The Pool Strikes Again

My day was filled with big egos, entitled attitudes, and general douchiness. Yes, that is now a word. Today was one of those days. As one of my friends so eloquently put it, a day where you can only say "WTF??!!" so many times before you just start drinking. Now, not being a big drinker, I decided to forgo the beer and resolve my bad day with a good workout and surprisingly, with a great conversation.

I worked the early shift today so I headed to the gym to wait until my aqua aerobics class started in the lap pool. With about 45 minutes to kill, I decided to take a dip in the warm pool and try to wipe the inevitable scowl off my face. There was an older gentleman and an older woman chatting on one end of the small pool. 

The woman was adorable. A former New Yorker, I swear she barely took a breath during our whole conversation! She lived in Florida for several years and had recently had a knee replacement. She and the gentleman were conversing back and forth, at a rapid pace, about exercise and injuries. In the blink of an eye, they pulled me into the conversation.

The gentleman was the kind of guy we don't come across in Wisconsin much. Also former New Yorker he reminded me of Rodney Dangerfield, he spoke with a heavy Bostonian accent and said "God Forbid" about everything. He asked me so many questions I swore he wanted to know my life history. Innocently inquisitive, I would say, rather than creepy old guy in a pool. I found out he had been a funeral director in Fond Du Lac and spoke fluent Yiddish. He appreciated my Wisconsin accent and my Polish background.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they are just able to pull information out of you without you even realizing you've given it up? Well, by the time I left the pool to start my aerobics class, they both thought it was great I was a travel nurse, argued about whether I should get married, and made attempts to give me advice. When the woman suggested I live with a man before I get married, the man rolled his eyes, raised his hand up and said, "God Forbid!" The gentleman said, "You's a beautiful girl! I mean, look at that face! You even have all your teeth! Tell me what you want and I'll find you a man to marry!" All the while, the woman never stopped talking, encouraging me to see the world while I'm young.  The best way to describe the conversation is to picture George from Seinfeld. Remember him? Now picture his parents in a warm pool. Ha!

As it turned out, they were not married, as I had suspected. They didn't even know each other. Sure argued like a married couple!

They were interesting. They were entertaining. They were lovely.

I left the pool with a smile on my face.