meet george jetson

Michelle and I are regulars at a local Dunkin Donuts (there are 73 in a 5 mile radius from my house) and during our lunch break, we run into many other regulars at this specific D’n’D. There are two old bitties, two construction (or DOT, or electricians, or some service that requires bright reflective vests) workers, an assortment of older bearded men that occasionally either hang out in their vehicles or come in to share a table and a man that occasionally joins them that we call “George Jetson.” We’ve never asked his real name, but Michelle broke the ice and now we are on speaking terms. But we call him George Jetson because of this.

He told us his son/grandson bought him this vehicle for him in California for about $2,000. Possibly on EBay. I don’t remember. But he likes to show it off, especially to other old bitties. He says it rides like a real motorcycle, which back in his hay day, he used to ride frequently. Now, he rides this. And he likes to brag about how much cheaper it is than a motorcycle. When the weather is too cold or rainy, he drives a van that looks like he could possibly carry his little mobile in the back, which I doubt he does. But it makes me laugh to think he’d be out on the highway if he would suddenly need a quick getaway… Apparently it’s street legal. I see him zipping by on warm, sunny days up and down the roads. It even has a tiny little license plate too. It includes a compartment for gloves (which he wears when he’s riding) and a device to alert him when his phone is ringing. “They don’t have that for a motorcycle,” he tells us. Michelle and I joke that just like in the cartoon; he must have a button on it so it can fold up into a briefcase. But if he did that, how could anyone peep his ride in the parking lot? Especially the old bitties.

Speaking of old people, every so often, we get ambushed by what appears to be a platoon of veterans. At another D’n’D we used to frequent, they would shuffle in, grabbing any and every free table, marking them with napkins, while a few others would wait in line. But that only happens once in a while, and when I see their vans pull in, I make it known that the cavalry is here. Sometimes we’ll make room for them, and it’ll be our cue to exit to the Jetson mobile.