Actually, I'm learning much that is new and unfamiliar these days! But I had an experience earlier this week that made me realize that though I think I don't operate in the realm of stereotypes, I really do.
The house on our new land uses gas (propane, I believe) for the water heater, stove, and heat. There's big metal ball beside the house that's a tank for the gas. I knew that. I had no idea if it was still usable, though. So I looked in the local phone book for the company that sells/delivers said gas and when I called the number listed, found to my chagrin that they don't service the area where our property is. Okay. (Why are they listed in that phone book, then? But I digress.)
After talking to a few folks I got the name of the gas company that services our area and a man's name and phone number (the "gas man"). I called, got a generic voice mail message, tried again and finally heard a real voice on the other end. A very Southern voice: low, slow, and easy. It took several attempts before we could arrange a time to meet at the property. I'd talked enough to form an opinion and told my husband that the gas man sounded like a "good old boy," meaning well-intentioned and nice, slow-moving and on his own schedule, and not very bright. Sounds like a guy who drives a gas truck, right?
I got part of it right. He's well-intentioned, nice, and is on his own schedule. The rest.... well...
As he climbed into our attic, checked the gas outlets in the various rooms, checked the stove and water heater he talked. (So far all the men who have come to help me get something going have been talkers. )
He graduated from Rutgers. When he mentioned that in passing as he told me something else, I thought he must be talking about some high school in the area that I'd not heard of. (I was still thinking good old boy....) But then he mentioned travelling and living all over the world: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, and many more. I think he mentioned every continent.
So my gas man graduated from Rutgers in NJ. He was an accountant for a major corporation until he retired in the early 1990's. Then while waiting for his wife to retire so they could fulfill her dream of travelling the U.S. he learned how to drive an 18-wheeler. Then he hired on with a big shipping firm and travelled with his wife all around the U.S. in a tractor-trailer rig for 5 years and got paid to do it. They drove only during the day and visited every place his wife had dreamed of. When they were finished they turned in the rig and flew home. He says he was retired for a year and played golf and played golf and began to suffer poor health and then some friends asked him to work for the gas company temporarily. They knew he could drive a truck. That was two years ago.
We talked for over two hours. We talked about education, the Middle East, travel, history, and his son, who was a pro football player for Denver for a couple of years until an injury. And more. Quite a fun conversaton. The whole time I was laughing silently at myself. He's a good old boy, all right, but not in the way I stereotyped him to begin with!
He stayed so long that the neighbor (who I hadn't met yet) came over on his 4-wheeler to find out if there was some problem. (I'm glad to know we have neighbors who watch our property this well!) The gas man left and the neighbor stayed to talk. But that's another story!
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