What Ever Happen To Horace Greenly???

I had almost forgotten about Horace Greenly and that's sad. Although I have never spoken to him, I have watched him and wondered. You see, Horace is an enigma.

I knew from the beginning that he was different. He would come in to the restaurant almost every Tuesday and sometimes on Friday...you might say he was a regular. He always came in alone and he always brought a book. Now, one might think there is nothing unusual about that but I did. You see, Horace was only about 24.

He was tallish. I couldn't tell because I was always sitting down, but I think he was about six feet tall. Maybe a little less. He had dark hair, almost black and on an occasion or two I thought it was dyed that color but I'm not sure, and he wore it longish...not below his shoulders long but a little over the collar long, and it was a little oily, kind of like he treated it with something. It wasn't unpleasant to look at though. He was fair skinned but not like Dracula or anything, it just looked like he was an indoors kind of guy. He wore black clothing most of the time until one day he came in wearing a teal shirt...a T-shirt I think...and I thought, "Hmmmm" only 'cause it was different. He wore a black bracelet, probably one of those rubber things with the sayings on them that everyone wears now or a strap of leather on his left wrist. And he never smiled.

He looked like a loner. He didn't appear to be unhappy, just.....alone. And he always had a book. They weren't those little flimsy things either. They weren't text books and they weren't self help, how-to, or appear to be instructional. They were novels. Usually big thick novels. He apparently loved to read. I was intrigued by that.

Each time he would come to the restaurant, I would watch him out of the corner of my eye....No...I'm not a stalker....and decided to give him a name. A name that would fit his uniqueness and his mystery so he became Horace Greenly. I would wonder about his life and if he had a girlfriend and what his parents were like. I wondered if he was a student at an area college or if he was an employee at one of the surrounding businesses. I wondered what kind of car he drove and was he a safe driver and I wondered if he was spiritual.

I wondered why he was alone.

Sometimes it was sad to see him sitting there all by himself reading his book and eating tacos. But he seemed content and that was good. I just hope he is content in his life and I hope he is spiritual. I pray he knows Jesus and that if he doesn't he will soon. I hope he loves his mom and that he has a big happy family with a kid sister and a dog.

The restaurant closed and I don't see Horace anymore. I don't know if he found another regular place to have his lunch but I hope so. At least in his aloneness he is getting out there. And he must have enough money not to have to "brown bag" it so I'll stop being a mom...concerned that he's doing well. Heck, who knows, he might be the next Bill Gates or Donald Trump. I might read about him in the newspaper after he has made another million bucks or invented a new gadget. He might be a prince or even a telephone solicitor, a medical student or an ax murderer, a lonely young Mensa member or just Joe Shmoe the office geek....it doesn't matter. I just know that from time to time I'll wonder...

"what ever happened to Horace Greenly?"