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JOHN AND JUJUBES
You may wonder where this story’s going but bear with me please
as I take you on a little journey from friendship to Jujubes.
We met him on one of our morning walks…soon after we retired…I’m not exactly sure what year…it was where our two walks coincided…by the water…on the pier.
He, like us, was walking early…it’s also how he began his day…
At first we only shared a smile and a Good Morning as we passed along the way.
But from those simple smiles and greetings we found a basis to build a friendship on…
Now he calls us the Happy Wanderers…and we respectfully call him John.
I’m not sure exactly when it happened…when our lives began to blend to the point where I can say with certainly…the three of us are friends.
I suppose it was when we stopped passing each other on our morning walks…
when we took the time to get to know each other…when we took the time to talk.
Now we talk about our families and our children when we pause in the early morn…
We were there to congratulate John when his great grandchildren were born.
John loves to share memories…of his family…of the crisp New England air…
and at over 80 years upon this Earth he has a host of memories to share.
We were talking together one morning…enjoying a cool October breeze…
When John’s face lit up then he asked us, “Do you remember Jujubes?”
Of course we remembered Jujubes…and John smiled as we stood there by the shore…
for when he talked about Jujubes…he wasn’t 80 any more.
He was a child at a movie theater up north…long before he retired south…
watching a movie with his friends or family…stuffing Jujubes in his mouth.
Many days later…with a flourish…but without much fanfare, pomp or fuss
John surprised us with some Jujubes…a box for each of us.
As he handed us our Jujubes he said with a twinkle and a smile…
“The best way to eat them is not to chew them but to suck on them a while.”
Which I did….all the way home a mouthful of Jujubes I was sucking on…
as I thought about how lucky we are…to have a friend like John.
