Temporary Friends

I sat the other day in the “food court” of the local mall drinking a cup of coffee and watched the people go by.  The coffee was only an excuse for me.  It was the easy way of saying “Woman! I can’t keep up with you anymore.”

For several years I didn’t even make it to the food court.  Fortunately, someone felt sorry for old men like me and put benches just outside the stores.  I call them the “I give up” benches.  Every once in a while another gentleman would pause  and watch his wife  be drawn into the bright lights and loud colors of the stores then ease their way over to the bench to settle in and wait.

Its odd how two men who have never met can strike up a conversation sitting on that bench because, well because that’s what old men do. You see, there is uneasiness for two grown men to be sitting that close to each other without finding something to talk about.  It’s not that they are going to become life-long friends nor probably ever meet again. But for those few minutes, it usually is entertaining and in some cases, you learn something you didn’t know. I don’t know how many times the conversation starts with, “Hmmmmm.  Did you know that……?” and usually the answer is “Really? I didn’t know that.” And the conversation begins.

There are two subjects that are usually taboo in these conversations.  Religion and politics.  You also may want to be careful sharing your opinion either positive or negative on people walking by.  I know a guy  who made a  crude remark about the young man approaching them with the multi-colored Mohawk haircut only to find out it was the others son-in-law.  Besides those areas, everything else is pretty well open for conversation.

Then with one of the wives come out of the store it ends with “Well, it’s been nice talking to ya!  With a reply of “You too!” and we each go our separate ways.

Now, in the cell phone era, I feel ok to be sitting in the food court, knowing that the love of my life is only a push of a button away if by chance her hero needs to come save her, or carry her packages.

But by sitting there in the courtyard I now realize that I am missing out on what had become part of my weekly traditions.  So from now on, when the wife gets her urges to shop I will be there right by her side until we pass the food court. Then I’ll stop, get a cup of coffee to go and again look for some new  temporary friends.