My Mom recently attended an event honoring our cousin J.Frank Raley at St. Mary’s College where they named a room after him. (Click here for link to story.)
At the dinner, Mom was unfortunate enough to be seated adjacent some old codger who lived down Cornfield Harbor and was the type of boring old guy who knew everything and thought his was the only opinion that mattered.
In addition to his snootiness however, his biggest character flaw was that he did not have much nice to say about Buzzy’s Country Store. Seems he had wandered in several years ago and had received what I call the stranger-in-a-strange land treatment: you walked into the Store, all conversation stopped, everyone checked you out and depending on Buzzy’s mood he may or may not have turned to to wait on you or even ask what you wanted.
Evidently Mr. Old Fart had had this experience the one and only time he’d ventured in and consequently had never returned. Mom tried to dismiss it by telling him “Don’t feel bad, that’s the way I used to be treated when I went in there.” To which the old guy said “Well, I do kind of like the way the flag pole was installed.”
Guess the old boy wasn’t so bad after all.
