Taiwanese seniors often come to a park or a school campus to exercise in the morning with a group if they can move around. In the afternoon, they may get together under a tree to chat or simply play chess.
What do American seniors do? This morning (8/8; happens to be father's day in Taiwan), I walked to McDonald (It is about 30 minutes walk from my home.) and found a group of American seniors (Most of them were men.) congregate together to chat or to gossip. They greeted me as I walked in because I knew this group last year before I went sabbatical in Taiwan.
McDonald fast food restaurants are attractive places for the seniors to congregate in the morning. First, they offer senior discount coffee. For a 60 cents (approximately NT$ 20), seniors enjoy McDonald's coffee that can be refilled without limit. The breakfast that often consists of muffin and eggs can be as low as $2.00 or NT $60. If the senior id health conscious, he can also order fruit and walnut salad which is also quite inexpensive with a price as low as $2.00.
Seniors congregate here can converse in many different subjects that include sports, or neighborhood gossip. Someone may spend 25 cents to buy a newspaper then everyone else can share and read the rest. Some will even do the crossword puzzle.
It is quite interesting that while men usually congregate at McDonald in the morning, not many American women seniors are here. I wonder where did they go.
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