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FROM WHERE I SIT
by Chris Handley
Chris retired some years ago. To fill up his long days he ventures forth to shopping malls, parks, and other places where there are benches and seats and watches the world go by. And what he 'sees' will often make you laugh - and wince!
The Keno crowd are back in full force. Christmas is over and it is now time to resume ones normal mode of life, that of the observer as one watches the world go by. We exchange the usual rhetorics of souls meeting after such festive seasons with ‘good Christmas Tom?’ and reply, ‘was excellent Bill.’ Then we get down to the more urgent needs of winning a few bob on the lottery. The two benches are full. They seat four each comfortably. There’s Gary the retired airport worker who sports a fine cowboy hat with feathers. Then there is Tom a longtime employee of the railway system, who still wears the traditional North American ‘engineers’ hat. Bill has had a checkered working life, his last position was with the local municipality as a road worker. Ron and Wayne are in themselves good friends and not much is known about their background. I’m working on it. Pete, Sam, and myself make up the eight hopefuls, and between us all pleasant hours are spent almost daily having a flutter on the constant game of Keno. No big winners yet but Tom had a $200 win just before Christmas.
The crowds in the mall have dwindled yet every shop has some kind of sale on. Although it is around zero (centigrade) outside, the wanderers come into the mall wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and jeans. It always amazes me how half the population needs to bundle up and the other half dresses as if it was the middle of summer. The young teenagers are the finest example of a minimum dress code. It can be freezing outside but no way are they going to wear a jacket, and even if they do have one on it is never done up.
People are fat. After Christmas I see the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potato eaters come waddling by, accompanied by their counterparts who have over-indulged in fruit cake, mince pies, and trifle with oodles of whipped cream. Blotchy faces, pimples, a tired gait as they frump along like small elephants in pink and pale blue pants. Why do fat people wear light coloured clothes? Many will be signing on for expensive sojourns into health clubs and many will cut out cookies for a week or two. Me, I’m going to continue my McDonald’s & Keno!
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