My Thoughts

My Thoughts
insider

Insider is shy. That’s his nature. He’s not a leader but not a follower. The old guy’s just an observer. One of his favorite things to observe is random pieces of paper on the ground. He likes to see what’s going on around him. Sometimes these shards are to-do lists and other junk, but every once in a while it will be a receipt from a purchase at a store or a withdraw from a bank or maybe even a love letter. Last week he hit the jackpot. While at the bank cashing his social security check, he watched as a young man dropped his receipt leaving the teller. After checking to make sure he was long gone, he carefully examined it. The young-timer had withdrawn $3,500. On another receipt it showed his balance being $26. Insider has to wonder where the man was going with his riches and how it was going to be spent. Surely it was not walking around money and not going to be used for some sort of payment for services or goods. Insider will never know but it seemed a bit odd to withdraw all that cash all at one time. Later in the day, while picking up some whole milk and white bread at the grocery store, he found another receipt. It was from the same grocery store and revealed someone paid cash for 26 gallons of chocolate milk, totaling well over $120. Who needs that much sweet milk?

A birthday was recently observed around the homestead. It was not Insider’s or his best friend’s. The numbers are way too high to ever celebrate adding on another figure. It was the dog’s. She turned 10 years old. The old girl does not get around as swiftly as she once did and rarely gets excited like she used to. Now when the old guy returns home, there is no wagging tail, no charging at the door, no whimpering in excitement and no panicking in anticipation. She just rolls over on the couch of her choice and spreads her legs for a good scratch and pat. After a couple hours and fully rested, she eventually comes over and put her nose under Insider’s hand. That’s the universal sign for a treat. The tail does wag a bit then and her one good eye becomes a little bigger with hope. Insider will give her a milk bone or two and then she quietly retreats off to a new couch and hunkers down for another nap. Life is simple for her, and she seems happy and content, but Insider can’t help but wonder whether she thinks getting old sucks, too.