Just a little background about me. I started a blog a few days ago called My Place....for plant lovers only. I created that blog to talk about each of my indoor house plants that I dearly love. I also have a few blogs on bodybuilding.com called amrn65 and another diva123 to discuss my other interest which is fitness, nutrition, and bodybuilding. I decided to create this blog to reflect on cool things that happen to me on a daily basis...and just to talk about anything I want to talk about.
Today I am going to talk about yesterday.
I ran into Borders book store at the Westfield Mall in Toledo to find some cool books on indoor plants. I found 3 books that caught my fancy, so I found a table to sit down at to check out the books. The table looked as if it had been recently occupied by some rude people who chose not throw away their napkins or coffee cups....but just in case those people were planning to come back I did not move anything. About 1 minute after I sat down the gentleman approached the table. I was in the midst of checking out one of my books when I briefly glanced at him. He said something to me that I did not hear...so I assumed he was asking me if someone was sitting at the table. I gestured...go ahead sit down. The seat is open...I think.
Funny what brief first impressions run into my head. I barely looked at this man and my first snap impression was that he was kinda abrupt and intrusive. I looked at him briefly again and smiled politely. I told him that I think the table is open, I just sat down myself and this stuff was here. He put his book down and said, well I am going to move this stuff in 5 minutes if nobody shows up. One minute later he says...I am going to move this stuff now. Lol....so my first impression in my opinion was correct. He is abrupt. Then I thought, this man must hate clutter...he is one of those must have everything in place kind of dudes. Yep, I was forming an impression of this stranger who sat down at "my" table...lol. I helped him pick up the stuff and I threw away an empty coffee cup. We both sat down and I started looking at my book and he opened a big text book full of math problems. Yes, I glanced to see what he was reading and then formed more opinions about this man in my mind...lol. I figured he must be going back to school. Poor guy, going back to school at this time in life because the economy is so bad. He is probably jobless like many and looking for an avenue to escape being jobless. So in less than five minutes, I had an impression about this guy and his life...lol.
Silently, I looked at my book and he opened his text, took some paper out and slowly started looking at a problem. I looked briefly through all 3 books and quickly decided that I did not want one of the books and put it aside. I briefly looked at the 2 books that caught my interest. First I briefly poured through the pages of a book by Jack Kramer title Complete Houseplants. The first thing that caught my attention in the book is that it had pictures of several houseplants that I have. I have another similar book at home that did not feature some of my plants...so this book is in! I looked at all the pictures with delight and the broad categories of the page. Then I turned the book over to check out the price...$19.99...ok...it's a keeper. It took me 10 minutes to make that decision. Then I peaked at the other book by Brian Capon called Botany for Gardeners. I read the back of the book and the last sentence in the paragraph states from plant anatomy to basic genetics, this marvelous nook explains the science of plants in plain language anyone can understand. The author has a PhD in Botany....SOLD! I scanned the table of contents and decided I will buy this book. Looked at the price..$19.95...ok.
I briefly glanced at the stranger at the table, smiled and told him he could have the entire table to himself to study. He pleasantly smiled and stated..awww I was enjoying your company. For a brief minute I thought...what???? What have I done for you to enjoy my company? I stated, I remember having to study that kind of stuff some time back. He politely asked, really. What did you study. I hesitated for a second trying to decide where to start, and he keyed in on my hesitation and sensitively stated....if you don't mind telling me. I smiled and stated that I am a nurse, and have my Masters in Health Care Administration and that I remember my stats classes...which reminded me of what it looked like you were studying.
He smiled and told me he was a tutor at Washtenaw College. I smiled and told him my daughter is looking to attend that college. He smiled and said alot of great things about the college and I told him she was interested in Nursing. He stated as you know, there is a waiting list in that program. I stated, yes, I know....I used to teach nursing and there is a waiting list because there are not enough nursing instructors. I then went on to explain the reasons behind the nursing instructor shortage. We then began a wonderful conversation. This is what I learned about this wonderful stranger. He is 72 years old, but does not look a day over 60. He married a woman born and raised in Nurnberg Germany and he has been married I think 42 years. They met in the states and married a little over 4 months later. What made him fall head over heels over this lady was the day he went to pick her up for the date. She greeted him with a big smile, boldly put her arm around his and pulled him forward to wherever they were going. I could see the love in his eyes as he remeniesed about that day. He has 2 sons...a 45 year old and a 42 year old. He is retired. He was a social worker. he has his masters in social work. He retired and started tutoring math...which is a passion for him. John is his name and he lives in Michigan. His wife and he often go to the mall where she drops him off at the book store while she shops. John does math problems while she shops. He loves it. He told me that he always wanted to be an engineer, but was not confident enough to pursue it. I learned that John was a man who was very driven and loved to learn and teach. He tutors 2 days a week at Washtenaw college. He has 3 grandchildren from one son. The other son is married without children. John also plays the accordion and loves classical music and blues and boogy woogy jams.
John learned alot about me too. We have alot in common and had a great time. We learned all of this in about 45 minutes....oblivious to our surroundings, just learning about each other...no longer strangers. My son called me, who was waiting patiently for me in the car with his girlfriend. So I had to go. I was hoping to meet his lovely wife, and I told him so.
I know where John spends some of his time at...I may look him up someday and let him know the wonderful time I had and the beautiful last impression he left on me.
