The Old Coot has 2 memory issues. Published July 23, 2025 in NY papers.

 The Old Coot has a double memory problem.

By Merlin Lessler

I have a pretty good memory (for an old coot). My big issue is coming up with the name of someone I haven’t seen for a while. Especially, if it’s been a long while. I tried to fix that issue some 20 years ago, by keeping a list of everyone I met, with a description to jog my memory - “Joe, the guy who is a close talker (gets right in your face when you have a conversation). Or “Sarah, the life coach from Ithaca who comes to coffee once or twice a year, eavesdrops on our conversation and chuckles.” That’s what my list of names looks like. I keep it in a notebook, but also on my cell phone in the pictures App. If I run into someone I haven’t seen for years, I fake it, “Hi Governor,” or “Hi Kid.” Then, the first chance I get, I look up their name while the encounter is fresh in mind.

The memory problem I’ve never solved has been with me all my adult life - remembering the name of someone I meet for the first time. They say their name; I say nice to meet you, and their name immediately flies out of my head. I have no idea if it was Lynn, Lisa or Laura. At best, I’ll remember the first letter of their name.   

I have another memory problem; it’s not in my head, it’s in my feet; in the things on my feet to be exact – sneakers with memory foam. Like a lot of old coots, I no longer have a spring in my step. My foot goes clunk, clunk, clunk. A splat with every step, making it more of an effort to walk than when I was younger. But, it’s not much of a problem with shoes made with a memory foam cushion. My stride approaches that of a normal person, just slower. I now have discovered that the memory foam is losing its memory - in two different pairs of sneakers. They are only a few years old, but memory senility has begun to set in. I’m left with a memory problem on top (in my head) and on the bottom (in my feet). The latter issue is easy to fix, buy new sneakers. I would like to, if only the memory on top would remind me.   

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The Old Coot has street people friends. Published in NY on July 13, 2025

 The Old Coot has “Street People” friends.

By Merlin Lessler

I have “Street People” friends. I don’t know the names of most of them. You pass each other a few times, nod hello and progress to “Good morning, Nice day, isn’t it.” You don’t need to know each other’s name, their bio or anything else. You walk, and are happy to see they are still around. It’s a “hello and a comment,” type of encounter where you respect each other’s privacy beyond that.

These Street People Friends pop up all over the place. The contact is life-enriching. I have them in our village in New York where I reside much of the time; in our neighborhood in Florida, on the beach, in coffee shops and other places where repeated encounters take place.

One thing I noticed, early on in the Street People friendship world, was that young people don’t readily engage in this exchange, for the most part. They walk past as though you are invisible if you are a senior or a really old coot like me. It won’t change unless you force the issue, which my friend Scotty in Florida is a master at. He says he’s not satisfied until he reaches 50 greeting exchanges a day - “Hi” or “Good Morning” or whatever greeting is appropriate when he’s out walking, biking, jogging or at the beach surfing. It’s so easy, just do it and you can break the barrier between the young people’s world and the old coot world.

It's kind of amazing how many people you run into on a regular basis “on the street.” Move to a new town or neighborhood and walk or circulate on a semi-regular basis (coffee shops for me) and soon enough you won’t feel like a stranger. Just say, “Hi! How are you doing today?” and move on. You’ll never live in isolation again. You’ll have Street People friends.

The Old Coot slogs through wet lawn clumps. Published 07/09/2025 (Owego Pennysaver, Tioga County Courier)

 The Old Coot teaches etiquette.

By Merlin Lessler

This is Old Coot article # 1,138. It’s the first time I’ve written about lawn care etiquette. But the time has come.

Etiquette #1. I bring home chunks of wadded up, soggy, freshly mown grass about every time I take a stroll through town. From people who spew lawn clippings all over the sidewalk and leave them there! All it takes, is to run the mower down the sidewalk and back – Presto! No grass left to be tracked home by the rest of us.

Etiquette #2. Stop! Hold your horses for a few short moments when you are mowing anywhere near someone on the sidewalk. That rotating blade is a lethal, projectile launching machine. My neighbor had her shoulder blown apart from a piece of bone a dog left on the lawn; it was hurled from a mower her husband was operating thirty feet from her. Dog bone, rock, tree root, it could be anything hidden in the grass. The tip of that mower is a powerhouse, with a tip speed of 130 to 270 miles per hour. It’s a serious threat to someone walking by or a child playing in the yard. So, when someone is near, take a pause, stand still. You don’t even have to shut off your mower. Do the same thing with a leaf blower. You’ll almost always get a thank you wave from a sidewalk traveler.  

Etiquette # 3. Mow before your yard looks like a cow pasture. Enough said.

Etiquette #4. Every once in a while, take a look at those shrubs growing alongside your sidewalk, to see if the branches project into the walking space. If you don’t, they will infringe into the pedestrian lane. It’s no fun pawing through shrubs and branches and getting a slap in the face or a sharp stick in the eye. I’ve trimmed a few bushes that were out of control for months that the owner never did anything about. I’ve had one sharp stick in the eye; I don’t ever want to go through that again. And I don’t want to carry snippers with me when I take a walk.  

In summary, blow the grass off the sidewalk – stop when people are near – don’t create a cow pasture – trim the shrubs. It’s just plain, simple lawn care etiquette.  

Send comments or complaints to the paper, or to mlessler7@gmail.com

The Old Coot is a bicycle rule breaker. Published in NY on July 2, 2025

 The Old Coot goes the wrong way.

By Merlin Lessler

 I first aired this confession nearly 15 years ago. Nothing has changed. I’m still a criminal! Still socially incorrect! A criminal, because I often ride my bike on the wrong side of the road or on the sidewalk. Socially incorrect, because I don’t wear a helmet. Half the pleasure of riding a bike is to be outside with nature, moseying along, enjoying the scenery with the wind blowing through your hair, or what’s left of it. I grew up in a helmetless world – climbing trees, playing football, baseball and yes, riding bikes and soap box racers down hills and through sharp curves without head protection. All kids did. Our mothers said good-bye as we charged out the back door to play and then added, “Watch your head.” And we did! We learned to duck; we learned to take the brunt of a fall on our shoulder, not our head. Besides, protecting one’s head is a survival instinct built into the human genetic code. It’s one of the reasons our species has survived for eons. 

 I often don’t ride with the flow of traffic as required by Section 1234 (A) of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic law. I ride facing traffic when the chances of a sneak attack from the rear by a distracted driver is likely. It’s criminal behavior today, but my whole generation was taught, to face traffic when walking or biking. And for good reason! You can see what’s coming and save your life. But bikers and in-line skaters are no longer allowed to do this in New York State. The authors of the vehicle and traffic law claim that bicycling and skating against traffic are the leading cause of crashes. Pure hogwash! Nearly all bicyclers and pedestrians hit by vehicles, get it from behind. These cockamamie laws and opinions come from state bureaucrats and legislators who haven’t ridden a bike along a public road in decades, if ever. Most of them grew up in New York City. Us outlaw bikers know better. Facing traffic saves lives. It’s the cyclists that follow the rules that get run down by errant drivers.

 My crowd of criminal and socially incorrect bicycle riders are easy to spot. We’re the people in street clothes, not spandex ballet outfits. We are bareheaded, making our way at a leisurely pace on inexpensive bikes, enjoying the fresh air, the scenery and low-level exercise on a vehicle that weighs three times as much as the helmeted speedsters on two wheels who pass us. They stop for red lights, even with no cars in sight. We look both ways and go through red lights. We ride on sidewalks when the road is too dangerous (mindful of pedestrians) and follow our survival instincts, rather than the vehicle and traffic laws. Join us in our civil disobedience. You’ll be a lot safer! And have more fun! (You don’t even have to be an old coot)

 Comments? Complaints? Send to mlessler7@gmail.com