Being Social
Joe E Hartley
September 2021
Bill spent the last five years of his career looking forward to the day he could retire. He looked forward to sleeping in every morning and being on a constant vacation. What he hadn't considered was the fact that all those plans took more money than he had. Spending weeks on end on some tropical island would use up a big chunk of his savings and now he could not look forward to a raise to make it up.
He had a pension, and it was almost what he made before, but not quite. He thought that he'd have fewer expenses once he retired, but the truth turned out to be there were more.
He did get to sleep in each morning and often rolled out of bed long after the sun rose for the day. He'd have a leisurely breakfast, but he now had to make sure he ate more health conscious due to his doctor's instructions. He'd then put on some casual and comfortable clothes so he could, again per his doctor's instruction, take a walk around the neighborhood.
He'd return home and wonder what else he could do the fill the time until lunch. There was always TV, but most of daytime television bored him. He only went shopping once a week, so that normally wasn't enough to keep him entertained. He learned that if he went to the mall, he'd end up spending too much money on things he didn't even want.
He's spent a month trying to find things to do that would hold his interest. He attempted to take care of a plant, but it died shortly after he got it. He tried several hobbies, but most were very expensive to start and nothing he thought of, held any interest for him. He did discover the library, filled out a form to receive a card, and even checked out a book. He read about fifty pages before he lost interest and returned the book.
He had a jigsaw puzzle laid out on a card table that had been gathering dust for the last two weeks. He finally had to admit that he was bored and concluded that retirement actually sucked.
The following Tuesday, his normal shopping day, he noticed the bulletin board had a new notice. It seems that the nearby senior center was sponsoring bingo with prizes several times a week. They also had a few other activities. His doctor had told him that it was important for people his age to stay both active and social. This might be a way for him to meet others his age. He had no idea how to play bingo, but there would be people there. It couldn't be any worse than the things he'd already tried.
Bill headed down to the senior center the next day, he figured that if nothing else it would be something to do for an hour or so instead of just sitting at home. He opened the door and saw a young woman who was obviously there to greet anyone entering.
"Hello there. I haven't seen you here before. My name is Cindy and I'm the administrator here. What's your name?"
"Hi, I'm Bill and I saw your flier at the grocery store yesterday. I'm recently retired and looking for things to do that will fill my day. I understand you have some activities here," he answered.
Cindy outlined for him all the things offered at the facility and after handing him several sheets of paper introduced him to a tableful of women. Three elderly women looked up as Cindy introduced each one. Once she left, the woman on Bill's left leaned over to him and said, "I'm so glad you stopped by. We really need a few more men here."
Bill smiled, uncertain what she meant. "I'm sorry, but my memory isn't great these days. You're Shirly, right?"
She smiled back, "That's right, and don't worry about remembering names. If you hang around long enough, and I hope you do, you'll get to know everyone."
"Why do you want more men in here? I thought clubs like this catered mostly to just women." Bill asked Shirly.
"You're right and this one is no exception. The formal activities are mostly directed to women, but we ladies have a few informal activities that require men. We can explain them to you if you're interested, and I hope you are. I think you're cute by the way," she responded in a whisper.
"I'm interested in hearing about your informal activities, because what that young woman described sounds boring to me. My doctor told me I have to be socially active and since there is nothing going on at home, I thought I'd give this a try," he responded.
"Great, after Bingo, hang around and Mary, indicating the woman seated opposite of her, and I will take you back to my place and tell you all about it. I'm sure you won't think what we have in mind is boring," she replied.
Just then the young woman, now in front of the several tables shouted out B-19, and the game started.
Two hours later and Bill questioned his decision to attend this senor center. Three of the attendees received gifts, two women and one man each received a soda can holder with the name of PTW Adult Enrichment Center printed on the side.
Bill helped to put away the chairs and started to leave when Shirly approached him. "Are you still interested in hearing about some of the other activities?"
"I'm not sure if this is for me, but thanks for the offer," he said turning away.
"What we are proposing is quite a bit different from what you saw here. I can't say anything about it here, but if you'll come over to my place, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. I'm just two blacks away and It will only take me about ten minutes to tell you about it," Shirly asked.
"Okay, I have nothing to do at home anyway. I'll listen to what you have to tell me." Bill responded.