#6... Hope the count stops soon!

I can't believe it!  Robin Williams, the happiest and funniest man of my childhood, someone I admired and enjoyed watching in all his work, supposedly found it easier not to grow old.  Why?  Just like my previous post, we will never know.

Then, I see the other side of the spectrum.  When riding my bicycle to work, I often see an elderly man walking.  He must be in his 90's.  He walks at what I consider a quick pace for his age, but he moves about 3 inches a step.  He looks happy each time I go past him in the early morning. That is all he has left to feel good about, and he enjoys the walk. 

I get more confused.

I also noted another generational issue recently.  My generation would take pride in being aware of other people's time.  I notice now that people in their 20s just live the moment more and more without regard to what was planned or what is tomorrow.  It seems odd that they do not have any issues making others wait and cancel plans as they are enjoying their moment in time.  Just seems so selfish.  But it could be I am just becoming that grumpy old man no one enjoys. There is little respect left in the world.

There's been a fundamental change in adult life. Teachers, pediatricians, and therapists are seeing children of all ages who are not afraid of their parents—not one bit—not of their power, not of their position, not of their ability to apply standards and enforce consequences.

These days, that look seems to have been replaced by a feeble nod of parental acquiescence and an earnest acknowledgment of "how hard it is to be a kid these days." I have seen children call their parents names and tell them how stupid they are, and I have heard adolescents use strings of expletives toward them. 

I have concluded that not only are the kids unafraid of their parents, but parents are also afraid of their kids! Whatever happened to the phrases our parents relied on to put us in our place? "Keep your shirt on." "On the double." "What do you think we are, made of money?" "Because I said so." "If you want sympathy, look it up in the dictionary," or  "Don't bother me unless you're bleeding." Parents once commanded respect.

Today's generation of children is our history's most closely observed, monitored, cherished, and scheduled. They are also the most praised. Families are smaller, and there are fewer children upon whom parents can beam their attention.  Many parents don't expect their children to contribute much around the house, but they expect them to achieve outside the home.

Could it be that this is the answer I am looking for? We never get to be kids, so we do not want to become older adults? Could it be that someone stole their childhood, so they stole their adulthood?

Carry OnMy Friends, Carry On…