The Sages of our Society

            Yesterday I decided that it was the day for a big weekly (or, in my case, sometimes, biweekly) grocery shopping. This, of necessity, is an early morning excursion: all of us are at peak energy level, me from my morning coffee and the kids from their nights' sleep. So, off we went, and things actually went pretty smoothly: the baby slept in the moby and the other two were given edible bribes at strategic intervals. And, because it was mid-morning, the store was full of what might be, demographically speaking, my favorite group of people: the elderly.
       
           I love old(er?) people. Here is a perfect example of why: after an hourlong grocery shopping trip yesterday, I was standing behind a woman who must have been about 80. Because I couldn't reach the grocery dividing bar--and my two year old boy was literally scaling the cart--I asked her to hand it to me, despite that she was obviously suffering from Parkinson's (or some other tremor-causing disease). She said, "of course, dear. We're all in this together". Words of wisdom--that I think she really meant-- in such a mundane setting. Impressive. And it happens all the time. Older women always stop me and tell me to enjoy my little ones, because it goes way too quickly. (Okay,Kenny Chesney also hit on that theme, but I bet he learned it from his grandmother).
       
          So, in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, there was an article,  "Want my advice? Um, not really", which described how generation Yers (and Xers) have no need (or desire) for the advice of their elders. Apparently, given changes in perspective, technology, and work ethic, their advice is just not that useful anymore. The first example that was given involved a girl who wanted to have a destination wedding. Her mom said no, it was rude, "too inconvenient for guests...(and) too selfish". The girl ignored her and held it anyway; her response to her mom's comment was, "the older people totally mean well, but they're giving advice based on things in the past, when times were different".  
       
           I'm actually embarrassed for her. I mean, the idea that manners (or virtue) are grounded in selflessness is as old as, well, I don't know. It's safe to say the ancient Greeks. If at a loss, you can actually figure out what the right thing to do is, etiquette-wise, by choosing the less selfish route. So, frankly, it's silly to think that the last 30 years have produced such an unusual series of events that the basic principles of etiquette have been changed. And a difference in perspective is actually what distinguishes--in a good way--the elderly from the rest of us. They (or most of them) know what's important (honestly, I think that's mostly why everyone at daily mass is over 60. My husband, on the other hand, says they have more to pray for).
         
          You can probably guess the rest of my rant, so I won't bore you here. But, right now, I'm glad to be on a daily track that involves running into the sages of our society.