Trials and tribulations

As mentioned before, the story I wrote for The Post was cut in half. As requested by a few commenters, the next few posts will be anecdotes and pieces that were deleted.

Tom can talk for hours with Charlotte by his side nodding, smiling warmly and sometimes getting a word in edgewise about their respective half centuries in southeast Ohio. They were never married, but have lived together for 25 years. Tom often speaks in the dichotomous terms of “us” and “them.”
“We’ve had our trials and tribulations with the outside world,” he said. Though, there is no animosity in his comments. He speaks in a matter-of-fact way that casts no blame on any particular person or party. It’s a tone that says, “That’s just the way things are.” He is soft-spoken and strangely eloquent through his drawl. He sometimes closes his eyes when he speaks as if to concentrate.