ad not met before. Phyllis and Sharon from California. Phyllis selected the seat next to me. She just celebrated her birthday yesterday. 90 YEARS OLD!! Wow! A very modern 90 years old with designer glasses. We start to question the two of them about what they have been doing. Phyllis takes the lead and before long we are hearing a running commentary on her life. Born in England in 1920, survived the war and moved to the USA in her 20s. During the war she said that at nighttime they would have to turn out all the lights in the town she lived in so the enemy wouldn’t know where to bomb. After moving to the states, she worked in a textile mill, training people to run the looms and after marriage became a housewife. Other stories filled the conversation and then she told us that her second husband had just recently died. She met Sharon, who is about the age as the rest of us at the table, and convinced her that she needed a traveling companion. Our guess is that she has financed many a trip in the past few years for the two of them. For her 80th birthday, she jumped out of an airplane. Most exhilarating thing she had ever done she told us. Since then she has done zip-lining and riding in a hot air balloon. She is sharp as a whip. And ..... she was having the best time giving us a history lesson of her life as she ate her “tippers.” Great conversationalist. Looked each one of us in the eye as she talked with us. Only thing that gave away her age were the wrinkles in her face, gnarled fingers from working on the looms, and stains on her yellowed, flowered blouse which she must have had for years and years. Hey, I have clothes that I love and have a hard time giving them up. We all finished eating and they excused themselves from the table. We just sat there staring at one another in disbelief after having one of the most interesting breakfasts on our cruise. Saw her later in the evening at the show in the theatre when they sat right behind us. And she was still going strong, and ..... had still had on the same blouse! It was an ordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photo is of me and my new friend Phyllis.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The "You're How Old? And You Did What?" Story
It was an ordinary day. Ah, another day at sea with time to kill until our next port-of-call. Carol, Just Sue, Jerry and I decided we would have breakfast in the dining room instead of the buffet this morning. Same stuff to eat, but they bring it to you instead of you walking through the feeding frenzy line. We were seated by a large porthole window with a great view of the open sea. Earlier today we had seen a large sea turtle escaping from the pull of the massive ship we are on, but couldn’t find any other mysteries of the sea since then. We were handed a menu and after ordering, sat back to enjoy watching the other passengers and commenting on how old they look in comparison to us. Our table has two empty seats and in no time are filled with passengers we had not met before. Phyllis and Sharon from California. Phyllis selected the seat next to me. She just celebrated her birthday yesterday. 90 YEARS OLD!! Wow! A very modern 90 years old with designer glasses. We start to question the two of them about what they have been doing. Phyllis takes the lead and before long we are hearing a running commentary on her life. Born in England in 1920, survived the war and moved to the USA in her 20s. During the war she said that at nighttime they would have to turn out all the lights in the town she lived in so the enemy wouldn’t know where to bomb. After moving to the states, she worked in a textile mill, training people to run the looms and after marriage became a housewife. Other stories filled the conversation and then she told us that her second husband had just recently died. She met Sharon, who is about the age as the rest of us at the table, and convinced her that she needed a traveling companion. Our guess is that she has financed many a trip in the past few years for the two of them. For her 80th birthday, she jumped out of an airplane. Most exhilarating thing she had ever done she told us. Since then she has done zip-lining and riding in a hot air balloon. She is sharp as a whip. And ..... she was having the best time giving us a history lesson of her life as she ate her “tippers.” Great conversationalist. Looked each one of us in the eye as she talked with us. Only thing that gave away her age were the wrinkles in her face, gnarled fingers from working on the looms, and stains on her yellowed, flowered blouse which she must have had for years and years. Hey, I have clothes that I love and have a hard time giving them up. We all finished eating and they excused themselves from the table. We just sat there staring at one another in disbelief after having one of the most interesting breakfasts on our cruise. Saw her later in the evening at the show in the theatre when they sat right behind us. And she was still going strong, and ..... had still had on the same blouse! It was an ordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photo is of me and my new friend Phyllis.
ad not met before. Phyllis and Sharon from California. Phyllis selected the seat next to me. She just celebrated her birthday yesterday. 90 YEARS OLD!! Wow! A very modern 90 years old with designer glasses. We start to question the two of them about what they have been doing. Phyllis takes the lead and before long we are hearing a running commentary on her life. Born in England in 1920, survived the war and moved to the USA in her 20s. During the war she said that at nighttime they would have to turn out all the lights in the town she lived in so the enemy wouldn’t know where to bomb. After moving to the states, she worked in a textile mill, training people to run the looms and after marriage became a housewife. Other stories filled the conversation and then she told us that her second husband had just recently died. She met Sharon, who is about the age as the rest of us at the table, and convinced her that she needed a traveling companion. Our guess is that she has financed many a trip in the past few years for the two of them. For her 80th birthday, she jumped out of an airplane. Most exhilarating thing she had ever done she told us. Since then she has done zip-lining and riding in a hot air balloon. She is sharp as a whip. And ..... she was having the best time giving us a history lesson of her life as she ate her “tippers.” Great conversationalist. Looked each one of us in the eye as she talked with us. Only thing that gave away her age were the wrinkles in her face, gnarled fingers from working on the looms, and stains on her yellowed, flowered blouse which she must have had for years and years. Hey, I have clothes that I love and have a hard time giving them up. We all finished eating and they excused themselves from the table. We just sat there staring at one another in disbelief after having one of the most interesting breakfasts on our cruise. Saw her later in the evening at the show in the theatre when they sat right behind us. And she was still going strong, and ..... had still had on the same blouse! It was an ordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photo is of me and my new friend Phyllis.
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