😁

Cville

May 12, 2022

Earlier this week, I was at a rest stop in South Carolina, taking a break from the back roads, sitting at a picnic table enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun.

A gentleman about my age was walking an elderly dog. The dog was also enjoying the sun as well as the scents left by other canines.

I made a comment about the dog walking the man which brought a smile to the man’s face. He was wearing a pair of wraparound sunglasses like Richard Petty wore; they gave him the look of authority.

He spent the next thirty minutes telling me about living in Florida, moving his 87 year old mom from Pittsburgh to live with him, falling off the wing of a C-130 and breaking his back, divorces and other failed relationships, his no good nephews and nieces. I interjected words here and there to indicate I was hearing him and offering my sympathy.

Finally he said he needed to get back to his mom who had been sitting in his car while we talked.

I have thought about that conversation over the past couple of days. No earth shattering conclusions, just a good feeling that a stronger felt comfortable talking with me.