There were plenty of perks to being a professional lawnmower, but topping the list had to be the many opportunities it afforded me to fold up my safety glasses and tuck them in the collar of my shirt, a la Magnum, P.I. Seriously, though, there were many benefits to the job, foremost among them being the chance to talk with my clients. They were all of retirement age, which was nice, because old people tend to be more forthcoming than the rest of us.
There was "Bruce" (all names are made up), a guy apparently living behind his chiropractic office, although he didn't seem to be practicing anymore. When I initially called him, he answered the phone with a brisk "God bless America, what can I do for ya?" That worried me, being a leftist and not terribly patriotic (or, as we call it when talking about foreigners, "nationalistic" or "jingoistic").
My worries were mostly unfounded, though, because Bruce proved right neighborly in spite of our political differences. We'd usually chat after I mowed. He would bemoan the terrible state of the Union, and I would generally agree, occasionally throwing in the odd counterpoint or reason for hope. I never came out of the leftist closet with him, but I did admit my love of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which may have outed me.
He didn't care for their perspective, nor for the perspective of the mainstream media, which he considered liberal and leftist. That made me roll my eyes inwardly, since I think the MSM is often right-wing or conservative. But I suppose that's to be expected when the corporate press is so widely despised. However you self-identify, you'll identify the MSM with everything you're not.
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