Saturday, January 04, 2003
I must preface this little essay by explaining my qualifications.
My bride and joy of forty years and I are the proud gradparents of seven. The youngest is yet to enter grade school, the oldest is in college.
GRANDPARENTS
Have you ever heard anyone say something like this?
"What is the matter with kids today?
When I was a kid" ..............
Maybe you have said it yourself.
Several years ago I worked as an installer of aluminum framed screen porches. The work was performed in above 55 communities where nearly everyone who lived there were grandparents.
"The workman is worthy of his hire" was a phrase foreign to most of them.
While negotiating the purchase of an new addition a person who had two homes and wanted a porch on the second, (sometimes third) would say something like: "Can't you do any better? You know I live on a fixed income."
These were gated communities. Only residents were allowed to enter.
How dissappointed I was when materials were missing from my staging area. Once, A fellow for whom I did work drove up to his job site in time to catch a resident balancing a twenty foot long component on his bicycle, ready to take it down the street to his home!
Another time a lady was loading brick piled on the side of the lane in front of a new project into the trunk of her car. When my partner discovered her she said "It doesn't belong to anybody."
It was a very competitive business and people got multiple quotes before signing a contract. All the contractors knew each other and everyone knew their costs and what would be a reasonable profit. The grandparents would lie about another installers bid in an effort to secure a lower price.
And then there is the grocery cart!
A little old lady (grandmother,) pushing a grocery cart is a clear and present danger! She will use it like a battering ram in order to "horn in" in front of someone else, especially at the checkout line! How rude!
Interstate 75 bisects the county where I live. Some of the worst offenders of speed limits, tailgating, cutting off, etc. are gray haired people driving cars with license plates from other states. Often they are pulling large RVs or driving big motor homes. Grandparents on vacation.
I could continue but I think the point is made.
My answer to the question is this:
Maybe they have been watching their grandparents!
Since people learn the most by imitation, they need models rather than critics.
Shalom, Y'all
My bride and joy of forty years and I are the proud gradparents of seven. The youngest is yet to enter grade school, the oldest is in college.
GRANDPARENTS
Have you ever heard anyone say something like this?
"What is the matter with kids today?
When I was a kid" ..............
Maybe you have said it yourself.
Several years ago I worked as an installer of aluminum framed screen porches. The work was performed in above 55 communities where nearly everyone who lived there were grandparents.
"The workman is worthy of his hire" was a phrase foreign to most of them.
While negotiating the purchase of an new addition a person who had two homes and wanted a porch on the second, (sometimes third) would say something like: "Can't you do any better? You know I live on a fixed income."
These were gated communities. Only residents were allowed to enter.
How dissappointed I was when materials were missing from my staging area. Once, A fellow for whom I did work drove up to his job site in time to catch a resident balancing a twenty foot long component on his bicycle, ready to take it down the street to his home!
Another time a lady was loading brick piled on the side of the lane in front of a new project into the trunk of her car. When my partner discovered her she said "It doesn't belong to anybody."
It was a very competitive business and people got multiple quotes before signing a contract. All the contractors knew each other and everyone knew their costs and what would be a reasonable profit. The grandparents would lie about another installers bid in an effort to secure a lower price.
And then there is the grocery cart!
A little old lady (grandmother,) pushing a grocery cart is a clear and present danger! She will use it like a battering ram in order to "horn in" in front of someone else, especially at the checkout line! How rude!
Interstate 75 bisects the county where I live. Some of the worst offenders of speed limits, tailgating, cutting off, etc. are gray haired people driving cars with license plates from other states. Often they are pulling large RVs or driving big motor homes. Grandparents on vacation.
I could continue but I think the point is made.
My answer to the question is this:
Maybe they have been watching their grandparents!
Since people learn the most by imitation, they need models rather than critics.
Shalom, Y'all
