I was driving into the parking lot for my doctor’s appointment this morning, and for some odd reason it seemed that everyone getting out of their car, and there were several people doing so, were all older men with gray hair.
And even though this was a parking lot for a large office complex filled with many different types of businesses, I guessed that we were all going to the same place.
And it was at that moment that I had an epiphany – I was one of them.
I was one of those older guys with gray hair, and we were all going to the same place – the urologist.
When I got to the elevator there were two guys waiting to take it, two guys with gray hair. When we got on the elevator, there was no need to ask which floor we were going to, we all seemed to know that we were going to the same place.
When we all walked into the urologist’s office at the same time, I looked around and there were close to a dozen other guys already there, all older guys with, you guessed it, gray hair.
As I checked in with the receptionist, I wondered if she even noticed it any more, the fact that virtually every patient who must come through that door has a certain “look”.
Fortunately, this was a just a follow-up from a previous visit, a visit I was much more nervous about. I’m sure the clientele at the time of my previous visit also had “the look”, but my nerves back then probably gave me tunnel vision, so I didn’t even notice it.
This particular doctor’s office seems quite well run, and I was finished with my appointment in less than 10 minutes.
As I rode the elevator back down (strangely enough with a young woman this time; no idea where she came from) I had another epiphany.
It had taken me 60 years, but I had finally found my tribe.
60-something year old men who’ve got the phone number of a urologist on their smartphone. I just hope it’s a club that has lots of 30-year members.
And by the way, if you’re looking to start a business, I think a diner right across the street from this office complex could be a gold mine, especially if it offered senior specials and free newspapers.
Borden's Blather 
Great post Jim. I can so relate
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Thanks, David!
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Great post Jim. Funny how we can look up one day and discover we belong to a group we didn’t expect to – yet. Thanks for the chuckle.
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Thanks, Patrick. It reminds me of that Groucho Marx line – “I don’t care to belong to any club that would have someone like me as a member”.
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Ha! Ha! Does anyone even say that anymore? Anyway, I just heard a joke that relates to your story. A woman needs to visit the dentist and a friend gives her a recommendation. She thinks the last name is the same as someone she went to school with and so she books an appointment. When the dentist comes in she realizes he’s too old to have been in her class, but they start chatting and eventually she says, “I think you might have in my class in high school” to which he replies, “Oh really, which class did you teach?” 😄
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Thanks for sharing – love it!
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