Cantankerous old age

In my youth (Oh far too long ago!) I knew all about cantankerous old age. It was stereotyped in movies, cartoons etc. The old biddy rushing outside brandishing a walking stick at children who were basically just being children.

I hoped one day, if I reached that age, I would be different. Well first of all the old biddies from my youthful remembrances were a hell of a lot younger than I am now. And secondly, I am cantankerous in a totally different way.

I love young people. I find their views of the world very refreshing.so let them play make a noise and enjoy themselves. (One noise I do object to is screaming as part of play. My opinion is if you scream you had better be hurt or in danger.)

So now as to how being a cantankerous old biddy has affected me. I ask young people to:

Grow up.

 ·        Some people will like you, some people won’t.

·         Words can be hurtful but get over it for your own peace of mind.

·         Don’t worry about what others think

Experience the world

 Put that phone down for a while. (I am now living with my cell phone on silent. It started during my recent teaching stint at Open Air. You can’t use your phone while you are teaching so put it off. And being forgetful I suppose, I forgot to put the sound back on and I found how freeing it was. I could check it when I wanted and return calls and messages in my own time.

·Be open to new experiences, new sounds, new feelings

·Talk to an old person – they are just like you inside, outside is different but inside there is an 18-year-old dying to get out

My personal cantankerousness

It irritates me when I hear the slogan “Black lives matter”. Come on! ALL lives matter, whites, blacks, yellow, cats, dogs, birds and bees. I have a young (white) friend who gets upset when I offer this viewpoint and he says I don’t understand. I do understand dear boy and I have become more compassionate and more understanding the older I get.

I wish I could plonk some of the wisdom that time has given me into the heads of youth without destroying their youth and innocence. And yes I get cantankerous when I see them throwing away this wonderful experience that is life by doing drugs and crime.

I hate to see the state of the world:

·         The rioting

·         The crime

·         The protest marches

·         The lack of moral fibre

I hate the murdering of women and children.

I hate it that the youth are taking over countries without having the knowledge and sensibility to make things work.

I hate it that every day you hear of someone using established methods to commit crimes. The robbing of senior citizens, the robbing of governments. The latest thing that is getting me all cantankerous is that Uber drivers are now on the take to rob you and leave you stranded.

What a sad, crazy world we live in.

How did it happen?

How did it happen? When did it happen? Why did it happen? Where can we lay the blame? America? Well they seem to be leaders in most things so the blame will normally sit with one of their people. Some say Dr. Spock? I don’t know. I just know that I don’t like where we are right now.

We have to watch our words in case we offend someone. But wait does that apply to all of us? Or only to some? There used to be a phrase – thick-skinned. That had nothing to do with colour or nationality or gender. It meant that we were able to take words and not allow their meaning to disrupt our lives, not to allow them to make us seek retribution either physically or in a court of law.

We have to be careful as there are too many people around who have no respect for the law and the safety of the normal person. We can’t even really trust our police force – the people who are supposed to be there for our protection.

The criminal and law breaker has become immune – crimes are committed in full view of witnesses. Often the criminal will not even bother to cover their face. You can no longer be safe if you are careful you may just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I feel sorry for the children who are led into crime by their caregivers – they don’t stand a chance.

I feel sorry for the youth growing up in this day and age. I feel sorry for parents who have to have a vigilance that I never had to have.

I congratulate the people who can grow up and grow normal in this crazy world of ours and I hope that somehow somewhere they will lift their voices and help set this world straight again.

I'm glad that my youth took place in a safe, warm, nourishing environment.

The forest

At first there is a silence and as the silence becomes deafening a tiny sound starts to reverberate. The heart of the forest is responding to the stillness of the sound. The trees realise that there are no humans around. No one to disturb the sound of silence or the sound of life. Just as the trees grow used to their inner silence other sounds start to awaken. The wind blows gently and the leaves of the fir trees start quietly swishing together.

A bird flies down onto a branch and quietly begins to chirrup. As there is no disturbance from anyone he lifts his voice higher and higher until it reaches the flock flying silently overhead. The flock almost come to a shrieking halt as the sound floats up to them. This is joyous, this is freedom. One by one the birds fly down to alight on branches and join their voices to the voice of the lone swallow. The night birds ruffle their feathers in their sleeping foliage and lazily add their sound to the rising melody.

The brook which flows on the edge of the forest seeps in the happiness around it and beginnings to chortle and bubble its way to the stream ahead. The frogs realise that the time has come to join in and they time their croaks to meld in with the general melody. The tree frogs slither out the water, creeping along like Gollum. They find a spot on the trunk of the trees and join in with their unique song. Squirrels pop out of their sleeping areas and become a silent audience to this midnight madness of the forest. Little dassies, feral cats and abandoned dogs slink closer hoping to be accepted. As they see that all are beginning to harmonise in song, sounds and life they relax and become glad to join the circle. Even the snakes slithering out of their homes realise that this is different. It is safer. This is what they have dreamed of.

Soon the jubilations start to quieten as the animals drift off to sleep exactly where they came to rest and the forest slumbers and is stronger for the peace it has experienced even if only for one brief night. As dawn arises, the birds start their morning chorus, the animals look around and are surprised to still be possessed of that beautiful relaxed feeling of the night before. Something has happened, there has been one small change, almost imperceptible but there has been a change.

As the daylight gets stronger the animals look around and wonder when they need to take cover from the hunters and loggers who daily spoil their homes and their harmony. But nothing happens. The wise owl thinks he knows the answer and sings amidst his hoots to tell his thoughts.

“Tawoo… It is the barbarian’s day of rest.” He nods wisely as he says “They will be back tomorrow so let’s enjoy one more day of possession of our forest.”

The other animals decide to accept the owl’s wise words and go about their business and play undisturbed by the fact that they have let their guard down and man may come at any moment to break it up. As the sun goes down the forest folk realise that they have been given a fabulous gift of one undisturbed day and all raise their voices in thanks for this blessing and then slowly doze off. Some are twitching with thoughts of what tomorrow might bring.

But joy of joys tomorrow dawns and the beauty of the day before is repeated. Soon the animals and birds and trees begin to hope that the new life has indeed begun. But none of them had ventured to the outskirts of the forest. If they had they would have been surprised to see small primitive homes being built to surround and protect the forest. They would have seen an elderly kind looking man (let’s call him John) who had at last won his fight against the marauders. Yes! He and his family had pooled their resources to protect this the last surviving forest on earth in the hopes of educating the greedy that humans cannot just go on their path of destruction, they need to protect what little resources are left. 

Man needs oxygen; trees need carbon dioxide so we can live in a symbiotic system and grow.

© Vera Alexander