I wonder if anyone else remembers him?
posted by sooyup
on
Daily trivia,
Looking back,
Pictures of Emm
My guess would be, no-one. But talking about old friends, as I was yesterday, brought Ronnie T to mind for some reason. He was a middle-aged bachelor, and I never heard him mention family or friends outside of the workplace. To most of our fellow-workers he was a figure of fun, an inventor of pathetically implausible stories about his life, past and present. Many people would have described him as a loner and a loser, but he was a friend indeed to Emma and me in the first year of our marriage. At the back of his wallet he kept a five-pound note, which at that time amounted to two thirds of my weekly wage. Every Monday, Ronnie would slip the fiver into my overall pocket without saying a word. On Friday - payday - I would give it back. The ritual had started because, in those far-off days, we all worked “a week in hand” - i.e. we didn’t received our first week’s wages until we had worked for a fortnight. For twelve months, Ronnie T’s simple act of kindness kept the wolf from our door, and Emma and I have never forgotten it. And in case you’re wondering, the picture has little to do with the post - it’s just how Emma looked at the time.
My guess would be, no-one. But talking about old friends, as I was yesterday, brought Ronnie T to mind for some reason. He was a middle-aged bachelor, and I never heard him mention family or friends outside of the workplace. To most of our fellow-workers he was a figure of fun, an inventor of pathetically implausible stories about his life, past and present. Many people would have described him as a loner and a loser, but he was a friend indeed to Emma and me in the first year of our marriage. At the back of his wallet he kept a five-pound note, which at that time amounted to two thirds of my weekly wage. Every Monday, Ronnie would slip the fiver into my overall pocket without saying a word. On Friday - payday - I would give it back. The ritual had started because, in those far-off days, we all worked “a week in hand” - i.e. we didn’t received our first week’s wages until we had worked for a fortnight. For twelve months, Ronnie T’s simple act of kindness kept the wolf from our door, and Emma and I have never forgotten it. And in case you’re wondering, the picture has little to do with the post - it’s just how Emma looked at the time.
