Yesterday in a chain-store pharmacy, I was in line behind a man clutching eight Snickers candy bars. He was about 80 years old, dressed neatly and casually, in athletic shoes and a faded baseball cap pulled low.
He (glancing at me}: "I gave up vitamins two years ago."
Me: "Oh?"
He: "Yeah... now, I eat a candy bar a day. Never felt better. "
Me: " Uh... (smiling). Well, they say chocolate's good for you. At least dark chocolate is, I think..."
He: "Keep's the heart going, you know."
He stuffed the bagged candy bars inside his light jacket, and glanced around the store.
He: "My daughter's visiting me from Washington DC. She's one of those Type A types..."
Me: "Oh?"
He: "Yeah... she has a big job with the Census Bureau there."
Me: "Great. That's great.... You must be proud."
He (winking): "I have to stay out of trouble when she's here...."
He smiled and walked out of the store, candy bars hidden from view.
2 comments:
Great snapshot.
Yesterday I accompanied my Mom to the grocery. She will be ninety this year, takes no prescriptions, is still ambulatory and lives in a retirement community in her own apartment which she keeps immaculate.
She has a taste for Oreo cookies, Dickenson's (pricey) preserves, and Nesquick chocolate milk (the local dairy brand is not as good, you know). Insists on bottled water, Klondike bars and Pringles. You think I tell her she shouldn't indulge? Of course not.
She and dad smoked unfiltered Lucky Strikes for forty-five years before they stopped and at ninety she's as fit as anyone in her peer group. Go figure.
The guy with the snickers knows a thing or two about "quality of life."
Thanks, Hoots!
Your mom has excellent taste! I liked this man... had to capture him in writing.
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