Years of Our Lives

Fernando posts a sign and makes a small change to his ad in the local advertiser. It reads that the Dominion will be closed one Saturday in July. Because people cannot be arsed to read things, he also mentions this fact to all the people who enter the store the Friday before and lets them know they don't have to bring the movies they rent back until Sunday.

One of them, a younger lady around the age of twenty, asks Fernando, “Why are you closing up?”

“I have a social obligation I must attend.”

“Oh, got a hot date?”

“Kind of. Class reunion.”

“Oh, cool! I can't believe it's been twenty years already for you!”

Fernando looks at the young lady. His mouth may have hung open a tad from the shock. “Actually, it's my tenth. I'm not that old.”

“Well, you own your own business.”

“And?”

“Everybody else around here who does that is old!”

The young lady speaks the absolute truth, but Fernando snaps back, “That's about the finest example of a fallacy of induction that I've ever encountered.”

The next day arrived as is usually the case and Fernando enjoyed his fourth day off of the year. Less than half his class showed up at the reunion but the ones who did proved rollicking, and it was nice speaking with some of the people whom Fernando had not seen since they huddled in a sweaty, impatient mass at their graduation ceremony held in a gymnasium that had not ever considered adhering to the rules governing convection of gases. Fernando may or may not have imbibed an assortment of alcoholic drinks of varying natures and qualities.

About eight hours after the gathering started it petered out. By ones and twos the attendees vanished to parts unknown, fissioning off to pursue their own lives and accomplishing what they deemed necessary, much as had happened a decade prior when everyone made some of the choices which led them to where they are now. Fernando was, of course, among them, for the Dominion does not police itself. It is like a newborn infant in that sense, except instead of having to clean up meconium he deals with the general public.

For instance, when he meandered back inside the Dominion's loving embrace, he saw someone had deposited a movie from Family Video in the drop box. Ah, life.