Show some patience with the elderly

KAREN STRAND | Lacey • Published November 15, 2012 Modified November 14, 2012

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T oday I went to Group Health. In the parking lot an old man crossed the walk in front of me. Body bent, he shuffled slowly, his wrinkled brown jacket speaking of decades past. Inside the building an old lady pushed a walker. Her eyes were squinty, her white hair disheveled. Then I saw a young man in uniform. He nearly ran across the street. His hair was dark and shiny, his cheeks pink from the crisp morning air. That same day I saw a pretty young lady on a nearby bench; long, wavy hair, strawberry lipstick, sandaled feet. And here is the big surprise. The old man and the young man were the same man! The old lady and the young lady were the same lady! He is the youth who fought in a war and came home to the waiting arms of his fiancee. She was a princess in a 1950s Daffodil Parade. When I was young, I did not perceive things in that way. In today’s vernacular my thoughts were, “it sucks to be old.” Or, there are two kinds of people: Young ones and old ones. Whenever we, any of us, become impatient with the elderly and their ways, let us not forget, that “big surprise!”