Small Regrets
My good friend Bob and I were out on his new fishing boat discussing current affairs and in between yankin some largemouth Bass out of the lake, Bob shared with me that he was so relieved to find out that his student loans will be forgiven. Both of us are on a fixed retirement income so I guess it’s nice to find out that one of us will have a little extra spending money every month from now on.
We got into a reflective mode conversation, you know that one moment where you regret streaking across the football field on a cold night back in 77, Bob said it was his second biggest regret. He said that in his youthful exuberance he was unaware how the crisp October Arkansas air at a football game had that kind of effect on certain parts of the body. As he was setting a hook he said that they should have never put that picture in the year book and no matter what the damn doctors say, size matters. I could tell very easily that this subject was a source of long-term internal pain for my friend so I decided to just go with the conversation at his pace.
Besides, I wasn’t quite ready to share my top ten regret list with Bob and honestly, a subject this sensitive to a man, needs somewhat of a cautionary approach. Lucky for me, he was not ready to turn over the discussion just yet. He said that the streaking incident of 77 aside, his biggest regret was investing all that money into a college degree. Now, I was never aware that Bob had a college degree and since he was a mechanic by trade, I just assumed that he had a degree in combustible engine technology or something related to that field but I was very wrong. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he told me he had a degree in Men’s 1st century leather footwear with minor in prehistoric wind instruments.
Since he failed to set the hook properly and the big one got away, the lake got eerily quiet. I found myself admiring Bob even more than I had before. I was completely unaware of the scope and scale of his intellectual depth. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask him why he didn’t find a vocation that matched his collegiate pursuits and he just said that folks back then basically wore a lot of sandals and even though he was fascinated with the footwear craftsmanship of 1 B.C., you could now get a pair of Teva’s that lasted a lot longer. He continued by clarifying his position and choices a little further by stating that even though fashion is cyclical in nature, 1st century sandals just never made their way back to the fashion runway as he expected. I could have broken the news to him that the 60’s was loaded with sandals and he had just perhaps been born in the wrong century but when Bob gets in his reflective mood, it’s best you just let him roll.
We agreed that it was all water under the bridge now, because his debts would be forgiven and he could use that 28.50 per month he had been paying down on the debt toward other, more useful things, which is how Bob ended up with a new Bass Boat.
For all you plumbers, electricians, welders, truck drivers, cashiers, utility workers and servers in all retail capacities that didn’t get a degree, didn’t get a student loan and didn’t go to college yet decided to make your way with your, sweat, hands and back- thanks for picking up Bob’s tab. You should see his new boat!