Old coot, old fart, old codger. (My shameful confession).

Some of you may remember my references to  Bob, an older man who, from his electric wheelchair,  walks in my neighbourhood with his Wirehaired Terrier named Scout .

Scout has a visceral dislike of my Penne.  Bob knows and understand this, so we cooperate to make sure that our paths do not cross.

I have also told you about Bob's voice.  I have sometimes said that it is like a Corncrake. See


In truth Bob's voice is louder and harsher than  that of the Corncrake.  Bob can be heard from a thousand feet as yells to Scout:  "No, No. No", or "Bad Dog, Bad Dog".

Some 20 days ago Bob and his wife were driving by as I walked Penne.  Their car screeched to a halt. Bob "corncraked out" "MICHAEL I WANT TO HAVE LUNCH WITH YOU".

I could hardly refuse in the presence of Bob's wife, so I lied through my teeth, saying that it would be a pleasure, and setting a date for lunch.

That date arrived yesterday. I moaned to myself  all morning,  asking: "Why did I agree to have lunch with that old coot, old fart, old codger?"

I drove Bob to our local wonderful eatery called "Alma's Kouzine",  less than a mile away from our homes
 
 
I have always liked Alma's, but this was Bob's first visit there.  He found it to be delightful.
 
AND GUESS WHAT
 
I had an entirely agreeable time!
 
I learned that Bob is 91 years old and is a WWII U.S. Navy veteran.  He and his wife have been married for 67 years.  They have four children and two handfuls of grandchildren.
 
Bob was born on Dorchester MA where his father was a Boston Cop.
 
After WWII and marriage Bob was at first in the retail fur business.  He was wise enough to forsake this and to move into Insurance.  He had a fine career which began in New Hampshire, and took him to Boston, New York City and Chicago.  He and his wife retired early and moved to SRQ where he began another (and successful) career in Real Estate.
 
 
HE IS A PRETTY COOL GUY EH?
 
 
Despite my small-minded  reservations I had a fine time with Bob.
 
 
I AM ALREADY A BIT OF AN OLD COOT AND OLD FART (Applause from the balcony please).
 
IF I EVER GET TO BE NINETY-ONE  I HOPE THAT SOME WHIPPER-SNAPPER AGED SIXTY-NINE WILL BE PLEASED TO HAVE LUNCH WITH ME.
 

Location: Almas .Sarasota, FL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not rem...
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur...
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were a...
Read more