24-11-2020, 11:29 PM
16270
Re: Leisurely Scribbles (part 5)
There’s no pleasing some people, especially when they’re getting on in years.
The chap across the road knocked into me today looking for the loan of a saw to cut a few overlapping branches off his tree, he said his next-door neighbour was giving him hassle about it.
I got out a good hand saw I had in the shed, he looked at it, waved his head in refusal and said.
“Ah no Jem, that’s not what I was wanting, have you not got an electric one?, me poor arms would be knackered trying to cut branches with that, then there’s me bad back to consider”
“Do you mean a chain saw Harry? because that’s all I have.” says I.
“Jesus no!, do yeh want me to do an injury to meself, them bloody things would slice you in half with the least little slip”
“Well I’m sorry Harry auld son, but that’s all I’ve got”
He went away empty handed with a puss on him like a grieving gorilla.
The old devil has a habit of not returning stuff you lend him, I always give him plenty of time to use the tools, but in the end I always have to ask him for them back “Ah it slipped me mind Jem”, he never says he’s sorry, he’s one of those idiots who thinks it’s a sign of weakness, that’s Harry for yeh, the last of the hardchaws.
I know him most of my life, we were at school together, he was a fairly happy little chap back then, but prone to fits of bad temper, but they were short lived back then.
As soon as he hit 70 he changed completely, he’s 74 now and a grumpier old shite you couldn’t meet in a days walk, I have never seen him smile since he hit pensionable age.
If you give him sympathy for his age he resents it, and if you don’t he resents it even more, how his poor missus puts up with him I’ll never know.
Why can’t folks just accept they can no longer be as fit and young as they used to be? that’s life, if you don’t want to grow old gracefully you might as well creep into a corner and die, then at least your loved ones wouldn’t have to listen to your perpetual moaning, but then again Harry has no consideration for others at all.
He nearly died at 50 when he was knocked off his bike by a lorry on the Naas Road, I remember well the time I went to visit him in hospital when he was recovering, i brought him a packet of of his favourite gingernut biscuits and two bottles of stout, he looked at one bottle and said.
“Ah Jem, you know I prefer lager”
Not a word of thanks, just a moan.
I felt like smashing the bottle over his ginger head.
Wouldn’t you think that after a serious accident like that he’d be grateful to be alive today, some people, honestly.
My wife can’t stand the sight of him, she seen him on the door monitor and wouldn’t open the door when he knocked, she came out to the shed to fetch me— the sucker, “Yer old mate is at the door Jem, you can deal with him”.
Wise woman.