As many of you know, my parents were just here in Singapore for a few weeks and their visit brings up all kinds of raw, tender feelings. Because they are my parents, and they lived through the Depression and WWII and Korea for that matter, I do consider them the 'Greatest Generation.'
And so they age, and we, their children age and the baton is passed from their generation to ours. Scary stuff. Here's a little story that sums it up nicely (if I posted it before, forgive me):
A dear friend of mine, while working as a sales rep in the 90s had a few minutes between appointments and needed to use a pay phone, so she wondered into a VFW hall (Veterens of Foreign Wars). She is a curvy statuesque gorgeous blonde (not the emo, waifish, heroin-addict lolly pop heads worshipped today) and is used to a bit of attention.
As she approached the front door, it swung open and an older gentlemen (in his 70s or so and wearing some type of military insignia to indicate he was, indeed a veteran), held the door open for her in a grand, sweeping gesture and when she thanked him he said: 'the pleasure is all mine young lady'. He was not lecherous mind you, just kind and thoughtful.
She made her calls but was nagged by a sinking sadness she couldn't pinpoint or shake off. She left the hall, after passing a few more vets enjoying coffee after their meeting, got back in her car and cried like a baby for 20 minutes. Her lament? 'Who? Who will take care of us when they are gone?
So Mike Wallace has retired, and you can never go home again and the question is: now that we are in charge what will we do with our short time here? Are there contemporaries we hold up as positive icons of our generation? That we are proud of? If pushed by history to extraordinary circumstances, would we come out the other end, our dignity in tact?
