I watched a movie that began by the woman kicking her husband out of the house for having an affair with a woman 20 years younger. In one scene she was sitting outdoors at a coffee house, surrounded by people, but no one even noticed her. She said. “Women over 40 are invisible”, and I thought, “Just wait until you get to be my age.” If you’re over 50, maybe you’ve noticed going unnoticed as well.

Well, let me assure you my lovely, we are still needed in this world, maybe now more than ever.

There’s a gas station near my home that I visit at least once a week, but not for gas. There used to be a couple of locals working behind the counter and I would visit with them for a few minutes. There were many a valuable conversation had at the neighborhood Texaco until one day I walked in and saw a young man standing behind the counter from another country. I knew the store was owned by a delightful man from India, so he had brought his son’s in to learn the store.

The owner of the store has always treated me with kindness. One weekend, my truck broke down in the parking lot and he assured me it would be safe to leave it until my mechanic retrieved it on Monday and it was. There’s one particular brand of chip I enjoying munching on every now and then, so he orders it for me. Before bringing his sons in, I imagine he briefed them on his customers so they’d know what to expect from them because we are a quirky lot.

The owner of the Texaco doesn’t know my given name, nor do I know his, but he always referred to me as, ‘Ma’am’. His son’s are young, with an entrepreneurial spirit, so I was curious to see how they’d treat me. If what their father taught them would stick, or if I’d slip into invisibility there too.

I’m happy to report, ‘like father. like son’, is still valued in small towns, because every time they see me they call me ma’am.