Tavern of the Seas Treasure the elderly, they are our rock of ages
STUDIES have found loneliness can contribute to all kinds of ailments like heart disease, insomnia and depression. One study calculated loneliness was as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In our modern society (particularly in large cities) many people live desperately lonely lives. This is partly from fear; they don’t want to go out at night because they’re afraid of being mugged or worse, so they sit alone in their flats or rooms and have few friends.
In an interesting social experiment in the Netherlands, some students have been given free accommodation in old-age homes in order to combat loneliness. Many students study far from home and know very few people in the town where their university is situated. And many elderly people live lonely lives after their partners (and friends) have passed away. The arrangement works both ways.
Including young people in communities of elderly folk has benefits for everyone. The youngsters quickly discover they are needed and can contribute to the seniors’ well-being. They can help setting up computers and smartphones for a start. They are able to lift heavy suitcases, move chairs, carry trays of tea and so on. They can work the TV remotes that baffle the elderly folk.
The seniors can often offer wise advice on all kinds of matters that could bother young people. They’ve been there and probably had to deal with similar problems in their own youth. They’ve been in love, lost friendships, faced financial hardships and worried about not being accepted. They’ve probably studied hard and obtained the same degrees for which the young ones are studying.
It’s easy to forget what a vast storehouse of knowledge and experience lies beneath those heads of grey hair. We tend to allow much of that experience to go to waste.
Previous generations accepted it as a natural part of family life to have en elderly relative or two living in the family home. Granny had a bedroom at the side of the house and spent her days knitting for the kids, looking after them after school, passing on her bobotie recipe and so on. The youngsters brought her tea, and later probably pushed her wheelchair and read to her when her eyesight began to fail.
We had a great uncle who lived in a back room for many years and seemed to exist on nothing but Mellowwood brandy. To this day the room is known as Uncle Arthur’s Room.
In “normal” societies, the generations live together. Modern society seems to have forgotten this. Houses are too small to accommodate Granny, so she’s shunted off to the retirement village and visited once a month.
I’d certainly feel a lot happier about moving to a retirement complex if I knew I would not be surrounded by grumpy old farts like myself.
I think the Dutch have hit on a good idea.
Last Laugh
Old Jack was tottering about the park one day, taking his morning walk, when he ran into his old buddy, Charlie. “Hey Charlie, my old pal, how are you keeping?” “Terrible, Jack, terrible. My memory’s going. I can’t remember a damn thing any more. I was trying to remember just this morning: was it you or your brother who died last month?”