He's resting in Peace.

Do we only pay attention to the elderly when it's their birthday or they die?

My bubby's (yiddish for grandmother) husband died around 1:30 am last night. Izadore Cohen, better known as Iz, not "Izzy"... he hated "Izzy". He was the most generous man I had ever met, and always wore red suspenders and a smug face. They were both widowed and fell in love about 6 years ago, and were married within months.

I can't stop asking myself what things I never took the time to ask Iz. I keep wondering all of the things that someone with 60 years of age on me knows that I just can't possibly have the wisdom to know. I can't help but want to take some time to sit down and ask more questions to the ones who have lived before me.

But I know I know, we're a firsthand race. We want to explore and discover for ourselves. We want to live to the fullest. We want to be innovative.. but man, I just know there have got to be some things that should be passed down from one generation to the next. Yeah, we are the shapers of this world. But I just don't know how much should be left in the past.


Some elderly people are abnormally special... going out of their way to pass their words on. Like Mr. Bill and my Aunt Mary.. and I really really am thankful for their wisdom and courage. But what about those who don't go out of the way? What has become of them besides a burden on the young and healthy? Is that all we become if we don't remind people that we exist? Once we get to a certain age, do we have to make even more of an effort to be paid a certain attention? And shouldn't it be the other way around? I mean, the surface view might say that in the past those standards stood, and the elderly were so respected and acknowledged. But I wonder if that's true... If the young haven't always ran off with their idealized hopes and dreams, and if not forgetting the importance of those before them, merely tried their best to remember it... not actually believe and live by some truth that our elders are our first priority. And if it really was different in the past, what's happening to us now? And where will things be when we get to be that age?

So what's the answer? Is it only during birthdays or death that we really acknowledge the existence of some elders? Of course not all situations will be the same, and much like all of society, some people for any given reason never get the attention they deserve. (By attention I'm implying things such as love, friendship, compainionship, respect, etc)... Because everyone deserves those things... But from my observations anyway, it seems as though the older you get, the less people you have by your side. Your friends begin to pass away, and soon your spouse.. and you're left with your children and theirs... and what happens? Do you become a society of the shrivelled and unimportant bodies and minds taken care of by people who really just want to live their own lives?

I'll miss Iz. And I'm mourning for my Bubby. and that's about all I know right now.