Village Elders

OK, heres the deal. Lots of the forums I tend to vist/read/like seem to be populated with people lots younger than I am...almost 65. So I often wonder how people view having input from Elders. I often fear people view Elders in the same role and scope as parents or authority figures but maybe not. If I had more time I might have dreamed up a poll for this but here it is just as it is.

Being absolutely candid how are older people in your life viewed? Weird, irrelavant, out of touch or perhaps valued or enjoyed...tolerated, humored?

Don't know that this a topic of relavance or not but since I'm here, I'm asking. People always fasinate me and the reach of the net brings me in contact with lots of fresh approaches to life.

I've gotten along fine with old people ever since I was a little kid. I got along with them, and kids my own age, but everybody in between I was never too comfortable around. I used to love listening to my great aunt tell stories about her life, and once when I was at a neighbor's house for a post-funeral gathering, I spent the whole time talking to one woman in her 60s or 70s. I still talk a lot with older people, in their 60s, 70s and 80s, because they've been there, they know, and they have plenty to tell about what happened.

I loved gettin one on one time with someone older whom was alive and fun. Learned a lot and got a lot of great ideas for future nonsense and weirdness.

el Rio wrote:OK, heres the deal. Lots of the forums I tend to vist/read/like seem to be populated with people lots younger than I am...almost 65. So I often wonder how people view having input from Elders. I often fear people view Elders in the same role and scope as parents or authority figures but maybe not. If I had more time I might have dreamed up a poll for this but here it is just as it is.

Being absolutely candid how are older people in your life viewed? Weird, irrelavant, out of touch or perhaps valued or enjoyed...tolerated, humored?

Don't know that this a topic of relavance or not but since I'm here, I'm asking. People always fasinate me and the reach of the net brings me in contact with lots of fresh approaches to life.

When I was as kid I had a great uncle that was probably in his 70's when I started hanging around him. I learned more about the world, people, movies, the great depression and just about every decade that he was alive. I loved him very much and we were pals. He got me drunk on wine, he fed me, we laughed together and he even showed me how to make homemade wine. He lived until about 88 years old and I was devistated by his death. So how do I feel about older people? They are to be respected, cherished and treated just like you would treat any other person in your life. They have a wealth of information to share if you only take the time out to listen. I still miss that old man.

I hear that, I still miss my great aunt. She was a fun old lady, we'd watch cartoons and movies together, and she and her husband always collected a TON of seashells and they'd always bring us some, and she brought me a most unusual one when I was 7 or 8, a thorny oyster, something I've never gotten another one of, or even heard of, before or since.

I soak up the presence of older people who are knowledgeable, wise and have life experience. My next door neighbor is nearing 70 and we're the best of friends. He came of age in the 1960s (went to Vietnam) and 1970s, and I get a kick out of hearing his stories and perspective. Always talking about the drugs he smoked, the women he had, the tone of how life was when he was coming up. He can point to how things have changed for the worse since then, but also acknowledges how life has gotten better. I hope I'm as cool, laid back and wise by the time I'm his age.

The problem with some older people is that when they get around younger people, they assume, belittle, patronize, etc, etc. No one wants to deal with mean old men and women who takes pleasure in being crotchety and short, but I know not all of them are this way and I appreciate the ones who aren't.

I'm closer to your age than to the young 'uns here. At fifty two I find myself very good friends with a woman in her seventies and a woman in her forties. I don't generally pal around with people my childrens' age, but I think it's to be expected that the twenties group need to pull away from parental units or those who embody those mores. Having said that, I love hanging with a couple of my kids and go on vacation with them. It's more a case of who I have a lot in common with...three of my kids I love, but we aren't "buddies." The other two have more similar interests.

You learn a lot from older people, esp if they're cool as fuck. I hang out with one of my co-workers from work and he's older than my dad. He's funny as hell and I love being around him.

I LOVE cool, funny old people who tell jokes and are pleasant to be around. It's the complain-y bitter uptight types that I don't too much respect. Just because you're 80 and your knees hurt doesn't give you the right to be a jerk.

Thanks for the thoughts, pretty much how I thought it might be but its also good to have confirmation. Like many of you, when I was younger there were certain wild and crazy old folks that were great to hang out with. I learned a lot and also gained their respect for things I was doing. Felt nice. A lot of my 17 year son's friends come out to visit and hang out with him and lots of them are real open friendly kids who like to talk and see what kinda things are going on here. I can judge a healthy kid pretty well by how comfortable they are around adults. What I really like is the equal exchange of knowledge and respect I get from most of Danny's friends. A nice two way give and take between generations makes for a rich life in my opinion. A young person who is sure of him or herself usually feels comfortable talking to all kinds of people.

Let's face it. Betty White rules! But seriously (not that I don't mean that about Betty), I had the best times with my maternal grandfather. He was a facinating man who led a facinating life. He was a newsreel camera man when he was younger and later was a cameraman for the CBS affiliate in NY. By that time I was around and young enough to go in with him every now and then. There's a lot we can learn from our seniors. As the saying goes, "The older I get, the smarter my parents become."