I won’t identify who I am about to talk about, but those of you close to me will immediately know.
It was early in the afternoon when he came into Buzzy’s Country Store. I asked him what he was doing out and about so early because he usually rolls in around 4 o’clock.
He said that he had just been to see his old friend who has recently had the Hospice folks come in. He teared up as he told me about his visit. I tried not to let him see me tear up too and pretended to clean the counter without making any more eye contact. He got a beer, sat down and just shook his head in silence.
I made some comment about my visit to see our friend the previous day. However, he either didn’t hear me or didn’t want to talk about it anymore and said nothing in response. I didn’t follow up with anymore chit chat and continued cleaning as someone else came into the Store. He got another beer and the conversation moved on.
Still, I felt like I could or should have said more to him. However, I wasn’t sure about any of it.
For most of my time behind the Buzzy counter it’s a fun experience that I enjoy. I can’t say that about this particular exchange and in fact still feel very sad about the whole thing.
Sting wrote this song to and about a dying friend.