I mostly grew up as an only child...so I often found myself hanging out with people much older than myself...parents, grandparents, and the like. I am not going to lie to you...that is, the four people who read this blog...when hanging with the grown-ups I found myself more times than not bored out of my mind...mostly due to the conversations that seemed ho hum.
But years later, I see a positive by-product of hanging out with people older than myself...Simply...I really enjoy "old" people's stories, wisdom, humor, and perspectives.
I got a chance the other day to hang out with some old people...Bill Giovannetti, Erich Roehl, Roger Simmons, and Ken Jones...these guys are decades older than me...but I love them.
We all went to Rivers for lunch...now two of the guys are authors...one of the guys is a former IBM executive...the last guy is an ex-air force dude...all of them are wise...a couple of them are wicked smart (I'll let them decide which two)...all have a lot of life experience...so the scene is set, 4 old guys with solid, "man experience" resumes, and myself, just a youngster, ready to order food from the nicest restaurant in town.
The waitress begins taking our orders...I see the item I want on the menu; when my turn comes to order I say, "I'll have the Portabella Burger. Can I get that medium rare?"
To my surprise and chagrin, time stands still as all eyes lock-in on me. Bill, the author, says to me, "You know, there isn't any meat on that, the burger is a big mushroom." I didn't know that...furthermore...I hate mushrooms...in my mind I was ordering a burger, I didn't know what portabella meant, but I knew Carl's Jr. had a burger with the word portabella in it, and I figured I was good to go...nope...instead I was red faced, being laughed at and laughing at myself...hey, can't take myself too seriously, when you are an idiot, be the idiot...won't make that mistake again...thanks to the wisdom of my four old friends...
I figure it this way...if it wasn't for their wisdom...I would have ended up with a $45 medium rare mushroom in a bun.
Okay, I have now read the whole thing, and I'm wondering how you being an ignoramus turns into a blog about me and the other guys being old? Just because we knew what Portabello means, and you get your encyclopedic knowledge from Carl's Jr. commercials doesn't make us older than you. Wiser, yes. Smarter, yes. Not as clueless, definitely. But older? I'm only 3.4 years older than you, anyway. Why, when I was your age... forget it.
Besides, everyone knows you're supposed to order your mushroom "well done" so all the pink is cooked out of it.
Bill
Your boss for now.
Posted by: Bill Giovannetti | January 08, 2009 at 08:32 AM
I stopped reading, momentarily, to comment about the "hanging out with old people" train of thought. I am going to pinch your little head off next time I see you, in Christian love.
Posted by: Bill Giovannetti | January 08, 2009 at 08:32 AM
P.S.
I hate to break it to you, but it's Portabello, with an "o".
Posted by: Bill Giovannetti | January 08, 2009 at 08:32 AM
I would have paid for lunch if I could have got a picture of your face at the mushroom revelation... oh wait, I did pay. That must make me one of the two "old" wise guys.
Posted by: Erich | January 07, 2009 at 09:34 PM
HAHAHHA!!
i think i would throw up if i had a mushroom sandwich... ugh.
Posted by: Christian Ostrom | January 07, 2009 at 02:32 PM
Oh Todd, that is too funny. Thanks for sharing your faux paux with all"4" of us. (:-)
Posted by: Kim | December 28, 2008 at 11:00 PM