It happened at Menards in the checkout line. Probably due to a misunderstanding a man butted in front of me. On the other hand he might have just been an asshole. It sure took me by surprise. Hell, this is Minnesota, people just don't do those kind of things. My knee jerk reaction was to call the guy on what he'd done. Apparently that pissed him off and he gave me the bad boy stare like he was in a bar and looking for a fight. Then followed it up with "I'm not retired like you and don't have all day."
That stopped me cold. It is true, I am retired. He was close to my age, maybe five to ten years younger, had a beard and long hair. By then all kinds of bells were going off in my mind. Things like, no doubt about it I'm retired and out of the loop. I've become like those bird house building putzers I never wanted to turn into.
He, on the other hand, looked like men I've known who've had their problems with drugs or liquor. Never had a steady job but had been handymanning his way through life. Too young to have been in Vietnam. Had no retirement in his future. Didn't have any money saved. Maybe an ex-wife somewhere. In short, one of those men who fell through the cracks but not so far as the gutter. And he was aware of it and that was part of his anger. Maybe I was wrong but that's what went through my head. In short, his words hit me hard and I had nothing to say.
My mind works that way. A couple of things click and there's a story being played in my brain. Any ambition and I'd have been another John Updike. Probably not but that's my story for the moment.
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