He may seem a bit senile to you, as he sits on his porch and sips beer from a long neck bottle. You may notice the slight limp in his gait as he walks his dog. And, you cannot control your giggle as he adjusts his hearing aid to hear if you spoke of anything important. But the old man did not get this old by being stupid.
The old man witnessed the birth of his children and delights in watching his grandchildren grow. But the old man has also buried more family and friends than he cares to discuss. The old man knows about loss.
He lost one job or more and went out and found others; and money lost due to poor planning. The old man celebrated a few victories but they were made bitter sweet by more failures. At this point in his life, the old man knows how not to lose. And, he will fight to keep what he has, right down to the beer he sips from a long neck bottle on his porch.
It is a foolish thing to count the old man out of the game. Far from it. He is still an active player. He has the experience, gained over decades of loss and small victories to know how not to lose. Try and take from the old man what is his - he will come at you like a junk yard dog. Because, he knows how and will not lose sleep over it. Years of experience far outweigh a few years of being on the honor role. If you try, when the dust settles, the old man will go back to his porch and sip beer from long neck bottles. The beer will taste especially good to him as he watches you limp off the scene.
You may feel offended. For what? You started an altercation and were bested - you lost. An altercation best avoided if you showed the old man respect. Not just the respect due his age, but the obvious respect due his decades of experience. What part of "respect your elders" is lost on you? Since when on this planet did youth have all the hard and tough answers? The lessons learned from some pain and suffering? The experience that can be shared, passed on, but once pissed on, sharing anything with you is likely lost. This shit happens when political correctness and multiculturalism are followed. You lose. You lose your culture, your heritage, and your personal identity while your Ancestors shed tears over your poor choices. Now the old man will laugh at you, as he sits on his porch and sips beer from long neck bottles.
Copyright @2017 Terry Unger
