My goodness, so many fabulous things youâre all doing! Cruises, vacations, at the pool, beach rental, getting your hair done, art camp, San FranciscoâŠ..
Ok, not everyone perhaps - I also see getting ready for work, watching Bluey, cleaning the bathroomâŠ.
Me? Just got back from Happy Hour. Now you havenât lived if youâve not yet been to Happy Hour at the retirement village where you reside. Let me set the sceneâŠ.
Youâre about to turn 70 next week, and youâre one of the youngest there.
You stand in line at the bar while those in front of you try to remember their PINs for their bank cards.
Of course, even when they do remember, you still have to wait for the bar staff (fellow residents) as they try to remember how to work the computer system.
The person next to you daringly gets two bottles of beer at a time so he doesnât have to get up and walk to the bar so often. âItâs my kneesâ he tells you.
The hot topics of conversation are health and grandkids.
Uh oh, someone isnât happy - theyâve found another person is sitting in Their Chair. âNo, of course itâs okâ they say, âyou can sit anywhere, no-one reserves chairs around here. But I do usually sit thereâ. HmmmâŠ.. passive-aggressive maybe?
But wait! Whatâs this? Oohhhh - raffles!!
$1 a ticket? Woohoo, letâs splash out and get 5!
A hush descends as the raffle master takes up the microphone. âGreen ticket, on its own, number 3â.
Whoa, the person 2 seats down has won. Cheers and applause - âyay, someone in our group won!â. They collect their winnings, and proudly display their crisp $20 note. Next one wins $15, then $10, then $5. Then itâs on to the blue tickets. So many prizes, so many winners.
And now the raffles are over, and people are starting to leave - not much point in staying once the raffles are finished. They're the highlight of the evening.
After all, itâs getting late, time to go home.
âGosh yes, look itâs already 5:50pm. The bar will be closing in 10 minutes.â
And so now weâre home, happy hour is over.
I tell you, Friday night at a retirement village is hot stuff. Way too exciting!
