We Suspected He Lied About His Age

I recently found some old newspaper clippings I’ve kept since the 1970s. One of them reported an adventure involving my former employer, the late CPA. For a short time, Mr. C was sort of a local hero. My co-worker, Esther, and I weren’t impressed by the newspaper article. Nothing that man did surprised us.

Mr. C most likely was past retirement age when I went to work for him. At the time, I had just completed an introductory accounting class at the local community college. Although I hadn’t much liked math during high school, I discovered I liked accounting. I was happy when the counselor at the Department of Employment Security sent me to an interview at a CPA office.

That is, I was happy until I stepped into the office.

I think Mr. C ran out of filing space about ten years before he hired me. Cardboard boxes were piled up all over the place in Esther’s office. I was even less happy when I saw the comptometer and manual typewriter on the desk in my prospective office. I had used an adding machine and electric typewriter at my previous job.

After a discouraging interview, he offered me the job on the spot. I wanted a job, but I didn’t want that job. However, thanks to being laid off from the Second Best Electric Company, I was collecting unemployment checks. So I felt obligated to accept the receptionist/ bookkeeper position.

About a year after he hired me, Mr. C earned his brief claim to fame by chasing down two teen-aged purse snatchers. He might have been old, but he was feisty. Mr. C never discussed his background or personal life with Esther and me. However, we knew he had grown up in New York City. We figured he probably had some previous experience with muggers.

Mr. C seldom directly communicated with us about anything. (He left lots of notes; the man would have loved e-mail.) He never told us what happened at the shopping center that November evening. Esther and I read about it in the newspaper, like everyone else did.

Mr. C and his wife had finished shopping and were walking to their car. That’s when one of the teens yanked Mrs. C’s purse from her shoulder and took off across the parking lot, followed by his accomplice.

Mr. C chased the thieves through the parking lot, across the street, and into another shopping center. When he got to the second parking lot, a passerby realized what was happening and joined the chase. Mr. C and Good Samaritan had cornered the teens against a fence, while a third person called the police from a nearby store.

Mr. C was the star witness at the teens’ trial. The newspaper article stated that he had refused to reveal his age in court. A court official told the reporter that Mr. C was “in his sixties.” Esther and I snickered when we read that. We suspected our boss had lied to the court official. We were pretty sure he would never see 70 again. Apparently, Mr. C swore to tell the truth about everything except his age.

Excerpt from Adventures in Working

copyright 2019