Bimbos and Venmos

By Tammy Davis

 

Old people and dating and technology.  Not a good mix. This is a story about my friend Sue* and her date, Woody.* Things were going well until Woody asked Sue if she knew what bimbo was.  Sue could not imagine where he was going with this, but she said, “A bimbo?  Sure.  I know what that is.”

Woody seemed surprised by her answer.  “You know people do that now to get money?”

“Yeah, I think that’s been around for a while.”

“Everybody was talking about it at poker night.”

“Wait.  What?  I thought poker night was a family event last week?”

“It was.  That’s how it came up.  All the young people were talking about how wonderful it was to have a bimbo.  They said it was so easy.”

Sue took a very big sip of her wine, paused, then took another.  Surely this was some sort of “who’s on first?” conversation.  So many things ran through her mind, but she simply said, “Woody, what in the world are you talking about?” It got worse, not better.

“Bimbo.  You do it on your phone now.  The kids say everybody does it.”

Once Woody gave specific examples of how the kids sent money to one another to settle up after the poker game, it all made sense.

“Woody, do you mean Venmo?  The way to instantly transfer money to someone on your phone?”

Woody looked a little embarrassed.  “What? I thought they were calling it Bimbo. Are you sure? Spell it. ”

“It’s Venmo.  V-E-N-M-O.  I’m sure.  Bimbo is something entirely different.”

Normally, Sue and Woody would have a drink or a dessert, but that night they had both.

Sue pulled up her Venmo and showed Woody how she used it.  Hairstylist.  Her portion of a beach trip.  Her share of a birthday gift.  She offered to put the app on Woody’s phone. She told him she thought he would like it.

“Nah, I think I’m alright.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Do you think young people keep checkbooks anymore?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Do you keep a check book?”

“I do.  Do you?”

“I do.”

The waitress delivered dessert, and Sue and Woody talked about their favorite chocolate cake recipes.  Sue kept her recipes in a binder. She was impressed that Woody memorized most of his.

Old people and dating and talk of recipes and the kitchen, much better than technology talk.  The universe seemed right again. Turns out Woody likes boiled icing, and Sue’s favorite chocolate sheet cake recipe has mayonnaise and pudding.  They talked about their favorite dishes and dating didn’t seem so bad. It felt nice, actually.

Woody and Sue had a lovely meal, and Woody paid the tab with cash.  And Sue smiled as she ate the last bit of chocolate cake.

 

Tammy Davis is a teacher and a writer finding lessons in everyday life.  The names in this story were changed for privacy reasons.  Many of Davis’ artist friends use Venmo as virtual tip jars. If you enjoyed this story, she hopes you’ll find hers on Venmo @Tammy Davis Stories.