Gunnar Buys Pastrami

Yesterday, as I entered the vestibule of the Hy-Vee Grocery, there was an old man laying face down, flat on the floor. I knelt down and asked him what the problem was. He said he was alright, he'd just fallen and couldn't get up. He was a big old boy, but I am too.  I crouched down over him, grabbed him under the arms and tried to pick him up. After a couple of failed attempts someone from the gathering crowd took one arm and together we hoisted him upright. I was shocked by my ineptitude. A few years ago I would have just picked him up off the floor and set him down on his feet. I asked if he was alright; he rested his hand on my shoulder and said he just needed to sit down a while. The two of us sat down on a bench while I caught my breath and he waited for his wife. Both of us felt sad,  he because he had fallen, and I because I couldn't help an old man get back on his feet.  We were just two old farts sitting on a bench.