Two of the biggest problems facing the country at the moment: * The acute loneliness and isolation of the elderly * The complete ineptitude of the younger generation to remedy the mistakes of the past and make a better world (yeah, Im knocking on a bit, but I still count myself in this second category) Surely, both of these problems can be solved simultaneously? Its the lonely elderly who are the only people qualified to help us be better people. As Santayana said Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. I would happily give up one afternoon a week, standing as many pots of tea and sticky buns as they wanted, to sit down with an old boy to learn how to better deal with all the important stuff (those things I have no idea how to deal with): ageing, children, fear, war, marriage, society, relationships, death. For them to tell me how best to deal with these questions, and how theyd do things differently if they knew what they know now, when they were my age. Of course, you might be most unlike me You might have all this stuff all figured out already. If you do, fair play, and good luck to you. If you dont, maybe youd benefit from doing the same? And if everyone did it, imagine how much a better world wed all live in. So, anyone got a Granddad theyve got going spare...? P.S. You might be reading this thinking Oh, looks like Jims back on the drink. Understandable, but Im not. Its just that having two days off for the first time in a year has had a very similar effect.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 15:43:12 +0000
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