Tag Archives: friendly

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

 

May21

new sheriff in town.

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if i had to be a sheriff

i would like to be the kind

 who rescues people

who fall in the water

run out of gas

get lost

need help

love sticker badges for their kids

i would not like to be the kind

who pulled us over one summer on a lake

because we were guilty of:

dancing.

i would rather be one

who throws frisbees to people on the beach

like the one we met on the weekend

who likes music and smiling and dancing.

—

‘if time were the wicked sheriff in a horse opera,

i’d play for riding lessons and take his gun away.’

-w.h. auden

Jul19

pura vida.

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my home away from home

in the rainforest on the caribbean side

water, more water, water from the sky

crocs, orchids, trees, coconuts, mangoes, sloths, monkeys, birds

rice, beans, fish, bananas, coffee, veggies, guava, papaya,

calm

pura vida

—

The term “Pura Vida” is an expression of happiness, optimism, and living life to the fullest.  It is impossible to visit Costa Rica without hearing this phrase continuously.

As a question, it is equivalent to “how are you?” As a response, it means “very well.”

Curiously, the person does not necessarily have to be very well — the greeting arises automatically because, deep down, its meaning is: “I’m glad to see you and that makes me happy”.

it is also used to say goodbye:

it is the equivalent to saying “yes” to any question and used to say “you’re welcome” or “it’s nothing”.

regardless of the context, Pura Vida is always expressed with enthusiasm, sympathy, gratitude and motivation, because it emerges from the soul.

Pura Vida is an expression so embedded in the culture of Costa Ricans that no one would suspect that it may have arisen from a 1956 Mexican movie with the same name.  The phrase is used by the protagonist throughout the film to refer to good people and beautiful things or situations.

Ticos (people native to Costa Rica) adopted the term, morphing it to a distinct meaning yet with varied manifestations. It is now so ingrained that it is used by different generations and is part of Costa Rican mainstream culture and identity. More than just a term, it’s a lifestyle.

Jun18

smile jar.

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when dropping my car off at the dealer today

I asked about a ‘smile jar’

sitting behind the friendly customer service guy

he told me it’s kind of like a reverse swear jar

 every time someone sees him smile

 a co-worker drops $$ in his jar.

it seemed to be working

I like it. 

 

—

“show me a smile, and I’ll show you one back.”

-vanilla ice

 

 

 

 

 

—

image credit: pinterest

Jun17

neighbors.

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the neighbors stopped by to check us out

“when strangers start acting like neighbors… communities are reinvigorated.”

-ralph nader

Oct4

friendly.

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when out walking

it’s so nice to see my friendly neighbors waving hello.

makes me feel at home.

 

—

‘be nice. the world is a small town.’

-austin kleon

Oct12

ride along.

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we pulled up at the same time

right next to each other

i got out

his family got out

he stayed in

we looked at each other

i said hello to him

his mom said

he insists on

riding along

on every journey

and refuses

to get out of the car

until they all get home

once again

he just loves to ride.

—

“i’m going along for the ride. the whole ride.

all the way to the end of the line. wherever that is.”

– al pacino in “carlito’s way – 1993

Jun30

mayor.

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chris taylor atop a bit of art at ann arbor’s top of the park festival

—

i had a pleasant surprise

when i opened my front door

and standing there was

my mayor, chris taylor

he was walking around the neighborhoods

talking to people

about the upcoming primary election

we talked for a bit

and i thanked him

for all he’s done

and continues to do

for ann arbor

 when he left

and i closed the door

i thought that this is how politicians should be

just walking around talking to people in their neighborhoods.

—

“the true privilege of being mayor

is that I have the opportunity to be everyone’s neighbor.”

-thomas menino

 

Jul16

1.

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day 1

room 1

visited a pub

in a little village

filled with

friendly people

from near and far

then 

slept above it

in a tiny room

while beautiful irish music 

kept on

playing below

dancing me into sweet dreams.

—
“i’m not afraid of chaos and i’m happy talking to strangers.

i really love not knowing where I’m going.”

-fiona shaw

Sep2

a small town is a place where there’s no place to go where you shouldn’t. – burt bacharach

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spent a slow, sunny afternoon

in the pretty little town of

st. clair, michigan

right on the river

reading and writing

watching people and ships

come and go.

IMG_0897

and in the

friendly coffee shop

right across from the water

run by sue

where i sat near

a retired teacher

meeting her former student

who long ago was

a 3-year old

in her class

for the first time

after many years

with photo albums

and stories

and catching up on life

and finally she got tired

and said it was time to go

and

they hugged

going their separate ways

with a promise to meet once again

before so long.

and the high school girls

gathering around a table

excited and nervous

about the coming school year

chatting and giggling

sharing stories

 someone’s little sister

sat on her lap

having her hair braided

looking at her comic book

welcome

as part of the group

and learning from these girls

dreaming about what it will be like one day

to be a high school girl

and giggle and fret with your friends.

and the old man

 who held the door

offering to buy a ‘drink’ for two older lady friends

who were awaiting his arrival

regaling them with tales

of his days in europe

reliving them

or perhaps living them for the first time

with his retelling.

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and the young boys on the river

determined to enjoy the last days of summer

jumping in without fear and with squeals of laughter.

—–
the nice part about living in a small town

is that when you don’t know what you’re doing,

someone else does

 – immanuel kant