The Old Man

       I rode home on a shuttle last night, and was planning on spending the entire time sleeping since I wouldn't get home till late.  Fate kindly intervened. 
       I've never met anyone who spoke SO much. I had no idea that there were people with whom I could connect so well, while having so little in common.  He was in his 70s, married, a grandfather, a retired tradesman, and yet he shared my passion for literature and knowledge.  He spends his time listening to NPR (National Public Radio) with his wife, Susan, and reading as many classic pieces of literature and articles on 'general knowledge' as he can.  I had forgotten what it felt like to converse with someone.  Not just chat or talk about boys and school, or get together to complain about life.  We discussed things and mused and pondered.  It was the longest 2 hours of my life, but I know I'll never forget those amazing 2 hours. :)  I don't even know his name.  I remember he got cold easily, and wore a funny little yellow beanie. And that he had a soft white beard that looked like snow resting on his chin.  When he spoke, his voice wobbled and he raised his shoulders to his ears.
       One thing I'll NEVER be able to forget is his example of getting to know someone.  I used to think I was pretty good at getting to know people until last night.  In the middle of discussing "Bleak House" by Dickens and talking about the quality of life itself, he finishes his thought, takes a breath, asks a question, and stares, waiting for me to amaze him.  The question?  "What are your hopes?  What do you dream?"  :)  Wow.  What a magnificent question.  It felt so good to use intellectually rich language.  I don't think I said the word "like" more than once the entire time, and never out of literary context.  I'd forgotten that I had an expansive vocabulary beyond "Cool!" "Awesome.." and "No way?!". 
        I keep getting asked this same question:  "Why are you here at USU?  Why are you attending college?  What do you want to get out of this experience?"  I'd forgotten, and would recycle answers I'd heard before, thinking of the negative motivations pushing me through school: GPA, future career/salary, stability, less stress down the road.  But speaking to him reminded me of why I love going to school.  Knowledge.  Not prestige, or money, or anything temporal and superficial.  Knowledge; a passion for thinking and learning.  I can't believe I forgot.  He made me think, and contemplate, and evaluate.  I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him for what he gave me in a simply complex 2 hour conversation.  And it all ended with a shy thank you for keeping him awake, an awkward pat on the shoulder and a kind word of good luck.  My hope for my future is that when I'm old, and gray, I'll be the woman calling a man like him at 9:30, making sure he's ok, recounting the stories he missed on the radio.  That I'll be as intellectually stimulated as he is, wether I'm a professor or simple tradesman.  And that I'll have as high of a quality of life as he does.  I'm profoundly humbled, and grateful for experiencing a human being like him. :)