As you all know, I have an affinity for seniors for as long as I can remember. Call me crazy, boring, or even wasting my name, but I will NOT change. Who is more likely to amuse me with stories of their life and wonderful experiences more, a 25 year old or an 85 year old? The simple, and quality answer is the Senior! They have been there, and they actually HAVE done that—no joke. When I speak with Seniors about yesteryear, I am all ears, and then some. History can and does often repeat itself, and I am armed and ready with the fuel of their images, visions, caveats, lessons, and wisdom. I feel it is so amazing to have lived through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, WWII, listening to Roose-velt and Benny Goodman on the radio, arriving at Ellis Island, sleeping three to a bed when you have nine siblings. My Dad drove when he was twelve, and landed at Normandy as a nineteen year old. This, my avid readers is what life is all about– These old, wrinkled, graying, slow-walking and bespectacled old-timers are OUR HEROES. They are our past, and without them, we would NOT have our FUTURE.
I won’t bore you all with the stories that I remember from these rusty and vastly durable old souls, but I do want you to call those in your family more often than you do now. They want to hear from you, they NEED to hear your voices. They must be reminded that you love and care about their welfare. Are you too darn busy to call or even stop by on a regular basis? I bet not, but you will fell the pain when they are no longer here to hug you, pinch your cheek or tell you how adorable you were as a child. They are that link to your past, and to your future. You can never have enough people that love you, never!
Donna Grace, 81, and Gail Crabtree, who just turned 97 last week, didn’t think they mattered much in this world, and so they drove their car into a train the other day. I did not know them, but I do miss them now. I would bet good money that we would have found them intriguing, loving, maybe even funny too, with wisdom beyond belief. It is an awfully pathetic loss and we will never know why they lost their faith. I know we can make a significant and relevant difference in the future.
Paul B
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I agree…I’ll never forget the WWII generation. Old age isn’t for sissies, as Art Linkletter said, and can be as big a challenge and struggle as anything endured by the young. Financial, mental and physical health issues etc… can push anybody over the brink.
Statements like “Your not getting older you’re getting better,” calling them the Golden Years must have been an advertising slogan at one time.