CALL FOR MR. SENIOR DISCOUNT


I'm employed now and again to consult for organizations who need an outside point of view. The money is good, the work is short term, I get in and I get out. Working once in awhile breaks the routine of retirement.

Consulting is not like punching the clock living the routine of 9-5. I can sleep in. I used to awake at 4, be up at 5 and out the door by 5:30 a.m. Now I'm awake at 4, back to sleep by 4:15 and up at 7 or 8. I like not being a slave to the clock.

Yesterday I was scheduled to be "on the job" by 8. I was up at 5:30 and hit the shower after retrieving the two morning papers. I knew that it was going to be a different day right away when I used hairspray instead of deordorant under my arms. Gee, I thought, I really have gotten out of the habit of a daily routine.

After a glass of orange juice I was out the door. It was 6:30 a.m. and too early for an 8 o'clock appointment. It used to be a habit to eat something at Del Taco so I decided to do just that. As I walked in the door Margie, the manger of the Del Taco said, "Want the usual number 7?" Since I hadn't eaten at Del Taco for some time I was surprised that Margie remembered that I liked old number 7 that being a macho combination burrito, french fries (I could never figure why Del Taco thought that fries go with Mexican food), and a small drink.

I paid for number seven and glanced at the receipt as I walked to a booth. A senior citizen discount was been credited to my sale. Shit, I thought . . . is there no dignity in this world? I must be looking older than I think that I look. In my mind I still think I'm 18 but know I look much older. But not that older to be credited with a senior discount.

If my last name were Discount I'd ask for a first name of Senior with a Spanish twist to it. Call for Mr. Discount, Mr. Senior Discount, White Courtesy telephone please.

Getting a senior discount along with hairspray under arms was added to the list of why I should have stayed home on Thursday.

I arrived at my appointment 15 minutes early and immediately set upon the task that I was assigned to do. Five employee interviews regarding a work environment issue and 6 hours later I was pretty fried. As I left the building (Mr. Senior Discount has left the building) I took a deep breath of fresh air. Ahhhh, I thought, free again.

There was work to do when I arrived home. After writing two e-mails associated with my interviews that day, I reviewed the copious notes that I had taken from each of the five employees and began to form an opinion on what the issues were. A telephone call to the attorney I work with in these matters broke up an otherwise boring session of reading nearly illegible notes. I have horrible handwriting that even I can't read sometimes.

After clarifying several of my questions with the attorney he began to fill me in on the recent cruise he had taken with his wife in the Carribean. Must be nice, I thought. I should have followed through and become an attorney. After we hungup I added Carribean cruise to the list of reasons to stay home that day.

Late in the afternoon or early evening I met a friend for dinner. It was her birthday and our habit to get together for either mine or hers. That night it was her turn. We usually meet at a little tavern which serves steak, steak and steak for dinner. It's a unique little place, something out of the old West. You cook your own steak over an indoor grill almost like the cowboys used to do while camping out on the range. The atmosphere of the tavern is informal and relaxing.

My friend and I talked until close to eight. I started the truck and headed down the road to home. It had been a good day, the day of my first senior discount and the only time that I can remember spraying hairspray under my arms.

As I undressed for bed I noticed the hair under my arms. They kind of looked good all neatly plastered down. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to keep spraying this area of my body. What a fashion statement that would be. I walked over to my home office and took spraying underarms with hairspray off of the list.

Speaking of fashion ideas, I've been reading the Blog of someone who takes time to photograph what she wears every day. Every day. Without fail. Check it out.

www/the housewife.blogspot.net

Photographing what I wear each day could be fun. My day-to-day wardrobe is dull in comparison to what it used to be as I dressed for success. It would still be fun to make up things to wear but not really wear them. I could use some of Candace's clothing. Maybe I'll do that.

TGIF!

PS The picture is of our Christmas tree as it stands in the living room. It's still in the being decorated stage. If I sit in the living room for any amount of time to admire our tree I found that it's necessary to wear sunglasses. Looking at our tree is like looking at the sun on a hot summer's day. It's that bright.

When the neighbors pass by on their evening walk they take time to look at our tree. They walk away with the "is he nuts?!" look on their face knowing that it's December, the sun is not out because it's 7:00 p.m. but yet there's old Bob stretched out on the couch with his sunglasses on.

When you're retired, you can do these things.