Sunday, November 24, 2019

Something to cluck about

November 22, 2019
Bloomington, Illinois
The Downtowner

I came in from Kroger’s the other day and there were two things in the Community Room:

One of them was a feller named Tom, which is short for Tom the Guy Who Got Run Over By a Truck 11 Years Ago. The other was a bag of bagels. I went to take one bagel from the bag because I didn’t want to take them all, and it is share and share alike. Tom says, “You should take the bag.” I says “How come? I only want one or two.” He says “Those women won’t take the bag if someone else has opened it.” I says, “Well, I don’t want the whole bag.” He says “You better take the whole bag.” I says “Well, maybe I will take two, but I see that the other bagels don’t match the one I just took.” There is a pause – perhaps a pregnant one.

Then I says, “Well, my bagels need to match,” and I go through the whole bag, examining each bagel until I find another one that almost matches the pattern and size of the seeds on top of my first choice. Then I take it and put the rest of the bagels back in the bag. For a finishing touch I put one in upside-down. “There,” I says, that will give them something to cluck about!”

Later, I think, “Man, old Tom sure is scared a them women! Sheesh! He is like an old woman himself!"

At Mensa Manor, life goes on. Long after the thrill of living has gone:


No comments:

Post a Comment