I have said it too many times. I usually say it to people younger than I am, but than that demographic is pretty big and growing. "Don't get old it's a waste of time."
Self-serving? No doubt. Easy to say, difficult to do? Of course. I think of how I reacted to my elders, and there is little doubt I'm getting some payback that I've earned. Were my elders wise to the level of suspending critical thinking? Not at all. My elders were "The Greatest Generation."
A short description might sound like; "We won World War II." Becuase of this, we know some stuff you haven't learned. So just follow these instructions and you'll be fine. You should finish high school, volunteer for the military, come home marry the girl next door and move down the block, so we can enjoy our grandchildren. Sunday dinner at Mom's is compulsory. Drive whatever your dad drives because he knows better and you don't want to be driving something above your social level. Chevrolet, Buick Oldsmobile Cadillac are steps on a ladder. If you're not careful you can make a mistake here.
That's a little bit of a broad brush, but I heard enough of it from parents and the media to know I wasn't the only one who got the message. I'm too old to be a baby boomer. It's our younger brothers and sister's that visibly and actually told them all to go to hell and brought on what is defined by the name of the decade, "The Sixties".
Every generation tries to preserve its values and mores. In earlier times, when Families and the nearest neighbors were the edges of everyone's world, this was easier to do. As transportation and communication expanded, it became downright impossible.
When many of the greatest generation were decrying Rock N Roll as the devil's music, my father told me on the sly, "Jeff, they said the same thing about jazz.". Granted, all parents weren't the same. On the issue of music, my dad was obviously an outlier.
What do I know that my children and grandchildren ought to know? Apparently not much. At least, they are not listening. I'm becoming more aware when people are tunning me out. I don't know if it's because they don't believe what I'm saying or they don't want to hear it but amounts to the same thing.
The one thing about aging gracefully is the ability to accept the growing number of limitations you acquire. Some of these setbacks are physical others are mental. The natural tendency is to kid yourself that these conditions are not happening.There are two sides to that sword. One is you look foolish. The other is you ignore what you might be able to do to slow it down. For instance, I remember running, but it was a long time ago. It doesn't stop me from going to the gym and working out to try and prolong my what physical capability I have left.
But intellectually, I've been told to my face, and it's been telegraphed to me by the attitude of people around me, I am past my due date. This is harder to accept than the seventy-five yards I've lost on the length of my drive on the golf course, but relevant just the same.
This The Poppa Jeff from Camp Jeff, not located in the suburbs, but if I could climb up on the roof I could see them from here.
Self-serving? No doubt. Easy to say, difficult to do? Of course. I think of how I reacted to my elders, and there is little doubt I'm getting some payback that I've earned. Were my elders wise to the level of suspending critical thinking? Not at all. My elders were "The Greatest Generation."
A short description might sound like; "We won World War II." Becuase of this, we know some stuff you haven't learned. So just follow these instructions and you'll be fine. You should finish high school, volunteer for the military, come home marry the girl next door and move down the block, so we can enjoy our grandchildren. Sunday dinner at Mom's is compulsory. Drive whatever your dad drives because he knows better and you don't want to be driving something above your social level. Chevrolet, Buick Oldsmobile Cadillac are steps on a ladder. If you're not careful you can make a mistake here.
That's a little bit of a broad brush, but I heard enough of it from parents and the media to know I wasn't the only one who got the message. I'm too old to be a baby boomer. It's our younger brothers and sister's that visibly and actually told them all to go to hell and brought on what is defined by the name of the decade, "The Sixties".
Every generation tries to preserve its values and mores. In earlier times, when Families and the nearest neighbors were the edges of everyone's world, this was easier to do. As transportation and communication expanded, it became downright impossible.
When many of the greatest generation were decrying Rock N Roll as the devil's music, my father told me on the sly, "Jeff, they said the same thing about jazz.". Granted, all parents weren't the same. On the issue of music, my dad was obviously an outlier.
What do I know that my children and grandchildren ought to know? Apparently not much. At least, they are not listening. I'm becoming more aware when people are tunning me out. I don't know if it's because they don't believe what I'm saying or they don't want to hear it but amounts to the same thing.
The one thing about aging gracefully is the ability to accept the growing number of limitations you acquire. Some of these setbacks are physical others are mental. The natural tendency is to kid yourself that these conditions are not happening.There are two sides to that sword. One is you look foolish. The other is you ignore what you might be able to do to slow it down. For instance, I remember running, but it was a long time ago. It doesn't stop me from going to the gym and working out to try and prolong my what physical capability I have left.
But intellectually, I've been told to my face, and it's been telegraphed to me by the attitude of people around me, I am past my due date. This is harder to accept than the seventy-five yards I've lost on the length of my drive on the golf course, but relevant just the same.
This The Poppa Jeff from Camp Jeff, not located in the suburbs, but if I could climb up on the roof I could see them from here.
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