Deafly Doesn’t Need It

(My family and I are on a ferry boat travelling to Long Island like we do every summer since I was a child. My grandfather has lost most of his hearing and refuses to wear a hearing aid because he “doesn’t need it.” This is the conversation I overhear between my dad and Grandfather, both standing at the railing along the edge of the boat.)

Dad: “Hey, Pop, when you were younger, back in your wild days, would you have thought twice about diving right off of a boat like this?”

Grandfather: “Oh, no thanks, I already had a cheeseburger.”

Dad: “…”