26 My Friend Barry


My Friend Barry

I remember a young lad who worked beside me his name was Barry. Barry had his problems; he was slow on the uptake. What to some people seemed like a simple task took Barry a bit longer to work out? 

One day somebody made a comment about him. “Room temperature IQ, that one.” Everybody found it very funny, and before long Barry became the one who people poked fun at in order to join the crowd. Here are a few others of the things that were said about him.
                        
·                  One short of a six-pack.
·                  Bright as Alaska in December.
·                If brains were taxed, he would get a rebate.
·                 Possess the wisdom of youth and the energy of old age.
·               He is depriving some village of an idiot.

There were, of course, many more.

So, it went on. A book could have been written of all the little quips that people came up with about Barry. 

Well maybe. But I liked Barry, and I think Barry liked me. 

He was the one who always had a kind word to say to me when I met him. 

He was the one who always asked if I needed anything. Truth is if I wanted somebody to help me with anything Barry would have been the first person I would have gone to find.

He did not impose himself in any way on anybody, but he was a good person. 

It is easy to make the off the cuff remark without thinking about the consequences of the remark. 




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