Generous Old Men

I have a theory. Whenever you're out with friends, scan the area and find a middle aged guy, about mid-life crisis age, preferably sitting with his wife (you don't need a creepy old man type), preferably with a few drinks in front of him, and make friends with that guy. Sit your group close enough to him where he can hear your conversations and throw in a few interactions. Almost guaranteed, he'll either pay for your entire evening or at least buy you an appetizer or a round of drinks.

My dad is this kind of guy - one of the many reasons I love him. He's the "cool uncle" or the "cool dad." He sits with all my friends, tells stories, gives life advice, everyone laughs - it's a good time for all. Anytime he would come visit us in college, guaranteed we'd have 20+ people come to dinner.

My dad and a huge group of friends in College Station.

Those are some of the best memories of my college experience - the weekend would cost him as much as a 2 week vacation, but everyone loved it! So anyways, back to the theory.

CASE IN POINT: Last night I went down to Seal Beach to meet up with Erica and Jason and some of the guys who fly with Jason... and their girlfriends.

Erica and Jason at The Getty. (Taken with my new camera, FYI. Amazing right?)

So we meet at O'Malley's.

O'Malley's on Main in Seal Beach, CA

We're all sitting at our table enjoying our evening. This man comes up to our table (enter "generous old man") and starts chumming around. He wants us to have a wonderful time that evening, and he wants to be the cause of it. Who am I to stand in his way? So I threw out there, "are you buying?" He says absolutely without hesitation and throws down a hundred dollar bill.

Ben Franklin.

So next time you go out, remember my theory. It's all about location placement. We were near the door in the same section as he. I'm sure he and his wife spent their evening talking about old times or remembering when they were our age, or thinking of their kids, or something along those lines that produced this longing within him to be apart of our gathering. They finished their meal, were on their way out, and had to pass our table. The temptation for him (and maybe the wine) was too strong for him to resist saying something to us on the way out. His wife is standing at the door. She's light heartedly laughing and shaking her head. She loves her husband for his generosity.

And so do we.