Ambrose and the Blind Man
Decades ago a small college
out in the boondocks
put Ambrose, a freshman,
on a Greyhound Bus to attend
a student convention in New York.
No other student wanted to go.
The college had to send someone.
On the bus Ambrose sat next
to a blind man who spent most
of the trip telling Ambrose,
a farm boy, all about women.
Ambrose listened with awe.
Everything he heard was new.
Ambrose knew little about girls
but had always liked them.
For his high school prom,
a friend set him up with a
quiet girl who needed a date.
Ambrose liked Shirley.
Back then, TV sets were small
with the picture in black and white.
“I Love Lucy” topped the charts.
It was Ambrose’s favorite show.
Back then, girls saved themselves
for marriage so most of what
the blind man told Ambrose
was breaking news to him.
So many girls, what to do?
He didn’t have money to date.
Ambrose is now a retired farmer,
the father of nine, who often reflects
on the blind man’s advice when he
sits in his rocker and wonders
after 50 years with Shirley if
the blind man was right to say:
“Son, it doesn’t matter how pretty
a woman is because every woman
has the basics any man needs.
Sample a few and find out.
Besides, you can trust me
when I tell you they all look
the same in the dark.”
Donal Mahoney
