Values of elderly people

Do you think some people these days take the elderly for granted? After they get too old to care for themselves or can't be trusted alone are placed in nursing care. Nothing wrong with that. But after they are placed there with the promise of their relatives coming to visit become broken. They are often are left to themselves or others of their age and the nursing faculty. I visited a nursing home today to deliver something there. While waiting for it to be received. Some elderly dude came up to me and said I am almost like his son. His son fought in the Vietnam war and died. Although felt somewhat weird because I don't know this guy and he did not know me. But I ended up talking to the dude anyways. He told me some of things he witnessed and experienced when he was my age. Stuff about the Korean War era and what not. While I had fun listening to his past. I also learned more about that point of time then any textbook I ever learned in school just by listening to the dude. It made me want to come back to the facility just to visit with the dude and other elderly people there. Did you ever have an interesting discussion like this with an elderly man or woman?

We live in a throw-away culture.

My grandmother was in a home for 3 years before she died. She was living with my aunt and uncle for decades but was no longer able to survive without 24 hour care. We have a large family and made sure at least one person stopped in to see her every single day.

During those visits I became friendly with the other residents and the staff. Some of them didn't have a single visitor since the day they arrived. It was very sad.

My mother's parents are still living. They've been married for 67 years in August! My Taurus grandma is always rolling her eyes at my Aqua grandpa's antics.

Last week, the neighbor's dog scared away a skunk that had been living under the back porch. Today, my grandpa rewarded the dog by grilling him a steak.

There can be a lot of disrespect toward seniors, and stereotypes that are damaging.

I work with seniors. I love hearing stories about the past for the reasons you mentioned Vulcansfire.

I did transcription for one of the people I worked with so he could create a memoir about his experiences in WWII. He enjoyed cooking, so he was creative with the rations, making meals for fellow soldiers a bit more palatable. Blech were Canadian army rations awful -- it was really interesting to hear about that and about other things he experienced.

They are a living library. They are the few that still have family morals and values that everyone else seem to ignore or plug their ears too. Back then when they were kids, they walked to school in the sweltering heat or cold snow. Only reason they had summer break back then is so that the kids could help their family in the crop fields and store enough for winter. Some started out with nothing more then a few pennies, but worked their way up to have a house, family and what not. Some had little education to start with, but there were many things they could do by just applying to the job site and learn by trial and error, rather then going to college now to learn the skills of that same job they never had a degree for.

Posted by Seraphlight
Now I feel shit.

You can still try doing what I did. Going to a nursing home and sit with a few of them and have a conversation.

Native Americans valued their elderly. Elderly members of the tribe were given the highest honored jobs. Shamans, Teachers, Storytellers. Other elderly as well as adults and children would sit beside the elder man or woman and listen to their great wisdom.

Posted by Vulcansfire
Do you think some people these days take the elderly for granted? After they get too old to care for themselves or can't be trusted alone are placed in nursing care. Nothing wrong with that. But after they are placed there with the promise of their relatives coming to visit become broken. They are often are left to themselves or others of their age and the nursing faculty. I visited a nursing home today to deliver something there. While waiting for it to be received. Some elderly dude came up to me and said I am almost like his son. His son fought in the Vietnam war and died. Although felt somewhat weird because I don't know this guy and he did not know me. But I ended up talking to the dude anyways. He told me some of things he witnessed and experienced when he was my age. Stuff about the Korean War era and what not. While I had fun listening to his past. I also learned more about that point of time then any textbook I ever learned in school just by listening to the dude. It made me want to come back to the facility just to visit with the dude and other elderly people there. Did you ever have an interesting discussion like this with an elderly man or woman?

I am an aide. I know what you are talking about. I have one awesome woman with 4 daughters.She is cool and non demanding. She is on oxidant and having a cancer.

When she asked her kids to go with her to a doctor's office for a procedure - her daughter said 'what if you didn't have children?

She is cool and contained and I am going with her. I don't care if I will be paid for extra hours! I am going. And I told my next after her clients that she will have to wait for me...and as bitchy as she is - she agreed.

So...its easy to judge. Hard to understand. Kids when grown up are weird. SO lets just hope we are forever young!

I always thought I want my drop of poison...just in case.

Which one makes you go without suffering, Dr. Kevorkian?

I don't have any grandparents but have been thinking about doing some drag shows at the old folks home, probably get tipped well