I remember my grandfather
sitting at the kitchen table
when I last visited.
Still smelling of that same cologne
the one in the blue bottle
that he has worn since before I was born.
He was reading the paper
which is odd in of itself
because no one reads the paper anymore.
And I was there with a glass of lemonade
and store-bought cookies
he had dumped on a plate.
He was the new type of bachelor
elderly, retired, and set in his ways.
He started to make conversation.
"You believe what passes for news?"
I shook my head in agreement.
"None of it new, nope, none.
You can wrap it up in fancy terms. Neocon. Liberal.
They're all politicians. They're all liars.
It's like asking which you would rather take a bite out of you:
A lion or a tiger?
People need to go back to being more self reliant."
I smiled and took a sip.
"Let me get you some more."
And he got up from the chair
walking slowly to the fridge
to get the pitcher out.
I told him not to worry about it
but he was already at the glass
filling it back up.
He sat the pitcher on the table
grabbed a cookie
and went back to the paper.
I sat quietly with my glass
grabbed a cookie
and went back to the calm.
