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I Have Been Age Shamed by Two Old Guys in Different Situations
And I appreciate their complements and wisdom
A few days ago, I had an hour and a half to fill, between dropping my dog at the vet and picking her up.
Instead of going home to the chaos of grandkids, I went to a local Tavern for an ice-cold Gin Martini. It seemed like the right thing to do on a hot, humid afternoon in Southeast Texas.
Walking into the Tavern, I grabbed the only barstool available, asking the guy sitting next to it if it was available.
He turns to me and says, “Son, you look like you need a good drink.”
He called me son. I’m almost 68. I didn’t know if I had been insulted or complimented. It turns out it was a compliment.
We struck up a conversation and talked about old man stuff; Social Security, Medicare, prostates, football, and cars.
In the conversation, he mentioned he was only 64. All I could think at the time was I was older, and he called me son. He said I didn’t look a day older than 60.
Does that give him the right to call me son?
I know; it’s a generalized statement from other parts of the country. Here in Texas, our general reference with people we don’t know is ‘Hey Buddy,’ ‘Hey There,’ or just a plain…
