Picked
up the phone and called an old friend
on
Easter Sunday. Old friend I say because
he
is 93 and I’m 73; old friend I say because
we
have known each other for over 40-years.
Now
John has quite an imagination. Even at
a
much younger age, he had a certain knack
for
embellishing situations and stories. Me
and
my excuse is old age where my details
of
the past tend to fade. Oh, when recounting
a
particular story, I’ll admit a twist and turn
now
and again may come into play.
Anyway,
it was one of those rapid-fire exchanges,
each
of us trying to catch up with the now and then.
Neither
of us having the patience anymore for a
lengthy
drawn-out phone conversation.
John
made a point to make his feelings known
about
life in this new age. Of course the pandemic
virus
was briefly discussed—worst thing to happen
to
the country since World War II, John recalled.
Back
then, you knew who the enemy was. You could
point
the finger and see who your adversary was.
Nowadays,
this damned virus is invisible...terrible!
And
by the way, John went on, people just aren’t
pretty
anymore, all those tattoos and funny hairdos.
Ugly!
And I chimed in with the smart phone phe-
nomenon—people
on the street, everywhere you
go,
indoors and out, people glued to and totally
engrossed
with their cell phones.
All-in-all,
I’d say, John and I had one of those typical,
old-man,
gripe sessions. We did cover a few shared
fond
memories, though, of family outings and holiday
get-togethers,
probably a little sweeter now looking
back
on them now than they were in actuality.
Some
of the finer details, John and I recalled a bit
differently.
But that’s okay. That’s what old men
tend
to do. In our own minds, we know we’re both
right.
I
did get to say hi to Helga, John’s wife, also a good
friend
for over 40-years. Helga is in her 80s. She let
John
do most of the talking. They have been married
a
long time, and she knows John is good at that.
-30-
Chris
Hanch 4-12-2020
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