Old Men and I

When I took my car to the garage for an oil change and state inspection, I settled myself at a table in the lounge area and pulled out some embroidery to work on.  I had only been there a few minutes when an older gentleman came in to get his car washed.  He wandered my way and looked at me a bit hesitantly.  I smiled.  He acted like he was going to sit at the adjacent table, but then inquired whether I would mind if he sat with me.  I assured him it was fine.

Over the next 30-40 minutes, we had a pleasant chat about a wide range of subjects.  He is a widower and is obviously lonely.  He asked questions about my embroidery and informed me that he himself crochets.  It gives him something to do in the evenings when he is by himself, and there is nothing on television he wants to watch.  He lost his wife of 59 years about a year ago.  We talked about grandkids, carpentry, refinishing furniture, canoes, sewing, learning to cook, and a number of other topics.

Since he was only there to get his car washed, his vehicle was ready before mine.   One of the carwash techs came in, got him, and escorted him to his car.  A few minutes later, the carwash tech returned to the lounge laughing and came over to where I was seated.

“I almost gave you away,” he said.

I had no idea what he meant.

He continued, “I just asked that guy if he wanted me to come in here and get his wife, and he told me, ‘That’s not my wife!  She’s taken!’”

He was nearly doubled over in laughter.

I said, “Well, he was obviously lonely, and I didn’t mind talking to him, but when I get into a situation like that I find a way to drop the fact that I am married into the conversation.”

“Well,” he said, “He got the picture.”

The young carwash tech apparently found it highly amusing that a man in the vicinity of 80 years old would make an effort to get acquainted with a woman about 70 and would take note of her availability status.

I actually enjoyed spending some time with the old guy and didn’t feel as though I was being “hit on.”  I have had some experiences in which I clearly was being pursued by older men. Those situations came about because of my job.  In two such incident, I was being asked for a dinner date.  One guy took ‘no’ for an answer when he found out I was married, but the other didn’t.  He kept coming back to the booth I was manning, and when I told him I was married, he said, “Sometimes thing change.”  I couldn’t wait to get out of there, especially since he hung around and watched me pack up my car.

When I was young, I dated very little and didn’t think that men my age found me attractive.  But, old men sometimes told me what a wonderful wife I was going to make for someone.  Things changed a bit after I hit 21.  My husband did have some competition. 

I find it amusing though, when men my age are obviously wondering if I am available.  This is not something I expected to encounter as a “senior.”  My husband tells me that when he was a young man, he never expected he would someday be attracted to “an old broad.”  However, I figured the odds were in my favor on that score, as I watched him as a young man charm older ladies with his sly smile and twinkly blue eyes.

And…

It turns out that now that I am age appropriate, I like old men….especially the one with those twinkly blue eyes.