Would you say "hello"?

[Lyn5]

Papa Deuce, I think I understand what you are saying and if it were me, yes, I would not have said hello. I would want to be friendly and loving to an old friend...but I know that sometimes your life or appearance can drag the other person down more. For example, if he just got out of a bad time with drugs, work, a divorce or problems with his children...it is hard to reply when he asks you, "How are you doing Papa Deuce?" and you are forced to respond about your family who is doing well, etc. Then you see the look of disappointment in his eyes...I hope that explains my feeling well enough, but I don't think you were being rude, I think it was more compassion.

 

[Independent]

Papa D,

Do you know for a fact that he was down and out on his luck? I mean, is this common knowledge amongst old friends? Or are you just surmising this because of his condition? Perhaps he had a ravaging disease and a kind word may have helped him along the way? Sometimes, even the person who thinks they don't want any contact with their former life, changes their mind when they find out that their old friends don't judge.

So, yes, on paper I probably would say that I would do the noble thing and go up and say hello. But in real life - maybe, maybe not.

 

[Papa Deuce]

you know how much a "not close" friend of yours' car's worth from 27 years ago?

I'm sorry but that strikes me as incredibly odd

But I realize several of your posts are sprinkled with comments about money so that must just be your style and that's ok.

LOL, whatever.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Papa D,

Do you know for a fact that he was down and out on his luck? I mean, is this common knowledge amongst old friends? Or are you just surmising this because of his condition? Perhaps he had a ravaging disease and a kind word may have helped him along the way? Sometimes, even the person who thinks they don't want any contact with their former life, changes their mind when they find out that their old friends don't judge.

So, yes, on paper I probably would say that I would do the noble thing and go up and say hello. But in real life - maybe, maybe not.

No, I do not know. I just think, that if "I" looked as bad as he looked, I belive that "I" would have wanted to be left alone. Did I do the right thing? I don't know. But it was the path I chose.

 

[disney4us2002]

No, I wouldn't have said hello unless he said hello first. I wouldn't try to avoid him but if he just passed by then I would let it go. I agree that he would probably be very embarassed to be seen looking bad if he used to be "the guy".

Funny thing about those senior hs "bests" - I think they're a curse, lol. The few I remember and saw at our 20th anniversary were FAR from their "bests" in school. The guy voted "best looking" was bald and overweight and the guy voted "best smile" had a few missing teeth in his grin. We're talking 38 yr olds. Happy to say I wasn't voted best anything!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

No, I do not know. I just think, that if "I" looked as bad as he looked, I belive that "I" would have wanted to be left alone. Did I do the right thing? I don't know. But it was the path I chose.

I don't know. It really all depends for me.

Sometimes those who are left alone...don't want to be left alone.

And those that are bothered...don't want to be bothered.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

No, I do not know. I just think, that if "I" looked as bad as he looked, I belive that "I" would have wanted to be left alone. Did I do the right thing? I don't know. But it was the path I chose.

I'm 100% with you Papa. I would have avoided him. I would have felt he would have felt embarassed/ashamed to have been seen like this. Hey, I know whenever I have an errand to run and I look not so good, I pray that I don't run into anyone I know (it never fails that I do and I am mortified!). I avoid all eye contact with people. I would have done exactly what you did.

 

[karebear1]

WOW Papa- people are all over you tonight for some reason! Makes ya just want to stop posting sometimes doesn't it?!?!?!

 

[Papa Deuce]

WOW Papa- people are all over you tonight for some reason! Makes ya just want to stop posting sometimes doesn't it?!?!?!

No, not really! Makes me want to post even more, sometimes!

The only people who really bother me are the ones who seeks out my posts just to give me a hrad time. And ya know what's funny about that? I don't even post in their threads at all. I have thick skin. I can take it.

I'm up to almost 6000 posts. If I couldn't take it I would have been outta here at 50 posts!

BTW, many, but certainly not all, people get on me because I expose myself to it all the time. I don't pretend to be perfect. I wonder how many of them think that they are?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I would have said something. Who knows? He may be having to go through chemotherapy or something. That certainly can make you look and feel like you've been to hell and back. He might have appreciated seeing and speaking to an old friend.

 

[02bBarbie]

LOL, whatever.

Whatever?

09-30-2005, 04:57 PM #7
Papa Deuce
DIS Cast Member


Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Too Close to work....west of Philly.
Posts: 5,791 whatever 15K a year entitles me to... because that is pretty much what we spend there. But then again, we almost never go grocery shopping and we buy lots of presents there.
__________________

08-18-2005, 06:00 PM #1
Papa Deuce
DIS Cast Member


Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Too Close to work....west of Philly.
Posts: 5,791 I love Costco $171.73 much!

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Yeah.... just got my Costco rewards member refund for being an executive member....

You pay $60 more to be an executive member.... net rewards... $111.73

I love Costco!

02-13-2005, 11:17 AM #1
Papa Deuce
DIS Cast Member


Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Too Close to work....west of Philly.
Posts: 5,791 My wife just spent $27,000 on Alec Baldwin...

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On Friday I went out and bought a brand new car, my first ever brand new car. Anyway, on that same day, we had a bunch of contractors come over to give estimates on different items.

We had gone to the Philly home show in January and were looking for custom closets, a hot tub, and deck companies.

OK, back to Friday. I'm about ready to leave to pick up the car when the contractor for one of the deck companies comes over. This guy is the SPITTING IMAGE of Alec Baldwin, and he sounds like him too. So much so that I was kinda creeped out.

Anyway, we had budgeted about 12 - 15K for a replacement deck made out of TREX, a nice deck, but not a tremendous deck. So I said hello to the guy, listened a few minutes, and went to pick up the new car.

When I get home, there is a signed contract for a new deck... really fancy, with a built in hot tub.... $27,000!!!!!!!!!

I hope he was "worth" it!

01-13-2005, 01:15 PM #1
Papa Deuce
DIS Cast Member


Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Too Close to work....west of Philly.
Posts: 5,791 Another reason I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Costco.

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I bought a combo DVD / VCR at Costco about 6 months ago. I was palnning to give it to somebody as a present for Christmas. Well, they moved away before I could give it to them.

Anyway, I opened it yesterday to make sure it worked and it didn't. So I went looking all around for the receipt and I could not find it.

I brought it back to Costco, thinking that they would give me a hard time. I had my arguments all ready.... member for 8 years, spend $10,000 a year there, I also belong to BJs and Sam's...... ( I could be taking that 10K a year to them instead of Costco ).

Well, absolutely no problems at all. And a "thank you" when they returned my money ( though it was a Costco gift card, which was fine with me ).

I love Costco.

(note, back in January you were a 10K a year at Costco man....in September it moves up to 15K)

You can whatever me all you want, but denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just pointing out an obvious fact. You like to talk about $$$ in your posts. It's not good, it's not bad, it just is what it is

 

[nwdisgal]

Sure I would have said hello.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Whatever?









(note, back in January you were a 10K a year at Costco man....in September it moves up to 15K)

You can whatever me all you want, but denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just pointing out an obvious fact. You like to talk about $$$ in your posts. It's not good, it's not bad, it just is what it is

Yeah, whatever. I may talk about money, but I am not about money. I really don't think about it. Yeah, whatever. I'm pretty darn happy with the inner me. I know quite well what I am about. Thanks for doing all that research.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I would have said something. Who knows? He may be having to go through chemotherapy or something. That certainly can make you look and feel like you've been to hell and back. He might have appreciated seeing and speaking to an old friend.

That's a good point, with that said though, having had a brother who went through radical radiation/chemo treatments, I know the last thing he wanted were people approaching him (the rare occasions when he felt well enought to be out in public) when he was in treatment and feeling & looking like death, especially people who he had not seen/talked to in years. Just my experience with that type of situation. I know everyone's different.

 

[arminnie]

I guess I don't "get" you, or you me, based on this and Dawn's post.

Happy? Not at all. I was sad. And if my guess was right, and it was just a guess, I believe from my rememberance of him, that he would have been embarassed to be seen looking like that. We aren't talking about a bad day.

I admit, I would have felt uncomfortable talking to him. I imagine it might have been much worse for him.

I had a similar situation. A woman I'd been friends with in the teen years. We were cheerleaders together starting in middle school and were best friends.

She was adorable, very popular and pretty, an only child with very comfortable older parents (I was very poor), had a bright red new convertible, etc, etc. Sometime in high school she dropped me as a friend because some guy she liked asked me out instead of her (and I didn't even go out with him).

When I moved back to Arkansas 35 years later, I heard from others what a hard life she's had. Even my late mother who was the nicest person and never said anything bad about anyone said something to the effect that "she looks like she's had some very hard times."

I just couldn't go to the place that she worked. It was a pretty hard scrapple job, no way anyone would be doing it unless they were really hard up.

She'd had a really good job as a radiology technician, so it wasn't that she'd never had an opportunity. I don't know if it was drugs or alcohol in addition to a few poor marital choices that did her in.

Even though she'd been most unkind to me in our last encounters, I just couldn't bear to do something that might seem like I was rubbing her face in her failure with my success. And yes she knew of my success from others so it's not like I could hide it.

It is just so sad. I don't like to see ruined lives.

 

[02bBarbie]

All that research? Not really hard to do a search. I'm also a Costco fan and obviously your posts stick out a lot in my head.

FWIW, I probably would have said hello to the guy. Personally, if I were him, I'd feel worse if I saw someone who I knew ignoring me. We don't know if he's ill or living in his 1978 15K car, but a simple hello is never wrong in my book

 

[kidshop]

...... a simple hello is never wrong in my book

This is how I feel about the subject. You don't have to say anything but "hi!" and give a smile. Saying hello doesn't mean both of you are going to go over the details of the last 20 years...it's just acknowledging someone you know. If you are uncomfortable, you can just say, "good to see you, but I've gotta run..."

 

[Papa Deuce]

This is how I feel about the subject. You don't have to say anything but "hi!" and give a smile. Saying hello doesn't mean both of you are going to go over the details of the last 20 years...it's just acknowledging someone you know. If you are uncomfortable, you can just say, "good to see you, but I've gotta run..."

I don't feel that this is really true in my case. I couldn't see a friend ( well, one time friend ) that I haven't seen in 20 years without feeling the need to at least spend a few moments catching up. If you could, more power to you.

 

[disney4us2002]

Maybe it's just me but I'm finding the fact that someone who desires to be "Barbie" is calling out PD for referencing his spending habits in posts!!!

This place is a hoot sometimes!

 

[micki7337]

I would have said hello or at the very least smiled at him. A smile warms the heart and if he smiled back and recognized you then he obviously would have been up for the discussion.

I smile and say hello to most people I come into contact. My kids are always asking me if I know that guy or who was the lady I was talking to. And I always say, "it doesn't cost us anything to be nice to others."

So if your paths should cross again, give him a warm smile and a nod. If nothing else, an unfamiliar stranger acknowledged him and smiled.