To Ease the Passing of Time

In a resort in Jamaica, two old men were sitting on a bench in front of the beach. They were in their eighties. It was close to five in the afternoon in early December, and the sun had started to set on the Gulf of Mexico.

“Have you been here often?” one said.  

“Many times. And you?’ the other one said. 

“Often enough” 

“Let’s skip the usual small talk like our names, what we did for a living, where we are from and where we lived, how many kids and grandchildren we have, and that kind of stuff. I don’t have time for that anymore.” 

“Okay! I agree with you. So tell me, what was the most exciting thing you did in your life…so far?”

“It was right here in Jamaica about fifty years ago. I had sex on the beach at night with a big Jamaican girl. She was on top of me. I could see the moon and the stars in the sky, and I could feel the cool water on my feet. That was a couple of years before I met my wife.” 

“Wow, that must have been something!” 

“It was glorious! And you?”  

“Me, it was also about fifty years ago. I had found an abandoned puppy at the dump, took him home and looked after him. At first, the poor thing was so scared; it was shaking and hiding under my bed. Slowly, he started to eat and come closer and closer to me; and then one day, after maybe two or three weeks, the puppy jumped on me and started licking my face. I’ll never forget the expression in his eyes.” 

“I had a few dogs in my life. They brought me a lot of comfort and happiness. What was the best thing that ever happened to you?” 

“Winning the lottery. I was able to quit my job before I turned fifty.”    

“And the worst?”   

“Winning the lottery. I became suspicious of everybody, even of my children; and I didn’t know who my true friends were. And you?”   

“The best thing that ever happened to me was when I met my wife, and the worst thing that ever happened to me was when I lost my wife. She died five years ago. I’m here in Jamaica with my brother and my sister-in-law.”  

“I’m sorry to hear that? Do you believe in God?”  

“I don’t know. It depends on what you mean by God. Last night, I couldn’t sleep. I was sitting outside our room smoking a cigar. I was thinking about Christmas in three weeks, and I remembered what they told us when I was a child about the star that guided the shepherds to Jesus and all that stuff. And then, I looked up in the sky and I saw a star among all the other stars, and it was as if that star was my wife looking at me from above. She was telling me that she loved me, and that she was waiting for me. What about you, do you believe in God?”

“I’m a little bit like you. I don’t really know what God is, but when I first went to A.A. meetings a long time ago, they told me that God could help me with my addiction. I believed them, and now I’ve been sober for more than forty years. So, I guess, yes, I believe in God.”

“Do you have anything in your bucket list, anything that you’d like to have or do before you die?”

“I just wish I had a friend. All my friends are gone.”

“It’s the same for me, but I thought that at my age, I was way too old to make new friends. So, since we're both old and looking for a friend, let’s become friends!”

“Okay! Tell me your name, my friend!”