Tuesday, August 15, 2006

old people moments

I don't know what it is but I have been having these moments where I have been observing elderly people doing whatever they are doing. First the man with his soundless violin playing, then this woman with her twittering Mozart pink cell phone and today an elderly couple.

I was getting my lunch (I stupidly forgot the leftovers from the Chinese feast the Rubin clan had last night) and there was this couple in front of me squinting at the menu and bickering amongst themselves. They flipflopped their decisions and pointed at things and loudly exclaimed that they would take the wrap and this salad not that salad. They were either deaf, American or both. They seemed so discombobulated and wrapped in their own world. The saleslady tried nicely to tell them to go to the cash once but they obviously didn't hear and upon a second louder and more eyecontact filled attempt got the couple to the cash. The lady and I exchanged smiles as if we both knew that senility was to blame, we seemed to love these old people regardless. They were dressed sort of tacky and were a bit liver-spotted. The man seemed outraged or amazed, I couldn't tell, that the price of a wrap two salads and two coffees was 9 dollars. Judging from the 5 in his hand, I think he might have only deemed the meal worth 5 bucks. Having paid the woman when to stake out a chair and yelled to the man to join her, at which point he yelled her way that he was waiting for the wrap. They were off to eat. After their 9 dollar meal they ambled discombobulatedly (i think that word was made for them) off into the Montreal downtown. I was fascinated.

1 comment:

Purple Pebbles said...

That was like the most amazing anecdote ever. I loved it. Especially the line about using American as a synonym for obnoxioux-loud-people -that was funny ;) miss you... coming home in a week! love you--