'So you wrote about us in your blob, heh?', the sun tanned man with the cap in the grasp of his 'floatie' asked me.'Yup, sure did, ' I say. 'Right there in the ole 'blob'.'
It's 8 am and the pool at The Villages in Central Florida is already filling up. But this is a distinctly different crowd from the one Monday morning at 10. At 10 we talked about 'health care'. Who had what surgery, who was going to have what surgery, who didn't want to have what surgery, and then what pills we were all taking ( I took the 5th in that discussion).
This 8 am bunch, this conversation could easily be labeled as 'Sex in The Villages'. (Remember where you heard that just in case it becomes a Thursday night show on NBC next season). Phrases like, 'Nurse with a purse', 'What color condoms do you use?', 'You know you want me', and 'Spectacles, Testacles, Wallet, Cigar' were all overheard. It's like being a part of 'Desperate Housewives', but wearing a bathing suit and talking to your 12th grade English teacher, the one with the white hair and ruler. Actually, I think she was the one who said something about not wanting to see any of this bunch 'skinny dipping'. Apparently that's been a problem.
The real hit of the day was the picture of the garage door in one of the neighborhoods. Someone, we assume a rather upset woman, had spray painted on the white door with red paint, 'You gave me herpes, you p----!!' Gee, imagine the occupants surprise, and we assume it was a man, when he went out to get the newspaper the next day!
Why do you need to know all this? Simple. It's about vitality. The vitality of people's lives and the importance of keeping EVERYONE in mind when business and political decisions are being made. The average age in the pool on both mornings was I'd say 70 something. That's taking into account the 89 year old deaf backstroker, and me. What's often lost on business and political leaders alike is just how vital this group of 'swimmers' is. Health care, drug prices, the war in Iraq, the price of dinner, and yes, sex, all just as important to these people as they are to everyone else. Maybe in a different order, but important.
These folks don't represent what the country 'was', but rather what the country 'is'. Listen up all you CEOs and wanna be politicos.
Speaking of listening up....Did you hear the one about the two 80 year olds having sex? Seemed they timed their 'activity' to the sound of the local church bells. And the old guy would be alive today if that darn ice cream truck hadn't driven by.
Getting water logged I guess. Back to the blob.
Questions? Comments? mikeonamerica@nbcuni.com