Exiting Planet Fitness, I headed over to Stop & Shop walking with an upbeat stride to the tunes circulating through my ears via my Beats headphones.
Near the store entrance was a man reclining on a motorized shopping cart waiting for a MeVa bus. We exchanged smiles, and within seconds of passing by, I heard through the music: “You’re an idiot!”
I stopped, lowered the headphones, and then was summarily summoned for the grave danger I was putting myself into for distracting one of my key senses while haphazardly navigating through an environment fraught with peril.
J.B. gave me an earful of pedestrian violations, accusing me of willful self-endangerment and wanton disregard for the safety of others.
He was concerned that there were too many distractions nowadays causing people to “fall into themselves,” becoming marginalized from the outside world, cocooned in their own artificial and virtual devices.
I didn’t quite agree with the gist of his sermon that simultaneously walking and listening to music through headphones was an invitation for catastrophe. No rebuttal necessary. But something in his unhinged and emotional admonition piqued my curiosity.
I sensed a power in his convictions, eloquence in his choice of words, all channeled via a focused and amicable gaze. No sooner had J.B. finished reprimanding me when he delved into his life story — a ‘64 Andover High School graduate, played center linebacker for Dick Collins, had a teammate that went on to play for the Cleveland Browns after fumbling his initial attempt at college, the work ethic he learned from some of Andover’s greatest like Wil Hixon, Dick Bourdelais, and Teddy Boudreau.
I didn’t get a word into the conversation, listening got my message across. I was interested in what J.B. had to say, his searing perception, how he gifted me with facets of his worldview forged from experiences that had apparently taken a toll on his body but not his spirit.
J.B. is an avid Trump supporter sporting a lucid perspective on where he’s done well for the country and where he hasn’t. He eventually figured out who I was and gracefully chided me for my unfavorable opinions and critiques of the president that appear in The Eagle-Tribune.
He also said he had considered writing to me before and our impromptu chat moved that up a notch on the realm of possibilities.
Yea, the citation for hazardous walking was extreme, even rude, but what followed was civil discourse between individuals of distinct political POVs who put aside their differences and opened up to sharing small kernels of personal experience and large philosophical principles lurking in the welter of events.
After a quick handshake, J.B. hopped on the MeVa bus; I was left feeling energized. I got a taste of what face-to-face democracy is all about — mutual respect — the willingness to listen, disagree peacefully, follow shared rules, and recognize the dignity and rights of others.
Dr. William Kolbe, an Andover resident, is a retired high school and college teacher and former Peace Corps volunteer in Tonga and El Salvador. He can be reached at bila.kolbe9@gmail.com.