"Plastic. One word; plastic." Remember the beginning of the 60's movie, "The Graduate"? Dustin Hoffman's character is counseled by a family friend to pursue a career in plastics. If you know the story, he doesn't follow the advice because he gets distracted. He is stalked by what we now refer to as a "cougar". It becomes a wild-life story.
We were up in Duluth over the 4th and stayed at a lakefront hotel. In the evening we sat on the patio enjoying the view and cool shade. People were friendly and we visited with a couple from Wisconsin. Another older gentlemen joined the conversation. He wore a beret and dressed in red, white and blue. He told us he would be singing at the symphony concert in the waterfront park. The beret guy was not shy about asking questions and connected with the other gentleman when he discovered they were both Navy Viet Nam Vets. The conversation proceeded between the two of them. The rest of us faded away. This gent's braggadocio was not appealing. He lost me when he commented about the inexpensive entertainment in Bangkok. It was not hard to catch his drift. Everyone else on the patio was quiet. We have had a boa-wearing former governor who bragged like that and it did not go down well in Minnesota. Then he questioned the Wisconsin man about his trade. They both had been in the building trades and used to spray polyurethane. The beret guy emphatically said he could not tolerate polyurethane and even the word made him sick. A moment of quiet was answered by a guy sitting alone at another table who had not been part of the conversation. He said, "Polyurethane". Everyone laughed and then another voice joined his saying, "polyurethane". I don't know if the guy got the hint but it was a great moment. Most of us laughed. I wonder if he really sang at that concert.
We were up in Duluth over the 4th and stayed at a lakefront hotel. In the evening we sat on the patio enjoying the view and cool shade. People were friendly and we visited with a couple from Wisconsin. Another older gentlemen joined the conversation. He wore a beret and dressed in red, white and blue. He told us he would be singing at the symphony concert in the waterfront park. The beret guy was not shy about asking questions and connected with the other gentleman when he discovered they were both Navy Viet Nam Vets. The conversation proceeded between the two of them. The rest of us faded away. This gent's braggadocio was not appealing. He lost me when he commented about the inexpensive entertainment in Bangkok. It was not hard to catch his drift. Everyone else on the patio was quiet. We have had a boa-wearing former governor who bragged like that and it did not go down well in Minnesota. Then he questioned the Wisconsin man about his trade. They both had been in the building trades and used to spray polyurethane. The beret guy emphatically said he could not tolerate polyurethane and even the word made him sick. A moment of quiet was answered by a guy sitting alone at another table who had not been part of the conversation. He said, "Polyurethane". Everyone laughed and then another voice joined his saying, "polyurethane". I don't know if the guy got the hint but it was a great moment. Most of us laughed. I wonder if he really sang at that concert.
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