Fawlty Showers

Whatever Works

Talmadge and Stanley were sitting in the back when I got to the AA meeting that night.  They reminded me of the two old guys in the balcony on the Muppet Show. 

Stanley had retired early from the steel mills, just before they closed. He worked a variety of jobs until social security kicked in. After that he worked under the table into his mid-70s.

Talmadge had been a CPA. He retired on his 67^th birthday, clocking out at 12:17 p.m., precisely the time he was born. 

They met fishing from shore, yelling snarky comments at boaters slowing down in the no wake zone.  Soon they were meeting every Saturday, sharing a cooler of beer, feeding the sandwiches Talmadge’s wife had made to the ducks.

Sometimes the Universe is in sync. Both developed health problems and struggled to quit. Talmadge went to AA first and convinced his friend Stanley to try it.

They were an odd pair, the chubby, black, retired executive and the pale, rail thin, former steelworker. Fishing, drinking, and sarcasm had brought them together, but recovery had cemented their friendship.

“Whatever works,” I said to myself.

 

Today I’ll be grateful for whatever binds us together.

 

Fawlty Showers II is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at:

•             www.greenbriartraining.com 

•             https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001K8MG0S

•             https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/