Cleaning up old magazine today, sort of a Spring cleaning thing, I was about to throw out the Christmas catalog from Ll Bean. Not that I ordered anything, they just continue to send it every year and in some sort of stupid way, my justification for not taking my name off the mailing list......"it reminds me of New England." Although today is a beautiful winter day in Florida, a balmy seventy eight degrees, I 'm loving it. Yet when the frigid north winds blow across this peninsula state, the cold can be downright bone chilling. I can snuggle up with a "spot of tea", light up the pine scented Yankee Candles and thumb through the Ll Bean catalog. That's about as close as I come to enjoying cold weather things.
The last time I ordered from the catalog, a Christmas present for Johann, the Nephew.....Great! I must of let my guard down, experiencing a sensitive moment as I listened to that opinionated , greasy smelling, junkyard resident, "I don't celebrate the holidays...to expensive!" says the Scrooge like clone of a millionaire, that is wearing the most tattered dirty denim and flannel shirt, I have ever seen. After telling him it was a disgusting piece of clothing, he laughs saying, "got plenty of years left in this jacket, as long as I don't wash it!" Well maybe my decision to buy him a new shirt disguised as a Christmas present, was NOT a sensitive moment, just a good business decision based on the fact no one would sit near him! Johann seemed genuinely thrilled as I offered him the brightly wrapped present. As he reached for it, I tightened my grip on it..."it comes with stipulations!" I quickly blurted. Knowing he enjoyed a good argument, his inquisitive mind would begin to awakened with all possibilities of a myriad of questions....."why a present for me?" Johann begins his interrogation. "Don't think of it a a present, but a sound business decision," I continue, while appearing quite aloof. Just mention business and Johann's ears prick up, much like my fierce night hunter, the Owl. Mr. Bill's take on the conversation, "that boy perked up when you mentioned business, just like the old bull picking up the scent of his "girls" in the pasture!" Okey dokey, Mr. Bill, that's a visual and I am NOT liking what I am seeing at this point........Johann, sexual encounters....nope don't go there! As his grip also tightens on the package, I sense he has taken the bait, it is now time to "set the hook." In all honesty, it wasn't hard. Johann, with his cold hard miser like persona, is still very much a child. Over the years he had confided, there had been special someone in his life.........when it ended, he chose to leave California, escaping the heartbreak......yes, buried away in that skinny, tattered and dirty clothed weirdo of a we call Johann, is a HEART so sensitive, he prefers to hide it. Let a child sit next to him, speak to him, ask him about all the dumb pieces of junk that hang from his belt, Johann is in his element. Mrs. G's granddaughters loved to sit and talk with him. He amused them with his homemade calculators, two-way radios, numerous electrical gadgets and brilliant and inquisitive conversation, all tailored to their young ears. Johann, strange, ill-clad, and living in the past, although I am not sure what generation is the past for him, would of been a wonderful teacher. As a gifted pianist, Johann never was challenged much as a child, we do know he marches to the beat of a very different drum. Perhaps one he isn't aware of it either.
Yes, he does have heart, a respect for all things on God's lovely earth and is a "sucker" for a present. It was a game we played, he irritated the daylights out of me, with days I prayed he stay away, but true to his form...much like the prodigal son...he returned! He accepted my challenge...."give me your denim jacket, I will attempt to wash it.....if it comes clean, you may keep it. If not...oh well! Two things resulted from this business deal: I burned the old jacket, it was NOT going in my washing machine; Customers actually thought he looked better, they sat next to him. It didn't take him long to tire of his new found popularity. As the weather turned colder, he must of dug up his old leather coat from the dirt basement of his Uncle home. Once again seating was on the perimeter only, as Johann, the Nephew...Great, arrived looking much like Clint Eastwood in his spaghetti western movie days.
The last time I ordered from the catalog, a Christmas present for Johann, the Nephew.....Great! I must of let my guard down, experiencing a sensitive moment as I listened to that opinionated , greasy smelling, junkyard resident, "I don't celebrate the holidays...to expensive!" says the Scrooge like clone of a millionaire, that is wearing the most tattered dirty denim and flannel shirt, I have ever seen. After telling him it was a disgusting piece of clothing, he laughs saying, "got plenty of years left in this jacket, as long as I don't wash it!" Well maybe my decision to buy him a new shirt disguised as a Christmas present, was NOT a sensitive moment, just a good business decision based on the fact no one would sit near him! Johann seemed genuinely thrilled as I offered him the brightly wrapped present. As he reached for it, I tightened my grip on it..."it comes with stipulations!" I quickly blurted. Knowing he enjoyed a good argument, his inquisitive mind would begin to awakened with all possibilities of a myriad of questions....."why a present for me?" Johann begins his interrogation. "Don't think of it a a present, but a sound business decision," I continue, while appearing quite aloof. Just mention business and Johann's ears prick up, much like my fierce night hunter, the Owl. Mr. Bill's take on the conversation, "that boy perked up when you mentioned business, just like the old bull picking up the scent of his "girls" in the pasture!" Okey dokey, Mr. Bill, that's a visual and I am NOT liking what I am seeing at this point........Johann, sexual encounters....nope don't go there! As his grip also tightens on the package, I sense he has taken the bait, it is now time to "set the hook." In all honesty, it wasn't hard. Johann, with his cold hard miser like persona, is still very much a child. Over the years he had confided, there had been special someone in his life.........when it ended, he chose to leave California, escaping the heartbreak......yes, buried away in that skinny, tattered and dirty clothed weirdo of a we call Johann, is a HEART so sensitive, he prefers to hide it. Let a child sit next to him, speak to him, ask him about all the dumb pieces of junk that hang from his belt, Johann is in his element. Mrs. G's granddaughters loved to sit and talk with him. He amused them with his homemade calculators, two-way radios, numerous electrical gadgets and brilliant and inquisitive conversation, all tailored to their young ears. Johann, strange, ill-clad, and living in the past, although I am not sure what generation is the past for him, would of been a wonderful teacher. As a gifted pianist, Johann never was challenged much as a child, we do know he marches to the beat of a very different drum. Perhaps one he isn't aware of it either.
Yes, he does have heart, a respect for all things on God's lovely earth and is a "sucker" for a present. It was a game we played, he irritated the daylights out of me, with days I prayed he stay away, but true to his form...much like the prodigal son...he returned! He accepted my challenge...."give me your denim jacket, I will attempt to wash it.....if it comes clean, you may keep it. If not...oh well! Two things resulted from this business deal: I burned the old jacket, it was NOT going in my washing machine; Customers actually thought he looked better, they sat next to him. It didn't take him long to tire of his new found popularity. As the weather turned colder, he must of dug up his old leather coat from the dirt basement of his Uncle home. Once again seating was on the perimeter only, as Johann, the Nephew...Great, arrived looking much like Clint Eastwood in his spaghetti western movie days.
It was a game we played :)
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