We have known him ever since we began living at Nuevo Vallarta. He owns several restaurants just down the street from us and we would always see him and talk to him whenever we went to eat. We spoke of him as "the old man" because we did not know his name. He was friendly. And he did like to talk so our questions to him would be answered. As he moved here from Toronto 20 years ago, he gave us lots of information about the area. We felt that he was a friend as he always greeted us with great fervor and we saw him every week.
The old man is of Italian descent and speaks English with an Italian accent. Every day, he visits all his restaurant. I have no idea what he does but I know he eats dinner at The Riviera Grill. He certainly does not work in these restaurants. One son still runs a restaurant in Toronto and two sons manage places here.
Once, many years ago. Ken and I were having tea on the other side of the canal. The little place was almost hidden under a balcony. He spotted us and came over to say that we have become natives, to know about this place. We just laughed.
Today, we four went to The Riviera Grill for a late lunch. Where we were dining, the old man came into the restaurant, then came over to say hello. And he brought over a big papaya to take home. He was delighted to see us. While we were talking, the topic of age came up and he told us that he was getting old as he was 76. I was shocked as I had always thought he was well over 85. We told him that all of us at the table was older than him. Being gracious, he would not believe us but eventually he congratulated us all. We will continue to call him "The Old Man", but only behind his back.
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