Dreading It
I was absolutely dreading a 6 AM meeting with a long-standing client. I tried to get the meeting changed to a more reasonable hour, telling the owner that I needed to watch cartoons while getting dressed for work, but he didn't buy it.
So, I arrived 15 minutes early, still shaking sleep from my mind, and chugging a cup of coffee. I entered the work shop and nearly ran smack into an 85-year-old man who was helping out in the shop. There was a small space-heater at his feet, but it wasn't doing much, if you ask me. The weatherman had been calling for sub-zero temps, and I was actually scared for the old guy.
Over coffee, I watched him sort garbage out of a bucket of nails so that the guys in the crew didn't have to do it.
"It's cold out today, right?" I asked.
"It's all in the way you look at it," the old man said. "If you just dress for it, it ain't so bad."
Slowly but surely we discussed why in the hell he was awake at 5:45 AM sorting nails.
"I don't need to work anymore," he said. "But I ain't much for sitting around. I was watching the late news with my wife telling her I had to be here by five and she asked me when I was going to retire. I told her, 'Give me another ten years.' Then I shut off the news because I learned long ago that the news on at 11PM is the same news that you hear in the morning."
We both laughed.
"I've been working for 70 years now. I don't know how to quit."
"How long have you been married?" I asked.
"59 years," he answered. "And it's been great. We haven't loved each other every single minute, but we always worked at it. We raised four kids and they all did fine. We even had to bury my oldest son who died of cancer."
The man's voice trailed off. I shivered a little and slugged my coffee.
"But it's been all right," he added.
He asked me about my family and quizzed me on my marriage. "Couples today give up too easy," he said. "59 years is something I'm proud of."
I realized that I had to get into the scheduled meeting so I shook hands with Ray and told him to stay warm.
"You didn't feel like getting out of bed this morning, did you?" he asked.
"Not really," I said. "I was sort of dreading it."
"I never dread the moment when my feet hit the floor," he said.
Thanks Ray - good life, solid man - stay warm, buddy.
So, I arrived 15 minutes early, still shaking sleep from my mind, and chugging a cup of coffee. I entered the work shop and nearly ran smack into an 85-year-old man who was helping out in the shop. There was a small space-heater at his feet, but it wasn't doing much, if you ask me. The weatherman had been calling for sub-zero temps, and I was actually scared for the old guy.
Over coffee, I watched him sort garbage out of a bucket of nails so that the guys in the crew didn't have to do it.
"It's cold out today, right?" I asked.
"It's all in the way you look at it," the old man said. "If you just dress for it, it ain't so bad."
Slowly but surely we discussed why in the hell he was awake at 5:45 AM sorting nails.
"I don't need to work anymore," he said. "But I ain't much for sitting around. I was watching the late news with my wife telling her I had to be here by five and she asked me when I was going to retire. I told her, 'Give me another ten years.' Then I shut off the news because I learned long ago that the news on at 11PM is the same news that you hear in the morning."
We both laughed.
"I've been working for 70 years now. I don't know how to quit."
"How long have you been married?" I asked.
"59 years," he answered. "And it's been great. We haven't loved each other every single minute, but we always worked at it. We raised four kids and they all did fine. We even had to bury my oldest son who died of cancer."
The man's voice trailed off. I shivered a little and slugged my coffee.
"But it's been all right," he added.
He asked me about my family and quizzed me on my marriage. "Couples today give up too easy," he said. "59 years is something I'm proud of."
I realized that I had to get into the scheduled meeting so I shook hands with Ray and told him to stay warm.
"You didn't feel like getting out of bed this morning, did you?" he asked.
"Not really," I said. "I was sort of dreading it."
"I never dread the moment when my feet hit the floor," he said.
Thanks Ray - good life, solid man - stay warm, buddy.
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