A rainy day with no class calls for a nice ole' trip to Michaels. Michaels is one of those stores for me where I walk in, and it's like a library. I never know what section to rummage through first. So, I looked in the jewelery making section, made my way to the scrapbooking section, looked over to my left and saw a man creating a flowery Easter arrangement. Nonchalantly, yep, you couldve guessed it, I made my way to the flowers. Although I could lie and tell ya that I was paying attention to all of the beautiful flowers surrounding me, I wont. At this point, I didnt really care about the flowers, for a matter of fact, I dont really care about fake flowers in general, but for some reason, I wanted to talk to this guy! Something inside of me actually felt nervous. He looked semi-approachable, and by that, I mean of course I can go up to anyone I want, but he was working. Part of me didnt want to bother him and tell him about my project, the other part of me was thinking "aw, hell ya do, what do you have to lose? Stop fussing around, and pretending to enjoy looking at flowers you dont even know the name of. Go for it!" I mean, at worst, he could say no, and I probably wouldve just ran out of the store. No big deal! So, I grew a pair, and up to him I went.
Meet Lou. A man from the Bronx. Lou has 3 kids, Josephine who is a paralegal (which also happens to be the name of stranger #12), Jeremey who workes at Long Island Hospital as an RN, and Johnathon, the oldest, who is a dentist. Lou lost his mother, and inherited a good amount of money after her death. With the monetary gain from a few deceased relatives, he put all three of his children through college. Lou stated, "I didnt want my kids to have all of those expensive school loans. I also only pay for A' and B's. I'm strict, I'm a military man, we dont put up with nonsense. If they want to bring home C's, D's, or F's, they can pay for their own schooling!" Before retirement, Lou owned his own bridal store in Cherry Hill, NJ. He doesnt need to work, but he works part time at Michaels perfecting their flower arrangements. Lous father was Captain of the Army, and made Lou attend military school, and join the services when he was younger. He had no other choice. Lou's mother was a judge. After serving in the military, Lou moved back to NY, and went to college.
Lou, aside from putting together arrangments is also a knowledgeable scrapbooking teacher for Michaels Thursday night art class. Lou made sure to tell me, "I dont do children. My class is all adults. I have children, and two grandbabies, those days are over for me!" He also uttered that his oldest son wont have a child because they're too expensive! "I'm happy that he feels this way!" says Lou, "There is no rush, take your time!"
When I took Lou's picture, he remarked "I'm a brat service child, we dont smile!" I laughed, and added that's quite alright!"
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