hi,
an entertaining piece read in times of india is attached below.
hope you enjoy it.
regards.
S E N I O R S ’ WAY S
The Old Days
Arun Bhatia
Iwas hitching a ride on Highway 101 living frugally as
a student in California in 1955. I had to endure a long wait with my fist
clenched and a thumb stuck
out to indicate the request for a lift. Fords, Chevrolets, Buicks and Chryslers
whizzed past with an occasional gas-guzzling Cadillac and Lincoln Continental.
Each car sent a blast of wind in its wake. This was sunny southern California
with hardly four inches of rainfall every year, and the vehicles’ whoosh sounds
were getting to me with no one stopping to pick me up. A 1949 Chevy did stop,
finally, with a white haired gent who stuck his head out and asked, ‘‘Where to,
fella?’’ and ‘‘Hop in at the back”. As we drove on, the old couple in the front
seat continued with what was an ongoing tiff between them. Through his
dentures, the old guy sputtered and fumed about how, at the last stop at a
restaurant 45 minutes ago, his wife had forgotten her glasses on the restaurant
table. They had to drive back to fetch them.
He went on and on about her forgetfulness and
negligence. ‘‘You ought to shape up, Betty, that’s what you need to do. Shape
up.’’ And ‘‘How can you forget your own eyes back there at the dining table,
eh?’’ And ‘‘When will you ever learn, Betty, eh, when?’’ She did not answer
even once. ‘‘Isn’t it a waste of time driving 45 minutes and driving back?’’
And ‘‘We’re spending on gas, too, you know.’’ The gracious grey-haired lady
maintained a dignified silence. They had had a lifetime together and she knew
his ways, even though a total stranger like me was getting agitated about how
he was going on and on. We reached the diner where the glasses had been left.
He pulled up and parked and she quietly opened the car door to go and fetch the
forgotten item. As she was leaving, he looked a little squeamish, and said “Er
wait, Betty. Er there is a bit more.” Then he said ‘‘Betty while you are
getting your glasses, also pick up my credit card and my diary. I’d left them
on the same table as your glasses.’’ ‘‘Yes, dear,’’ she said with a smirk.
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