Ralph
When I was a kid, there was an old man who lived in our neighbourhood. When I started thinking about writing this up I realised I didn't remember his name, but luckily my mom did. His name was Ralph Elkin. "Uncle Elkin", we called him.
He was American (which was somewhat rare). Wore one of those Old Guy caps, had a ubiquitous 1970s yellow Volvo station wagon.
He was a nice guy and all the kids loved him. When you'd run into him around the neighbourhood (usually when he was walking from his car to his place) he'd always ask "Are you a good boy?" and if you said yes (which, of course, you did) he'd give you a lollipop.
So, nothing super-special there. Just an old guy who liked kids and gave them candy. I suppose nowadays that might seem odd, which is a little sad, but back then it was just nice.
One day I was watching TV - and there he was. They were having a report on him.
Turns out he used to go to hospitals, visit and cheer up sick children. Just because. On the TV show they showed him talking to wounded soldiers. Funny thing is he was still going "Are you a good boy?" at them and giving them lollipops.
That's pretty much the end of the story. It doesn't have a Surprise Bad Ending (also known as a Cosby).
I originally went on a tangent over here about spirituality (or rather the lack of me having any and not needing any) which pretty much tripled the length of this post, but I don't think it's necessary. I just wanted that small story I had about Ralph Elkin to be on the Internet. I don't think that many people will see it, but it doesn't matter. It's out there, and probably will be for a long time.
(This was originally posted to my blog, but I'm actually leaving comments open here too for a change).
He was American (which was somewhat rare). Wore one of those Old Guy caps, had a ubiquitous 1970s yellow Volvo station wagon.
He was a nice guy and all the kids loved him. When you'd run into him around the neighbourhood (usually when he was walking from his car to his place) he'd always ask "Are you a good boy?" and if you said yes (which, of course, you did) he'd give you a lollipop.
So, nothing super-special there. Just an old guy who liked kids and gave them candy. I suppose nowadays that might seem odd, which is a little sad, but back then it was just nice.
One day I was watching TV - and there he was. They were having a report on him.
Turns out he used to go to hospitals, visit and cheer up sick children. Just because. On the TV show they showed him talking to wounded soldiers. Funny thing is he was still going "Are you a good boy?" at them and giving them lollipops.
That's pretty much the end of the story. It doesn't have a Surprise Bad Ending (also known as a Cosby).
I originally went on a tangent over here about spirituality (or rather the lack of me having any and not needing any) which pretty much tripled the length of this post, but I don't think it's necessary. I just wanted that small story I had about Ralph Elkin to be on the Internet. I don't think that many people will see it, but it doesn't matter. It's out there, and probably will be for a long time.
(This was originally posted to my blog, but I'm actually leaving comments open here too for a change).