Jun22

‘okily, dokily’- ned flanders.

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not long ago

i was stuck for an unexpectedly long chunk of time

waiting to have my car repaired

(some of you may remember my tire store post from a couple of weeks ago)

i entertained myself

by reading, writing, watching things on a big screen

thinking about

the phone calls and paperwork and research

i still needed to complete

questions i hoped to have answered

now that i was officially retired.

nothing to be done about it

i’d deal with it later when i got home.

armed with a mean cup of mechanic-grade coffee

(i drink all coffee)

accepted i’d be a captive audience

to whatever happened for the next couple of hours.

in walked a quiet, unassuming man

who sat down at the table

where i was working on my computer

he began working on his

asked me how long i’d been waiting

he had a long wait ahead of him too

i shared that i had just retired

 wanted to be home lolling around

instead of sitting in an auto repair waiting room.

(first world whining on my part)

that opened the genie’s bottle

for the next 100ish minutes

 he told me

about he and his wife’s retirement last year

she was a teacher too

he was an engineer

gave me tips

answered all of my questions

told me what not to waste my time on

offered me shortcuts

suggested what not to forget

talked about life after retirement.

 after their double retirement

he decided to get social

formed a book club with his guy friends

mapped out his garden projects

set up a spread sheet system for them to keep track of things

started exercising more

i had more of that coffee…

 shared some of the things that i’d learned as a newbie.

such a sincere, humble, genuinely friendly guy

(all i could think of was ‘ned flanders’)

a character on the long-running animated tv comedy, the simpsons.

he was smiling, happy, optimistic, helpful, and so very cheery

just like ‘ned.’

i have no idea what his real name was

but we happened to be stuck waiting together

at the just the perfect time

(i wonder if he was thinking ‘marge simpson’ with regard to me)

our long waits flew by

we chatted about family, teaching, the city, the world..

 he helped me fill in so many blanks in the retirement universe

gave me confidence that i could navigate it easily

thank you, ‘ned’

sometimes you find your answers in the least expected of places.

—

“the measure of wisdom is in simplicity, humility, and in friendliness.”

-debasish mridha, m.d.

 

 

 

 

 

—

image/show credits:  the simpsons, fox broadcasting

 

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75 responses »

  4. Well you got now many ideas about what to do in retirement. It is nice to meet people and just chat, even though you don’t get to know them more, it is lovely to chat and share experiences.

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  7. That was fun! I have never had a long conversation with someone but if I feel they might like it, I may make a comment about their child or what’s wrong with their car. I guess I am a “Marge Simpson?” LOL

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  10. It is amazing what interesting people we meet when waiting. On Thursday while in the hospital waiting room I had a chat with a Dublin lady, ex-teacher, grandmother to an autistic boy and fellow cancer survivor. We had a long interesting chat about life, the universe and all the rest. I hope you are enjoying your retirement 🤗

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  14. I‘m not even surprised that ‚this‘ happened to you beth. it‘s bound to happen, again and again. because you‘re (also) one of those ppl who talk to anyone, anywhere, with no fear and no hesitation. this happens to me too – and i marvel at how so many of these ‚chance‘ encounters happen…. nowadays i‘m sure that they are no coincidences, but are meant to be. I had two of them in one week, last week… incredible but hey, they did happen!
    a great possibility for you to ‚grow‘ into retirement. lovely, lovely story, surely made you forget the mediocre coffee!

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  16. I love every little thing about this post…Ned, Marge…the “mechanic-grade” coffee and the wonderful conversation that unfold when we’re least expecting them…thank you, Beth! 🥰🥰🥰

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  17. I get approached by different people than you do. On Tuesday, the Flagger on our residential street had few cars to direct and interrupted my weeding with a non stop story of his life which included issues with medication and rage. He is a smoker with an hour and a half commute, makes $20 an hour, is six months behind on his car payments, and is a contractor rather than an employee, etc.. He did have a sense of humor. My wife wonders why I stopped weeding so soon. So many reasons, including my distaste for weeding.

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  25. a wonderful post, Beth; I chuckled all through this but bathed in its warm glow too; loved the ned flanders references and you as marge simpson :) if you get one really good post a day you are doing well, and this is it !

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  31. These, for me, are the absolute best “happenstance meetings”. Two friendly people who happen to take up a conversation whilst they wait. One could have been closed to the other, ending any potential for enlightenment. When both have no agenda but to shoot the sh*t as it were, to pass the time, it makes the wait all the more pleasant.

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