Two Old Men

by Brad Isaac on November 7, 2007

Two old men are sitting on a park bench overlooking children on a playground.

They are reminiscing about the past.

One man’s story goes like this:

“Old friend, there are many things I wish I had done.

I wish I had asked Katherine to marry me, but I was too scared. Instead I settled on Elizabeth, and you know how that ended… I still feel like i need to consult with a lawyer before I can talk to my son on the phone.

I wish I had taken better care of my health, quit smoking and exercised like I should have. But now I have to carry around this tank.

I wish I had saved more money, would it have killed me to set aside 10% of my paycheck? Now, these Social Security checks barely cover my stay – and don’t get me started on my room, it’s cramped and cold. At least i get 3 meals a day, many don’t even get that.

And I wish I had taken the leap of faith and written my book. I had a great idea for a book, but I didn’t think I had the time to write it. I do the math and if I had only written one page a day, it would have been done in a year. That’s not so bad. Now all I have is time, but I feel it’s too late.”

The other man tells his story. It goes like this:

“When I was younger, I was shy and withdrawn, but I fought that. It took time, but I did increase my confidence. Yes, you are right. Katherine was a catch – and still is. One of the best things that ever happened to me was meeting her. Turns out, after we got married she said that she felt shy too because so few men asked her out.

Working out and eating right seemed like no fun at the time. I sort of felt left out sometimes because I wasn’t a party animal. But I agree, that tank looks like a hassle. I’m sorry for that.

Money was a tough one for me too. Katherine and I went through our share of the rough patches. We chose to live in small houses that we could afford just so we could set aside some for retirement. We didn’t buy everything that caught our eyes, but we didn’t suffer either. We always heard Social Security would be busted – so I am glad you are at least getting something.

Talk about leap of faith… Remember what everyone said about me opening my car wash? Even you said i was crazy to be working so hard. It was hard, yes, but over time we were able to open new locations. it was hard work, but it was something I loved so it didn’t seem so hard. I guess I never felt you all understood that.”

The first man turns to the other and says “Well old friend, it’s getting to be about 4 o’clock the bus will be here soon. I best be going.”

The other says “Hey, you don’t have to take the bus, I’ll drive you. In fact, why don’t you come to dinner, Katherine and her friends have been taking these gourmet cooking classes. She’d love to whip up one of her fancy dishes for someone other than just me.”

“No thanks, tonight is meatloaf night. And we are gonna play cards later.”

So they went in their separate ways – on home to two different lifestyles. One living a life by his own design – the other barely scraping by.

One day, we will all be old like these two old men. The only question is, which one will you be?

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{ 5 comments }

November 8, 2007 at 10:35 pm

Not to take away from saving for a rainy day, or Planning is Good, but we have an expression in yiddish, (I’ll translate)

Men make plans, G-d laughs.

Pablo November 10, 2007 at 4:51 pm

Is scraping buy insufficient for living? Does one need to own several ‘car washes’ and such to live a nice life?
Frankly, planning for the future is a waste of time when the future never comes. Obviously, having sufficient funds for retirement is a must if you plan on retiring but to limit the present so you can expand the future isn’t worth it, in my opinion. Live in the present, die in the future.

Brad Isaac November 11, 2007 at 4:38 pm

Pablo, did you read the entire story? It’s clear that one both men did live their lives – but one knew he’d one day get old so he made decisions early on that helped when he got old.

November 12, 2007 at 10:45 pm

I love this story!! I truly believe that you create your own path and have to walk on that path. John Assaraf helped me decide to improve my life a little more. I have a nice life and have no regrets, but would love to be able to live a more comfortably and help my children achieve a happy successful life. John’s book, Having It All, has inspired me to add some stepping stones to my path and also to help my children lay their paths for their future. I feel empowered and have a better sense of myself. Thanks John. Check out this free chapter, http://www.johnassarf.com/blog/2007/10/31/your-powerful-brain/

Pablo November 13, 2007 at 6:53 pm

Brad, Yes I did read the ENTIRE story or I wouldn’t have commented.
But you misinterpret the main point of the story and my vista: only one of them actually lived their life, the other lived their life worrying about the future.
One of them chose to enjoy what they had, the youth that they held, the ample opportunities they had while the other one did not.
Yes, he did make decisions early to prolong the inevitable fact that he will die. You seem to believe that because he made decisions early, his life will be steadily happy – constant. If life is anything like that, then I would be too flabbergasted to say anything.

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