Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Think again!

Two elderly men sat side by side on a park bench. After some time had passed the shorter of the two turned to face the taller one. "Excuse me, sir," he said by way of gaining the other man's attention. "You and I have sat on this same bench, in this same park at the same time for over a month and yet we haven't formally introduced ourselves."

"I was just thinking the same thing," he responded with a smile. "My name is Sam and you are?"

Beaming he said, "My name is Max. Pleasure to meet you."

"Well, Max what brings you here each day?"

"I lost my wife about a month ago."

"Wow...small world," Sam replied. "And I lost my lady friend about the same time."

Immediately they felt like kindred spirits as they exchanged stories about their lives spent with the women they had loved and lost. "And now after forty years of marriage, I'm all alone," moaned Max.

"I know the feeling." Sam agreed. "I was with my lady love for thirty years."

"If I'm not being too personal. How come you guys never married?"

"Well...I wanted to but she refused each and every proposal I gave her."

"Really?"

"Yep," said Sam. "And on top of that I didn't mention this but we never shared a house."

"That is a little uncommon," Max concurred.

"Believe it or not, I only saw her on Thursday and Saturday nights."

"How come?" Max inquired.

"I'm a little ashamed to say," Sam said sheepishly.

"Ah...go head, I won't judge." Max was fully intrigued and couldn't wait to hear more.

"She was married to some loser that left her alone every Thursday and Saturaday night to play cards with his friends."

"What some guys will do," said Max. "I mean I played poker with the guys twice a week, but at least I spent time with my wife."

"You were a lucky man," said Sam. " At least you had a chance to marry the woman you loved."

Max felt sorry for Sam. "Hey pal...we might be old but as long as you're breathing healthy air there's still time to love again."

"Maybe you're right. Any way Max I won't be here tomorrow. I'm going to place flowers on my lady love's grave."

"I'm doing the same thing," Max said. "See you day after tomorrow."

The next day as Max approached his wife's gravesite, he noticed a familar figure standing over his wife's plot. Slowly the figure turned around. It was Sam. Max looked down and noticed the fresh flowers in the vase where he normally placed his own flowers. "Sam...what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I told you I was coming to place flowers at my lady love's grave," he answered wiping tears from his eyes.

"You're standing over my wife's grave."

"No I'm standing over my lady love's grave," he corrected. "See the nameplate says, Sarah Mitchell, my lady love's name."

"My wife's name was Sarah Mitchell and I'm Max Mitchell."

"What nights did you play poker?"

"Thursday and Saturaday."

The moral....next time you're sitting on a park bench and think you don't have anything in common with the person sitting next to you....think again!

No comments: