Travelling this weekend reminded me of something you see in most rural communities---a group of senior citizens sitting in a McDonald's have coffee. My parents belong to such a club in my home town and I have seen it in many other communities. These are communities that have never seen a Starbucks or a Lakeside. The groups are a mixture of retirees from farmers to bankers. Many have known each other most of their lives and in retirement everyone is equal no matter your former job or income. McDonald's is a great equalizer. Many McDonalds even give free coffee to seniors to encourage their meetings.
Most of the world's problems get solved in these groups and the traditions of the "old days" are mourned. Being rural most of the political views follow a conservative bent and the latest ups and downs in the Republican presidential field is a hot topic. I am afraid that our President is not given much chance of re-election from this crowd. These politcal discussions are mixed with the latest pictures of grandchildren and great grandchildren and tales of how smart they are. Does any grandparent have "average" grandchildren?
My dad belongs to a breakfast group up in Vermont. It's a group of WWII vets and their sons/neighbors/friends (men only) and they meet and drive up to Canada for breakfast every Saturday. They discuss politics, trade military/WWII stories, and eat breakfast. Not at McDonald's though - some other French-Canadian breakfast diner. They even have hats. My husband became an honorary member and got his own hat and you'd think he'd won the lottery or something!
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