Although I don't see it myself, evidently I am beginning to appear to others as if I am getting – How shall I put it? -- old. This was brought home to me the other day when I was in the checkout lane at my local supermarket buying a quart of milk. As I approached the clerk, a young woman in her twenties, looked up at me, paused a moment, and asked, “Are you a Senior?”
Somewhat confused I replied “A Senior
what?” As far as I know I haven't been a Senior anything since I
graduated from college, so I wasn't quite sure what she was getting
at.
She gave me a concerned look and said,
“On Tuesdays there is a ten percent discount for Seniors.”
“Ah,” I said. “Is it Tuesday
already?”
“Yes,” she perked, then went on
slowly and carefully, “Today is Tuesday.”
Speaking equally slowly and carefully I
replied, “So that would make tomorrow Wednesday then.”
“Right,” she said, like a
Kindergarten teacher speaking to her prize pupil. Fortunately she did
not make me name the rest of the days of the week, and pleasantly
gave me twelve cents off my milk.
A couple of weeks later it was Tuesday again so I headed over to the market for some more milk and maybe a loaf of bread. I got to the checkout where a different clerk, a young man, stood.
"I'm a Senior," I said modestly.
"And?" he inquired.
"Um, well, you know...The discount..."
"Oh, yeah. That. Well, they changed that so you don't get the discount unless you spend twenty dollars."
"Oh. Well, okay then." I handed him a five and waited for my change.
"Sorry about the discount," he said as he handed me the two dollars and thirty-seven cents. "But, you know, you don't really look old enough for the senor discount anyway."
Even though I didn't get the discount, I somehow found my self smiling for the rest of the day.
