All the lonely people ...

This morning I previewed a house that one of my buyers might be interested in seeing. The seller stayed at the house while I was there and gave me a tour. When we got to the kitchen, she gestured to a life-sized mannequin who/that was sitting at the table and told me, "That's Charlie. He enjoys this view."

I did a double-take to make sure he wasn't a real person. He wasn't. He was a 6-foot-tall stuffed doll. I kind of laughed (what was I supposed to say?) and then she added, "He doesn't talk much, but he's good company." She was serious and it was so sad! My mind went straight to Wilson in "Castaway."

Later she told me today is her 86th birthday. I don't mind the idea of getting old, in fact I plan to do that eventually, but I would hate to be old and alone.