March 29, 2021. Madison, Mississippi. Gaither Warfield.

This old couple were unusual. One of the best parts of being a real estate agent is the people you meet and Gaither and his wife were one of those memorable people that I would never have met if I had not been a real estate agent. I was referred to them by a young man who was also my client. The first time I met them at their house I knew they were unusual, even before they spoke. The kitchen had recently been renovated which for folks in their 80s was unusual. The more I got to know them the more unusual they became. They told me one part of their system for getting old. After they retired and moved back to Bethesda, ther friends kept dying. They realized that at that rate, they would have no friends. Normally they made friends at work but they were no longer working. Once they turned 80, they decided to try to make two new friends each year.. And their system worked for them. After we had been working together, they announced to me with great glee, that they had both decided that I was a new friend that year. So I was told that after we had completed our transactions, I was still going to be a friend. They would invite me in for tea and to meet their daughter when she visited. They were dear old people and I liked them very much. We stayed friends until they died. Since I turned 80, I have adopted their system. Last year my new friends were Carrie and Brooks. One of my 2021 new friends is Mi Hyang. The year before were two friends from my BSF group, Charlene and Dana. So I am doing well. And I am grateful for Gaither and his wife for the idea.