As time goes by

"Do you remember?"
Frequently — no!
I stand (or sit) trying to drag up the word, or message, from my cranial filing system, but no use, it is firmly embedded in a deep bog of a lifetime's events. Then lo and behold, the hidden gem pops up like a sort bog(y) man from another age that can be prodded and dissected at will.

We meet other elderly people in the street, at the local 'genteel' superstore (Booths), or frequently in the cafe's along the 'pensioner trail'. (Have you noticed the 'grey-headed league' who seem to have little else to do but slurp tea and munch cake most afternoons — in cafes noted for 'good value'? We oldies were brought up to be generous but thrifty with it!) It is inevitable that we will know some of those we meet in such establishments. A smile of recognition from a cafe's customer and the brain's retrieval system is put to work.
"Hello, how are you?" (Thinks — I know that face, the voice is familiar, but who the devil is he?")
"Well, you know…."
And so the conversation goes on at length. Eventually we find a table and sit down.
"Who were you talking to?"
"No idea. But his face is familiar."
Some time later… hours… days… weeks, a name is suddenly remembered. But where was it we saw him?

There are other places we can add to the 'pensioner trail' now — chemists, doctors' surgeries, clinics and hospitals. But the places that give us most joy is meeting up on footpaths and country trails. There we get a good mix of hellos from old and young alike.

"Who was that?" A fellow traveller on life's journey! We all need to communicate with others. Who knows? A cheery 'hello' may brighten up another's day, as well as our own.