CALL ME SNAKE

My next-door neighbor, who’s in his 90s, told me something this weekend that suggests that guys–or at least some guys–never change, even when they’re 90. A couple of years ago, I rented my downstairs apartment to a married couple from Sri Lanka. The husband was an MIT graduate student who worked long hours, whereas his wife didn’t have that much to do. So she occasionally visited my neighbor to practice her English and give him a little company. What you might call a “win-win.”

When I visited him in the hospital the other day, he reflected on that experience–and reflected on some of the other attractive women who had rented the apartment over the years. He then told me something I hadn’t heard before. “When an attractive woman comes into your place,” he said, “you have to wonder what she has in mind.” Knowing that she was married, he decided to “let her make the first move.” I was relieved to hear that he was smart enough, and restrained enough, to do that. I was not surprised to hear that she never did make that first move.

I hope my neighbor, who’s now facing some serious health problems, recovers soon. But I hope he never loses that drive that has undoubtedly been with him since adolescence–we’re talking at least 80 years. Old habits die hard, as they say.