He is Smarter than All of Us

February 12, 2013

Separately, Al, Vinny, Fred and Steve walked into the bagel store. This was their usual morning breakfast meeting place. Al was always there as Joey, the bagel was unlocking the door. Neither one of them slept much. The four men sat at their usual table. They never bothered going up to the register to order their meal. Joey knew what they all wanted. He brought out the usual. He made small talk with them and the other early morning risers.

Their discussion was the same every day, sports, a little politics and then they made fun of each other. They always knew George would stroll in about 15-20 minutes after they arrived. Poor thing, no one could stand him. He always sat alone. But in his mind he was the reason the world rotated on its axis.

The four guys always abused him. In private and they happen to speak very loudly in the deli. He had to know they were making fun of him. Bear in mind all of the guys with the exception of Fred were in their 50s. Fred was around 35. They were an interesting crew. All disenfranchised with the world. Some had jobs, some were retired. Some had money. Some were poor. The poor ones mismanaged their money.

But the other people often took care of them. They are loud and goofy. But have warm hearts and do a lot for many.
George strolled in. As usual he looked like a dirt bag. They all said hello. Naturally he ignored them. You see everyone tried to be nice to George. But he shooed everyone away like they were garbage. In some ways it worked. They really didn’t want to share a table with him. His odor is repulsive.

George went up to Joey and ordered his sausage, eggs, juice and coffee with extra milk. He placed his paper and books on the table and dug in. He started to read. The merry band of misfits started talking much louder. Of course, much of their conversation was in jest of George.

Fred finally wised up and said, “You know guys. We should stop being so abusive. Look at us. Some of us are married. Some of us are not. Some of us have money. The rest spent it like fools and now grub. But we put everyone else down”.
The guys took heed to what Fred was saying. They nodded their heads in agreement, while they sipped their coffee and ate their bagels. They started laughing. No one was sure why.

Fred continued, “You know, George is smarter than us. Yes, he is dirty. His social manners are for the birds. But he seems comfortable with who he is. Are we?”

Silence fell upon the boys.

“He must know we make fun of him. Let’s face it we laugh at him. We do it in front of his face. He’s not the sharpest. But he isn’t dumb. We all have problems. I’m sure he does, too. Other than his hygiene. Maybe his shooing us away and not acknowledging us is his way of dealing with them. Or maybe he is just stronger than us”.

The boys got up and walked home or to down to the subway platform. George sat and ate his meal with a smile on his face.