Today's Trip to Home Depot

When you have a parent that's 90 years old, and has several physical problems, including bad hearing, they can be a bit problematic when you go to places like supermarkets and grocery stores. Today my dad wanted to go to Home Depot to look at drill presses.

He drove, of course. So he parked and had to walk across the parking lot to the store. That took a few minutes, then a necessary wait while he caught his breath and rested in front of the doors to Home Depot. (Yes, I offer to drive but that's just not going to happen, you see.) Then we amble into the store and look for the aisle where the drill presses are kept.

Being hard of hearing, my father sometimes talks very loudly when he speaks. He also needs you to talk loudly for the reply. And he has a habit of commenting about other people, including the overweight woman, the black family, and the indian man we passed on the way to the Ryobi display. He had comments to make along the way, including but not limited to:

• Look at that fat pig. She needs to learn how to put the fork down.
• Our neighborhood was good until the guy down the street started renting to niggers.
• Don't white people come in here?

Ok, now if you don't know him and read that you're probably thinking he's some kind of horrible bigot racist. The truth is that he is a product of his time. I was raised without hearing those comments, by the way, so he is very aware of how much damage they can do and made attempts to not inculcate his children with those attitudes. I like to think it worked. 

You have to understand he expects a reply to those comments. So I make the most bland and public-service style of reply I can make and try to make it clear to any who overhear him that YES, HE'S OLD, HE'S NOT A DANGER TO ANYONE BUT HIMSELF, etc. So far this has always worked.

Anyway, we did what we wanted to do (look at a price on a drill press), and went home. 

I went to work on the boat I've been rehabbing. Will spend the night on it tonight and see how that works.