Struggling Well With Life

I met a friend for lunch today. The same friend I meet for lunch every Tuesday, and have so for the past 15 plus years. I have lost a lot in recent years to age: my hair, my knees, my sight, and my hearing to name a few. But the one thing that is getting keener - is my sense of smell. So, here we are at the same booth we freequent every Tuesday, we sit down and I am overcome with this powerful smell. It was as if someone came into the restaurant after working on an oil rig. I asked my buddy, do you smell gas? He said no. Our food arrives, and for a few moments, while I scarffed down my spicy chicken, the smell is gone. Then it wafts in again. So, I start looking around to find the source of this odor - I was sure I would find a booth full of hungry mechanics behind me. No chance - just a sweet little old lady with a ton of powder on her face. I mention it one more time, and my friend looks at me like I am losing my mind. We get engrossed in conversation, and I try to put it out of my head. I have an incredible gag reflex, and the smell is getting to me so much that I keep swallowing deeply, and try to convince myself that it is now just something in my mind. My friend and I make a pit stop before heading back to different sides of the city, neither of our old bladders would make the trip successfully. So there we are in the men’s room, and my friend gets real serious, and looks me square in the eye and tells me that he has something to confess. For a quick minute , I have a sense of panic, almost fearful of the words to follow. Then he tells me that the smell belongs to him. He asks me to check out his new shoes. That’s what I’m smelling. He had just been to China, and he was so proud of this great deal he got on these shoes. I busted up. Good thing I just emptied my bladder, or I would have lost it right there. He asked me how much I thought he had spent on these shiny new shoes - I guessed 8 bucks, and I was right. I am back in my office, hours later, and the smell of these shoes has lingered in my nostrils. I am committed to ensuring my buddy owns a pair of shoes that leaves less of an impression. A pair of new shoes - priceless!!!!!