getting there—another four or five years," he says. "If my savings run out I guess I'll have to go on Medicaid."

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Mr. Fix-It: Lincoln Glen Manor resident Chuck Buller, 85, has a part-time job as a handyman at the manor.

But even annual increases in rent have not caused any rooms to stand vacant at these retirement homes.

Kroeker says Lincoln Glen Manor has 130 people on its waiting list, and the number increases almost daily.

"We've had more people trying to get on our assisted-living waiting list in the past year than over the past 30 years of being in business for independent living," Kroeker said.

Lincoln Glen Manor opened as an independent-living center in December 1969 and 10 years later began offering skilled-nursing services.

Lincoln Glen Manor had several independent-living units that were full, but with the growing need for residents requiring assisted-living accommodations, Lincoln Glen Manor spent seven years trying to get the funding for a new assisted-living building and all the licensing that such a facility required. The assisted-living section of the center finally opened in the summer of 2001.

Thornton, who was a registered nurse before she retired, says she feels she is in good hands with the care that she's receiving at Lincoln Glen Manor.

"I think the staff here is very good," Thornton says. "It isn't home, but it's a great place."