After I retired, my younger sister encouraged me to expand my social contacts socally in the Dayton area. Eventually I looked around and discovered a men’s group called the Prime Timers and decided to go to one of their functions. I discovered that among other activities, they got together at a local restaurant on Thursday evenings for dinner. So, one Thursday, they were eating at a Chinese restaurant called North China and I went. I arrived early and sat on a bar stool near the door waiting for the group to arrive. Many people arrived but no one asked me if I was there for the Prime Timers and I just sat there waiting.
Eventually it got to be 10 minutes after they were supposed to meet and I got discouraged. So I stood up to leave. At that point, the restaurant manager stopped me and asked me if I was with the men’s group. I said, “Yes.” He then took me around the corner to the small room where the Prime Timers were gathered. I was stunned to see so many men stuffed around two tables in this small room. I hadn’t thought that that many men had come in through the front door of the restaurant. They shuffled around and made a place for me. I introduced myself to the group and they went around the table introducing themselves.
I was overwhelmed and couldn’t remember any faces or names except one man introduced himself as “Bob, spelled the same way forwards and backwards.” He was the first person I remembered. I don’t remember much from that first dinner. For example, I do not remember what I ate but I do remember the friendship. That memory has lasted with me over the years.
