Mike taps his fingers on the table.It is a nervous habit that he is not even remotely aware of “How long have you been here.” Giving a gesture feigning as though he was a prisoner in chains Sal responds. “Almost seven months, my kids thought I needed a safe environment. The precipitating event was  I was never much of a cook, but one day I forgot that I had started something on the stove. I went out shopping, stopped at Starbucks and while reading the New York Times heard one fire engine after another whiz by on eighth avenue. when I returned my Condo was on fire and there were fire trucks around the entire building.. The pot exploded and did significant damage to the kitchen. The curtains caught fire,  but fortunately most of the damage was in the kitchen and foyer. Despite this the Condo board though I was an arsonist and notified me and my children that it woud be best for all if I found a new living environment. Well, that is my saga what misdeed brought you to our hallowed haven.

I had an accident on the Palisades Parkway and it was the tipping point for my kids especially my daughter. While driving in broad daylight I went off the road and hit a

tree. on the Palisades Parkway. The damn tree had the whole world to grow in, but it had to grow right in front of my grill. Pretty much totaled the car. I made up a bullshit story about a deer running in front of me but neither the cops nor my kids bought it. The kids had been after me for a while to give up the car, and find a place that I would like and be safe. I guess the old reflexes aren’t what they used to be. I can’t see worth a shit distance wise.?” Nodding in agreement because Sal totally understood Mike’s situation. “We’re you living alone?”

Taking off his glasses there was a pause and Mike appeared to wipe a tear from his eye.“Yeah Arlene died three years ago after a long bout with cancer.”Sal recollected that Irish beauty who was not only gorgeous but also a person of exeptional  kindness and warmth “Sorry to hear that, she was the most beautiful girl in our graduating class from high school.”“She wasn’t only beautiful Sal she was a terrific person. How about you? I heard somewhere along the way that you were married…” “Yeah Helen and I were married for thirty six years. She was an emergency room physician. One night she was treating a patient and just keeled over. She had a brain aneurysm and died the next day.”Ironic no matter how many times he made that simple statement it still jarred him emotionally.

Mike could feel that like him Sal had not been able to move past his wife’s death. “You sound as lost as me.  I still find it hard to believe that she‘s gone. Every once in a while I find myself dialing my home number to talk to her, and then I realize again that she’s dead.”, “Boy I get that. I always thought that it would be me that would die first .I was twelve years older than Helen. I guess I lived with the myth that the age difference would allow me to skip the pain of her dying first.”

Starting to feel tears in his eyes Mike makes an attempt at humor to soften the feelings that the conversation has surfaced.: “My God you don’t look a day over ninety. Do you sleep in formaldehyde?” “You always were a smart ass. If I remember correctly you are six months older than me.”

The banter about age allows Mike an opportunity to get out one of his pet political peeves. “Don’t say that out loud Sal or the Obama death panels will come after me. The best way to cut the cost of health care is to start eliminating the elderly. When you sign up for Medicare they put you on the list.” Sal raises his hands toward the ceiling in a gesture of total confusion. “Oh God I’ve been cursed to spend my waning days with a right wing nut.”Mike senses the beginning of political parrying and immediately responds “Don’t tell me that you are one of those bleeding heart liberals. It’s people like you that elected this disaster. The only good thing about being a senior citizen is that I won’t be around to see the damage Obama will wreak on our future This deal with Iran is probably the biggest foreign policy give away ever.You had better get a prayer rug because he is so fucking weak that the terrorists are taking over the entire middle east.”

Sal is now filly engaged and immediately shoots back.”Well I have to tell you that after eight years of dip shit Bush, it’s refreshing to listen to a president that can complete a full sentence. If brains were dynamite Bush couldn’t blow the ass off a flea.”Leaning closer toward Sal the two are almost face to face in a confrontational posture. “At least Bush was a citizen, Obama should be recalled because he has not proven that he is a bona fide American citizen:” “I see that you have the full blown insanity. Do you really believe that bullshit?’: “If it’s bullshit why can’t we see the documentation that proves he is a citizen? The guy is suspect at every level, and I’m not even sure that he isn’t a Muslim. Hell, check out his middle name;. Hussein.”Attempting to insert humor Sal questions “Yeah my middle name is Joseph, do you think that I’m the Virgin Mary’s husband?Mike these charges are the result of a fringe group that find fault with every single thing he does.”

Fully engaged Mike starts to barrage Sal with data. “Yeah, just like your so called fringe group did with Bush.Their behavior was unpatriotic and did nothing to support our troops. Obama is dismantlingeverything that we knew and loved as kids.” ‘Like what?As if a file has been opened Mike responds with chapter and verse. “The government is going to control everything in our lives. Christ he owns the banks, the car companies, and he hasn’t done shit about the illegal immigrants. I’ll bet that he grants them all immunity. Fortunately Donald Trump has the balls to deport them. There is a great deal of righteous anger and Trump has the guts to voice what a lot of us are feeling.Not only that Obama hasn’t done a damn thing to defeat Issis.Trump won’t be a pussy like Obama”Trump? Are you shitting me the guy is a total loose cannon who has alienated every group except the pissed off white people in our age group.The latest insanity is that he has resurrected that train wreck Sarah Palin.The solution for the way to stop Trump is to give him an enema and then bury him in a shoe box This may come as a shock to you Mike but your grandparents did not come here from Iowa, they came from Ireland: “