John and Bill

John Quinlan is one of my favorite people among the residents at the retirement home where I live.  He has a wry sense of humor.  Every Wednesday he does a program on “current events” which consists in talking about amusing and ridiculous things he read about on the internet. 

John was drafted during the Korean War.  His type of personality did not adapt well to the discipline of military life.  Private Quinlan was assigned to serve officers in the mess hall.  He hates all officers. 

Yet every morning he has, sitting beside him at breakfast, Bill Pyle, who was a career Air Force officer with the rank of major. 

Bill is also an amusing fellow, full of enthusiasm for life.  That’s an important in a place like this, where many of the people are coping with various illnesses and whose main objective seems to be to die and go to Heaven.  Some of them are rather dismal companions.   It is a joy to have among us someone who is cheerful and enthusiastic.  

Bill is self-confident.  Again, an admirable characteristic.  He enjoys classical music.  One evening he gave me a lift to a concert by the Garland Symphony.  Afterwards he headed east when he should have driven south.  He explained he avoided driving on busy streets.  After goine east for almost a mile, he then he circled due west.

He drove west to Galloway Avenue.  What he did not seem to realize was that Galloway is not a north-south street.  It runs from northwest to southeast.  He headed west when his destination was southeast.  In the Air Force his job was in procurement; he was never a pilot 

I asked, “Do you have a map?”

“Yes,” he said, “right there in the pocket next to me.” 

He must never have looked at it.  To get home we drove in a circle over half of Dallas County, taking 45 minutes, while a direct route would have taken about 20. 

Bill was an officer.  A civilian like me can not tell him anything.  For once I sat quietly and said nothing.  I was grateful that, because of Bill, I was able to hear beautiful music that evening. 

The world is made up of many varieties of people.  It frustrates me that so many people are ignorant – good people who do not know that they are ignorant.  I struggle to accept people the way they are.  I can not change them.  I know that.   But sometimes I feel like Bryan, hanging on the cross and singing, “Look on the Bright Side.”