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Show People, Politics & Policy Senior Citizens bear fruit in maturity By E. MARK BEZZANT In today's society there is a lot of emphasis put on looking and staying young. We hear quite a bit about what some call the beautiful people. These, of course, are those you see in advertisements sipping a soft drink. These are the people you see in positions we call models. My observations are that while these , people represent reality, they are not respresentative of the real world. What is representative of the real world are a class of people we have come to call senior citizens. These are people, who by virtue of their age, have experienced much of what we call life, and for better or worse still hang in there. I find it interesting that when we are young we can't wait until we get old, and when we are old we can't help but wish we were a little younger. When kept in perspective, we realize that being young and being old is a part of living. Like the seed that first matures into just a shoot, we begin and then grow. As time goes by we are as different as the trees we see around our community. com-munity. They come in all shapes and varieties. At first the little trees need much encouragement and care if they make it at all. As time goes on, these trees mature and offer shade and beauty to passersby. In the winter they brave the harsh winds and heavy snow. While they suffer broken branches and disease, they continue on year in and year out. We come to take these trees for granted because they have been with us so long. Finally, even the strongest succomb and only memories are left of the beauty and protection these trees provided for us. Wouldn't it be a tragedy if we thought all trees should be per- petually young. Such is the tragedy I see in society today as we resist maturing. Life by definition is being born, maturing, and eventually passing on. Why not enjoy the journey? Why be caught up in the notion that everyone and everything can wear 501 jeans and never have a gray hair? Just a couple of weeks ago, Tim Nielsen came over to the orchard with Fugal's little bulldozer and pushed out some stumps of cherry trees that had ceased to bear fruit and new trees were scheduled to replace them. I thought of all the years those trees had given fruit and shade. I thought of all the kids who had learned to work by picking the fruit from the trees. I thought of all the things those young boys and girls had bought with the money they had earned from picking the fruit. I thought of all the families those trees had helped support, the missions, the college tuition, the weddings, the Christmases. There was no reason at all for those trees Tim pushed out to feel a need to be young again. In fact, some of their most productive years were as fully developed trees. The wood from their large branches and trunks will warm our hearths in the winter. The memories of these trees will warm our hearts for years to come, and in some cases from generation to generation. To you who are grandparents and great grandparents, I hope that you are enjoying the journey. You are beautiful people even if you don't have all the hair you once did. You are beautiful people even if your size has doubled. You are beautiful people even if you can't kick, bounce, throw, pass, hit or catch a ball as good as you once could. You are beautiful people even if those teeth are not the originals. You are beautiful people even if it does take you two weeks to do a full day's work. You are beautiful people even if it takes a little Ben Gay on the joints to get you limber in the morning. Just think of all the people you have helped already in life. Think of all the good times you have had. Think of all the school kids you have helped by paying all those taxes and the chuck holes your tax dollars have filled. Think of all the experience ex-perience you have gained over the years. Contrary to media hype, all of us will be "old" someday. As much as you can, enjoy it. So what if the grandkids need to mow your lawn? So what if you need some help with the house work? So what if those eyes are not as good as they used to be? None of us are what we used to be! The bottom line is that we are grateful for what you are and grateful that life has given us the opportunity to grow with the benefit . of your shade and warmth all these years. |
