Old

February 2, 2019

You know it’s been a good day when it begins with an unplanned pancake breakfast with a  grandson followed by a couple card games with his seven year old sister. When the kids left for home, I finished some necessary paperwork and filled the wood rack. Linda had been working all afternoon on our taxes, so when I suggested we go out for dinner, it didn’t take too much persuasion for her to abandon her thoughts of fixing supper. 

A couple errands on the way to dinner, and by 5:00 we were sitting at a table at one of our favorite places, the Liberty Grill in Fredonia. It was an added bonus to learn that the first Saturday of every month a small jazz group plays there for a couple hours. We sat and listened to a few numbers before leaving. On the way out, I stopped by a table. “I know you from somewhere,” I told this particular patron. A few questions and we had it nailed down. He is a deacon who works with Keryx prison ministry in Gowanda. We talked briefly, and I went looking for Linda, finding her at the bar talking with a former school principal she had worked for. He is now principal at the Catholic school in Dunkirk, surprising her with his talk of praying for the kids before school starts, and trying his best to get her to come out of retirement to work for him.

None of today’s happenings are earth-shattering or even significant except for one fact: An ordinary day was blessed by four old guys making music, and the serendipitous meeting of old friends. It is not lost on me that “old” is the key word here. Except for beginning the day with grandchildren, our day was defined by “old.” I’m coming to like “old.” Anything that lasts long enough to be old makes the cut in my book. I abhor planned obsolescence; I’m getting there fast enough without planning. Old doesn’t necessarily mean obsolete. Old means it had what it takes to last, to persevere. My friend Harry once gave me a paperweight for my desk that said, “It takes a long time to make an old friend.” It’s true, and I have been fortunate enough to have been given that kind of time. We have been blessed to live as long as we have. Linda and I simply enjoy the time we have together, talking and loving each other. Add last night’s dinner with old friends, and unexpectedly meeting others tonight brings simple blessings that enrich our lives and give us cause for thanksgiving.