MY OLD NEIGHBOR

My old neighbor died last weekend. He wasn't a very genial man, but shared a certain fondness for me. He was the kind of mentor I knew I had but never knew I needed. He had been in the force in his young days, had been transferred to several Frontline. I remember a month ago as he was narrating the incidents of his life and while doing so said to me, " FUCK WITH MORE THAN ONE WOMAN OR MAN".I laughed, but he insisted that this policy made his life better. He fell in love with a brown girl at the age of 17, spent 3 months with her, only to have to leave her to serve in some war. And the expression suddenly changed to gloom as he mentioned how she was married off the year after he left. He was a very consistent man though, even during his last days he would indulge himself in gardening and looking at magazines of beautiful women.

He had retired from the army during his 30s, met a country girl and got married to her . Although he was in between jobs for a while, first worked in a telephone company which ran out of business a few years back, then took a job as a gardener for some business tycoon. Whatever he did, he was unable to satisfy his wife and kids, so after 13 years of marriage, his wife left with the two little boys. And that's when he realized his immense love for scotch and cigar .He would tell me that everyday he would sit by the window with a book and a glass of scotch and would doze off till it was time for dinner.

 When he was in his late 40s, he decided to take up a job as a professor in some university. And once again while narrating his time there, said to me " NEVER REGRET YOUR DECISIONS, EVER". And maybe this time luck was on his way .He fell in love with Ann, a young teacher at the university who apparently could not take her eyes off of his handsome face. A small wedding took place in a church and he was so in love that he tried giving Ann everything he could only to realize after a few years that she left him for the music instructor at the school. And with his admirable grin he said, "MUSIC CONNECTS YOU WITH PEOPLE MORE THAN WORDS DO". He was a hit in his classroom of seven students and would often indulge in activities that teenagers are afraid to tell their parents. His favorite student Sam would bring him Marijuana and in his hoarse voice he would inspire him by saying, " YOU DO YOU". Together they would write stories about pirates and shipwrecks. 

One summer, he even slept with one of his female students and discovered a shared likeness for stargazing. All these stories somehow fascinated me, he was a man of pride and wisdom, he was a man who was fearless of other's judgments. Last winter, when he was diagnosed with cancer, doctors gave him 6 months at the most. He outlive those 6 months. I went to his yard one day and asked him if he thought it was a good decision for me to move out of town for college. He gave me his most handsome smile and said, "LIFE FUCKS EVERYONE, NOT EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN, SO WHY NOT PREPARE FOR THE BEST AND ENJOY THE REST" And continued while tapping on my shoulder, "I HAVEN'T SEEN A GIRL LIKE YOU, SO BE YOU, DO YOU AND BE A COMPLETE BADASS, CAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE".

Last week, the day before he passed away, he introduced me to all his students and we spent an eventful night in the Bar. While sitting and singing on the counter, he slipped a note beneath my palm. It read, " LIVE BY YOUR OWN DAMN TERMS. CAUSE YOURS A LIFE WORTH LIVING ".