felt it but he knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada . (p.144, Gioia and Kennedy)While the older waiter is referring to the deaf man in this passage, it is obvious he knows all too well exactly what the deaf man is feeling. The older waiter goes on, replacing words of the Lords Prayer with nada (the Spanish word for nothing) and further deepening the belief that he too is completely forlorn:Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee (p.144, Gioia and Kennedy)After completing this speech and allowing the reader this awful glimpse into his perception of life, the waiter then goes a bar.While the older waiters version of the Lords Prayer confirms the notion that he feels life is made of nothing, it is earlier in the story where the waiter acknowledges his belief that age causes his loneliness. This is noticeable in his conversation with the younger waiter: Why didnt you let him stay and drink? the unhurried waiter asked [the older waiter]. . .its not half past two. The young waiter answers the older waiter saying he wants to get home early to is wife. Whats an hour? [The older waiter says] More to me than to him. [Says the young waiter] An hour is the same.You talk like an old man yourself . . .And you? You have no fear of going home before the usual hour?Are you trying to insult me?No, hombre, only to make a joke.No . . . [says the young waiter] . . .I have confidence. I am all confidence.You have youth, confidence, and a job, the older waiter said. You have everything.And what do you lack? . . . You have everything I have.No. I have never had confidence and I am not young. (p.144, Gioia and Kennedy)This conversation actualizes the theme, with age comes loneliness. In addition to ...
