Old Folks

Old folks are to be seen and not heard - this is what used to be said of children. Some people even appear to think it ought to be, 'Old folks should not be seen or heard'.

Of all places on this Earth, people live longest in New Zealand. There, old folks are both seen and heard and no one appears to resent them. The women play croquet; the men bowl. They're healthy and active and often are seen outside the home busily working in the garden.

In Europe, old people are a part of the family - looked to for advice. They have lived a long time and seen many things, good and bad. Experience comes from making mistakes and wisdom comes from experience. The old folks are wise and they can save the younger people from making mistakes.

Besides giving advice, old folks amuse the children. They are nearer in spirit to the children than the parents are, for the parents must work and worry. The old folks, their days of striving over and done with, can relax and be more as the children themselves are.

Children enjoy grandparents - being spoiled; their unhurriedness. Every child should have at least one grandparent or he has missed a lot. Old folks are to be enjoyed as much as children are. Children are often irritating too, subject to illnesses, but they compensate in many other ways; so too would the old folks.

There's a great deal of enjoyment and pleasure to be found in the leisurely company of elderly people, provided you are willing to look for it. And there is balm in the serene faith in God that most old folks have learned. You can learn it from them.