How many people do you know who have actually helped an old lady cross the street? How many people do you know who can sit patiently and attentively listen to a senior citizen and not complain about how much time it took? I do not know about you, but I have only heard about a handful.
Older people in our society are often forgotten. Sometimes they are seen as burdens. Sure, they may take hours to answer the question you asked and go off on tangents, but that could be most of us one day.
The U.S. Census Bureau has calculated that while the nation’s population has increased by 39 percent between 1960 and 1990, the group of people 85 years and older jumped 232 percent. It also projects that by 2040 there will be 1.3 million Americans over 100 years old. Some even raise the number to 4 million.
With such a sky-rocketing increase in the number of senior citizens in the future, society needs to start acknowledging their existence.
People need to start playing vital roles in the lives of the elderly. Respect, patience and understanding need to start being practiced toward these people.
Last Monday, I had the honor of listening to one of life’s rarest and oldest treasures––a walking and talking open history book.
Benjamin Fuente, an 89-year-old man from Yucatan, Mexico, spoke to a classroom of 18- and 19-year-olds to share his life experiences and knowledge.
With hearing aids placed in each ear, thick glasses and a cane at his side, the man sat in a chair at the front of the classroom.
For about an hour, he reminisced about life on a hacienda, his struggle to get an education, stories about how certain words were derived and accounts of the history he had witnessed throughout his lifetime. Fuente is one of the few people left who can speak and translate the Mayan language.
He would be in the middle of one story, trigger another memory and go off on a different tangent, never fully answering any question, but trying to share as much as he could. He sat there and smiled.
About half-way into the hour, some heads started nodding off, eyes started wandering to the other depths of the classroom and sighs could be heard. One girl even put her head down on her desk. Others stayed attentive and fascinated with the opportunity of listening to this man speak.
Saying he hoped he had not bored us with his talking, the man with his cane in hand walked to his car and drove off.
Studies show that our generation may live longer lives than those before. Wouldn’t you want a bunch of young people to sit there patiently as you retell experiences in your life? No book could ever grant you the insight of listening to a senior citizen who has lived through history and can share their experiences.
Opportunities like these do not happen everyday. Next time, pay attention to the stories. You may or may not learn a thing or two, but you would want the same courtesy when you are that age.
The oldest living person in the world turned 120 last week. Jeanne Calment of France was born in 1875. She lived through the turn of the century and is five years away from experiencing the millennium.
Wouldn’t it be exciting to listen to this woman tell stories about differences in attitudes of generations, life during historical events or her thoughts about the changes she has lived through.
When Calment was 100 years old, she was still able to cruise the streets of France on her bicycle and smile about life. My guess is that someone cared enough to sit, listen and try to understand her. This person made living a long life all worth the while.
I wonder if I could ride a bike at that age and still be happy to be on earth? I hope someone will sit and listen to me as I share the knowledge I have gained throughout my life.
