Freddogg Off The Chain

Grouchy old men And I was one of them. I’m not grouchy but not middle aged either because I have a son approaching the middle which means I am on the rim of old.
We had gathered for noontime bratwurst inside an old fish house along a tidal canal with floating docks all owned by a friend of 85 who had an air tank hooked to a diesel horn and he blew it repeatedly when happy families heading to the bay to boat threw up a bit of the bullshit wake.
I thought it was a joke until I realized everyone was bitching and I thought, “Life has been kind to use all but blessed are the chronic complainers for they shall inherit the fish house.”
One friend said he never went out on the main highway anymore because there was too much traffic and they all agreed then two other guys started talking about restaurants in Key West and I shouted “Not more rich white guys who go to stupid Key West talk! Talk about here and now don’t drift away to Margaretville and anyway Jimmy Buffet is a parrot headed sell out and so are his queer “lawyers in love” fan base. Can I get a witness?”
Then a young conch catcher docked his large wooden boat and was invited in for a bratwurst. His bulldog boat dog came along inside and tried to greet everyone but was hit which much criticism for being undisciplined and I said, ”He is a happy bull doggy living the high life and worse than a happy bulldog in your lap is an unhappy one.”
And then this hard looking woman, raw hide skin hanging all out of her clothes, on a lunch break for “soda blasting” sat down across from me and I asked, ”And what do you do here?”
“ I’m an airplane mechanic, ”she said and I responded “must be slow I’ve never seen an airplane in here” and she came back at me “I said outboard mechanic” and I asked her if she heard any good strokes lately and if she went away to boarding school to study” then recently back from the dead man began to laugh and everyone ask him why and he said, “I wouldn’t mind if the rest of you never spoke again but Fredman just makes me laugh.”
Outboard woman was joined by outboard man and they began to go off endlessly talking about how stupid each and every one of their customers were and I was befuddled that under the blue collar lurked such nastiness and disrespect for the people who paid them and needed their help.
And then talk turned to “every Mexican you see working is really a Guatemalan” because Mexicans are lazy and don’t like working.”
Finally, I asked about a mutual friend, a retired teacher from Pennsylvania, with a soft voice and great sense of humor, and I was told he was just pretty much drinking to excess then beating up his wife although occasionally a bystander just knocked him out because of his grating and obnoxious voice.
Finally after too much fun I was walking to my truck. A young man approached and said, ”Good afternoon.”
The older man next to me said, ”Don’t you wish you could walk like that. He just bounced along and right past us. Ah, sweet youth! “
I went home mildly disappointed that an afternoon with such a promise of happiness transitioned into a encounter group where feeling good had to come at the expense of those not present.

Freddogg