Everyday now in the afternoon sometime I take my bike down to get the mail. I bike past the houses on my cul-de-sac and up onto the main road and then back again. Almost everyday I hear a "hello" coming from one of the neighbors I had yet to meet other than wave a friendly hello as I biked by.
Well, two days ago, I finally stopped to meet this friendly neighbor. It seems he likes to sit on his front porch and keep an eye on things. He's a black man I would estimate to be in his late 60's or thereabouts. I know he has a wife but she doesn't seem as friendly or that is my impression thus far of her.
We chatted for a bit. He told me he has six children and 17 grandchildren and can't remember how many great-grandchildren. He seemed like a jolly happy soul with a deep belly laugh.
Then he started, and I knew we were far apart in many ways, more than just color, age and sex. He started in about the war after I told him I had a son in the AF. The minute he started complaining, I knew. I knew we weren't going to be on the same page. When he told me next he was voting for "the woman" my feeling was confirmed. He loves Hillary.
I told him we'd have to agree to disagree and that I was currently looking at Huckabee. "Who?" he asked. He had never even heard of him. Hmmmmmm that figures. How can you be informed and not know who Huckabee is? Granted I would have understood if it were a few months ago, but hey, there's no excuse now.
So as I stood there, one leg on the ground and the other over the bar of my bike, he went on to give me his two cents in politics. I didn't debate him. I just listened and repeated that we'd have to agree to disagree and that I still liked him anyhow. I said this after he said he didn't like the Republicans. Hmmmmmm I didn't say that about the Dems. But hey, we all have our likes and dislikes. I just kind of laughed him off telling him we can still be friendly anyhow.
He then went on to tell me how he had worked and since retired from the Federal Reserve in DC and listed all the famous people he met during his time there. As he was listing them I noticed they were liberals. Barbara Walters I remember was one name he threw out. He had his picture taken with Greenspan speaking fondly of his job back in DC seeming to miss it.
Throughout the conversation he kept telling me how good I looked for my age. I didn't ask him how old he thought I was. He noticed my biking and running past his home and said he couldn't do much because both his knees were bad and he was never going to even think about walking around any golf courses.
Then he went on to say how he was not going to get one of those foolish golf carts. He is never going to play golf so why bother? I informed him that he didn't have to play golf since they are the mode of transportation around here. They get like 60 mpg and were good for the environment. I thought the liberals especially were concerned about this stuff?
I didn't tell him we were currently planning our new golf cart picking out colors and accessories. No way.
"Nope" he said. "I've got my Cadillac and I don't need one of those damn golf carts." Hmmmmmm somehow he didn't seem so jolly anymore. I kind of joked that it's a good thing his house doesn't include a golf cart garage. "It's got one" he said. "My caddy's parked in it."
So this neighbor I can see I have NOTHING in common with. I tried to make pleasant conversation to finish, and as I got ready to push off with my bike I thought about the neighbors I'd met this past week and can see this is going to be one interesting neighborhood.