Old International Grunter

There is this old, harmless, international man who likes to smoke outside his balcony who lives across my courtyard. He often sits there quietly smoking or sometimes I pass him while he is getting in/out of his car.

A couple of months ago, I decided to say hello (after-all he is my neighbor) and he just ignored me. Oh well, maybe he didn’t see …no big deal. So then the next time I saw him, I waived hello again. His reply…nothing! What is his problem? How difficult is it to acknowledge someone or just say hello back?

Time after time, every time I saw him, I made it a point to waive or say hello. Time after time, he just ignores me. I’d hate to admit it, but it became an obsession. I was determined to keep saying hello until I get a response. After maybe a month of attempts, the grumpy old international man finally acknowledges my hello and responded with a grunt. Lol! Yes a grunt! A grunt was better that nothing and at that point, I was ok with that. I figured people like their space.

Imagine how shocked I was when I saw him at my gym. He was dressed in those old red cotton sweatpants and matching sweater that you would find in a swap meet. He had a towel wrapped around his neck and wearing a pair of sun glasses inside the gym (classic). It was adorable because you know he simply did not care about his appearance. The best part – while I was running on the treadmill, he purposely came about 10 feet of me, stood there and stared at me. I looked at him and he waived hello! Shocked and a little bit confused, I waived back! How wonderful! Out of all the places and with all the people, my grumpy old international grunter FINALLY waived hello! I couldn’t help but think - victory is mine! Lol! And get this; he did the same thing before he left the gym! How cute!

I felt so good, he definitely made my day! I guess persistence do pay off!

Amazed,
Millie

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