Id love to record many of the random and unplanned conversations I have with mostly strangers. It seems they happen with a recurring frequency that is greater at this point in my life than any other previous one I can recall. This morning, I had a scheduled breakfast meeting no-show on me. He called to apologize about 15 minutes after the meeting time. No harm, no foul. Life happens. So what, I asked would You have me do now for the next hour? Im in a diner, so I saddle up to the counter, grab an empty stool, order some coffee and start perusing the menu. Stools empty all around me, I start checking my email. About five minutes later this little old man who soon tells me his name is Dennis plops down to my left and, out of nowhere, explains to me that his one year in Vietnam in 1967 revealed the meaning of life to him and that ISIS is backed by China, Russia and North Korea. Dennis tells me Obama underestimated their strength and overestimated his coalition, that we have no chance because we dont and we need to drop our bid to destroy ISIS or it will destroy us. Ive never been in a war, never been in the military, I said. Are you from Lebanon, or somewhere, Dennis asked. How long have you been in this country? I told him I was born and raised in South Louisiana and moved to California 20 years ago. I explained I know how to boil crawfish, shuck oysters, make a roux just right, that my grandfather taught me how to fish, how to hunt, and that even though Ive been to all 50 states, theres no finer place to see beautiful ladies than the Quad at LSU on a warm afternoon. I sold him on my citizenship with that foray. Over the next hour, I learned why Dennis thinks God is the best friend hes ever had, love is all that matters in this world and in eternity and the proof of this is apparent in the structure of the atom, that no one should ever go hungry because the protein in the layer of bark underneath the bark on trees doesnt taste good but is sufficient to feed the world, and that cannibis consumed in light daily doses early in the morning and late at night is natures antidote for depression, anxiety and basically all forms of human malaise. Dennis is a writer, an entrepreneur, a builder, a medic, and a psychologist, I learned over the next 20 minutes. And, Hawkeye Pierce - well, hes real. I have to go to another meeting. Hoping they show up this time.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 18:31:39 +0000
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