The Old Men

By: John Isaac Jones

Narrated by: Michael T Downey

For years, the old men had been hanging around the country grocery store whiling away their days playing checkers and dominoes and talking about politics, women, drinking, and life experiences. All that time, the store owner readily approved their presence in the store and went on about his business as if they were not there. Then, one fateful morning in 1956, a new owner bought the business who was not quite as tolerant. The narrator of this story, an unnamed 13-year-old, was the son of the new owner and explains how his father dealt with the old men who hung around his store.

©2016, 2017 John I. Jones (P)2017 John I. Jones

Life lessons...

This story covers life lessons. It's about how people choose to live their lives and the consequences that come from those choices.

Well written, it's interesting to listen to and short enough to fit in when you're short on time.

The narration is well done, the delivery is engaging, but some of the character voices were not as good as I'm used to.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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A solid short tale from JIJ

JIJ writes some pretty good short stories. It's difficult to tell if they are fiction or not - Or just fictionalized accounts of real events in the authors life. That's not a bad thing really. The stories are plain and straightforward but written well and engaging. I would like to see what this author could do with a longer format.

Older Times

I did enjoy listening to this well written short listen. It is about family in 1950’s who own a grocery store invaded by group of older men and owner had to get rid of them for disrespecting women and improving his store. I also recommend the author’s short listens especially The Old Indian and Going Home. I was given this free review copy audiobook by author and have voluntarily left this review.

Times Change

This short story does a good job of transporting the listener back to simpler times in small town USA. Each town seemed to have a gathering place that became the social hub for those of like mind to gather and pass the time. In this story that place is the local grocery store. This story centers around a store owner and a less than reputable group of old men that sit around the store daily playing checkers and shooting the breeze. Conflict arises when the store's atmosphere changes because of the effect this group of men have on its customers and the corrective decisions the store owner must make regardless of the repercussions.

I was given this audio book for free at my request in exchange for my unbiased opinion and review.

Full of Personality

When a country grocery store gets a new owner, it means an end for the group of old men who spend their days talking and playing checkers in the small store. Told from the perspective of the new owner's young son, this story explains what happens when the old men test his father's patience.

I really enjoyed this short story full of humanity and heart. It was a great way to take you back to a simpler time, or introduce you to it if you didn't live through it. The author didn't use long descriptive passages to fill space. He sketched each scene in just a few sentences, and packed so much personality into it. I could just picture the poor nurse and feel her embarrassment.

The narration was great, the narrator had a soothing voice that fit this story well. I requested a copy of the audiobook, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.