Diamond Fields Advertiser

More of that old story

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LAST week I wrote at length about older folk, those with 70, 80 or 90 years’ worth of memories, experience­s and ideas stored in their brains being criticised and ridiculed when they struggle to find a bit of informatio­n in “the vast warehouse of knowledge” in their minds.

Often the “more happening” generation mocks them behind their backs, but sometimes, and more alarmingly, they mock them openly.

I ended off by making some bold statements, and if you’re not too old, and can remember reading the paper last week, you will recall me writing that “the youthful, energetic, attractive generation and those currently in power who have a say in how the elderly are treated should realise that the system we are creating, the culture that we encourage, the mindsets that we are promoting are going to absorb us one day.”

I hope you’re not too old to remember me writing that “old age is not optional, it’s inevitable”; and if you do remember all that informatio­n from last week, then we can proceed … but slowly please, because just a few weeks ago I was in a supermarke­t and a young man pushed past me. He immediatel­y apologised, but what he said stung.

He didn’t say “askies oom” (excuse me uncle) which I would not have minded.

No, this time it was “askies oupa” (pardon grandpa) … I would have slapped him, but I had forgotten where I left my hands.

I often observe people in queues when a senior citizen rummages through their bag or pockets for a purse or wallet, and then through the wallet for a shoppers card, and then back through the purse for the cash.

All too often the person becomes flustered and embarrasse­d because she (or he) is holding up the other people who by this time are huffing and fuming at this incredible waste of time.

How would these impatient “fumers” cope in the days when one would push a trolley full of groceries to a till, only to have the cashier enter each item’s price manually on a manual (not electronic) cash register?

If an item cost R79, the cashier would manually have to press the “7”, then the “9” then the decimal point, followed by the “00” symbol. If something cost R79.95, the process took that bit longer.

Each person would take up 10-15 minutes of a cashier’s time; and yet back then people seemed to have more time – and more patience … someone should explain to me how that works!

Oh how things have changed in the last few decades, we have credit cards, swipe terminals, smart cards, chipped cards, shopper’s reward cards, virtual cash and on and on the list goes, leaving the senior citizen more than a little overwhelme­d at the best of times. We have to admit, it is a lot to take in … and if you say it’s simple, you’re probably a person who took an interest in technology from a relatively early age.

Who knows what things will be like 15 years from now? Maybe at that time you will be the aged person ruffling through cards while young people huff and fume in the queue behind you.

There’s a French artist who, in his song Je n’ai pas vu le temps passer, puts things into some sort of perspectiv­e when he sings: “I didn’t see the years roll on, I didn’t know the road would bend. Refused to see when youth was gone; pretending it might never end. Now, there is a price to pay for every day I threw away …”

Or allow me to quote young Mehmet Murat ildan, who says: “To make an elderly person happy is the noblest act a young person can ever do!”

It’s something we should consider.

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