Old Coots hears an echo.
By Merlin Lessler
A friend of mine from the Starbucks coffee gang in Ormond
Beach, Florida sent me a note the other day, just to say hello. (Due to the
privacy regulations I can’t mention his name; it’s John Stewart.) He said there
wasn’t much to report except that the group is now back inside Starbucks, but gone
are the days of twelve people pulling up chairs and sitting around a coffee
table for a group conversation. They now sit one or two at a table in a pattern
that spreads across the room.
The place is noisy. Hissing, clanging and banging exotic
beverage appliances blast a symphony across the room that reverberates beneath
a vaulted metal ceiling. It’s near impossible to carry on a group conversation
in that atmosphere. He said they nod, as though they actually heard what
someone said. Not that it matters much if they miss it. The same missive will
come around again in a day or so, such is the conversation of old coots.
John is right in his observation; I circulate through three
of these old coot coffee gatherings: one in Florida and two in New York. None
of us pay close attention to what is being said. We’ve heard it before, so many
times that we know the specifics better that the person telling it. We only listen
so we can correct him when he gets mixed up with the facts. We jump in with
gusto to point out the error. The usual response is, “Oh yea; you’re right; I
didn’t finish first in the 10-K race, it was my cousin. But, I finished, and
ahead of some of the runners.”
These “stories” are recirculated so often that many times
they are introduced with a disclaimer, “Stop me if I’ve told you this before.” If
you don’t respond quickly you get the re-run. Even then, it rarely stops them.
They are then subject to unrelenting interruptions, designed to wear them down.
Especially when they go off on a jag about their latest medical adventure. Now
that I’ve come to the end of this article, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve said
it all before.
Comments, complaints? Send to – mlessler7@gmail.com
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