She walked slowly along that busy road, grey hair, unkempt but kept by a seemingly brittle synthetic band, adorns her head bent because of weariness or maybe hopelessness. Everything is gray, including her striped blouse and pants just below the knee. Or
was it because she looked gray, too? Five people passed over the limp woman who was taking every step seriously (or with difficulty). Not one spent time to glance. I was behind her and I saw the gloom but did not see the face. I moved past her but did not look at her, too, trying to avoid seeing the misery.
He wanted to belong. He loves to share his collection of green jokes. He appears jolly but the deep lines on his face share the
deep scars in him. Not everybody enjoys his presence. The disgusting smell of his aged body and bad breath brought by poor hygiene and neglect ruins anybody’s desire to exchange intelligent views with him. My disgust most of the time is superseded by pity.
I know not every aged man or woman experiences such sad fates. Not every golden ager is being disliked, ignored or hated. Lucky them. But the later life is inevitable. This is the time when one cannot even smell his own smell, or cannot even flush the toilet after use, or cannot even comb her hair to make it presentable. This is the time where one hates to take a bath every day, or change his undies before going to bed, or brush her teeth or denture three times a day.
Maybe instead of laughing at their limitations, we take time to reflect thinking that one day we will belong to that group of seniors. One day we could be among them – adored or disliked, revered or despised. Do we laugh with the others, too, as they laugh at us; not aware we are the objects of their ridicule?
A sixty four thousand dollar question – are we ready to become old?
It breaks my heart to see aged people and nobody seems to care for them. kung pwede lang ampunin sila eh ..
ReplyDeleteGrowing old is inevitable talaga...it is a part of life eh...ready to grow old? maybe...i'll just cross the bridge when i get there
hi blue,
ReplyDeletebreaks my heart, too. and to think, there are people who takes advantage of their limitations and weaknesses not realizing that someday they will be in the same shoes.
Have you read Tuesdays with Morrie or watch the movie? It is nice. Morrie is old and sick pero not your typical cranky old man. Inspiring nga eh...
ReplyDeletehindi pa, blue. pero heard of it, inspiring nga daw.
ReplyDeletethat man is one of the bosses in the place where i work. intelligent but ridiculed - abandoned by everybody in his household.
Well, that's the real and inevitable part of our (everyone's) life cycle. For sure none of us could avoid it as it is fixed and bound to happen no matter what.
ReplyDeleteThe important thing is, have we enjoyed every minute of our life. Are we growing old or just getting older?
That's where the difference is. Those who laugh at them are people who are just getting older and those who cared for them are the people who are growing old.
By the way, i am curious, how did this topic come to your mind? Anything special or extra-ordinary?
Or, perhaps, you are feeling it too (lol, just joking..), just like me...
Highly emotional post.
Lesson: Be prepared, parang boy/girl scouts.
hmmm.. there is a difference pala between growing old and getting older.
ReplyDeletethe idea came to my mind because i saw an old woman walking very slowly. it reminds me of my mother and some stories about her. i am not ready to share it now, perhaps in the future.
if the body aches and the mental lapses (he he) are signs, then i am getting older. no regret growing old, actually, because i enjoy every bit of my life. i just hope i will not be a burden someday.
thanks for dropping by. btw, do you have a name (or even an alias) that i could address (kasi naiilang ako tawagin ka myepinoy)?
Sabi nga doon sa e-mail na na receive ko, kapag daw alam mo ang words like Disco, sayaw na El Bimbo, Choknut, betamax at sintemo,ibig sabhin noon matanda ka na. (lol)
ReplyDeleteAko alam ko yon, i'm sure alam mo rin yon.
Kung naiilang ka sa myepinoy, Check this. Yan ako. di ko lang alam bakit ka naiilang. Something???
Hehe, nagpromote pa ano. pasensya na.
All things will wither and fade, and eventually summer will become fall and then turn into winter when all life is asleep. The same goes with us humans, for fair we may be in the gladden days of our youth, yet youth is not eternal, and we will become old in our later years. Yet grieve not, for the old may be frail and weak, whose physical beauty has passed like water on rock, they have gained much more with their age, for with age comes wisdom, wisdom that they will share to the younger generation until the time has come to pass when they must leave the circles of the world.
ReplyDeleteYet some old people, do not gain wisdom as each year passes. Instead they become more senile, for grief or anger may have taken them, or all things that they loved have passed before them. Such is the burden of being old, when all things once cherished by our hearts has faded away, only to be remembered in the meres of our memory.
That is why immortality is both a gift and a curse. For you may live forever yet you will fade and dwindle from the world, wary of the quick tides of change, and all things that you knew has faded.
So, my dear friends, being old is a gift, in which we can gain wisdom, and forever hold in our minds that when we become old, each day is a chance to meet our dear Lord in the sky.
your myepinoy site is cool. naiilang ako sa pseudonym mo, yun lang. it is a lot easier to address a person by his name or even an alias. i also requested a friend one time about addressing him with a different name kasi nailang din ako sa pseudonym niya. not really a big deal pero kung pwede nga lang. thanks sa pagpapaunlak.
ReplyDeleteso, rolly pala name mo. hi, rolly. nice to learn things about you from that link. i appreciate the visit.
Lord DJ,
ReplyDeletesuch strong words for a 13 yr old. dinaig mo pa ako, a!
tama nga yata si atty punzi, you are an old soul trapped in a child's body. very proud ako, 'no? but really, i am. i am glad that you have a mind replete with ideas.
what you have written - Yet some old people, do not gain wisdom as each year passes. Instead they become more senile, for grief or anger may have taken them, or all things that they loved have passed before them. - is very true.
keep it up, son!
Lord DJ,
ReplyDeletesuch strong words for a 13 yr old. dinaig mo pa ako, a!
tama nga yata si atty punzi, you are an old soul trapped in a child's body. very proud ako, 'no? but really, i am. i am glad that you have a mind replete with ideas.
what you have written - Yet some old people, do not gain wisdom as each year passes. Instead they become more senile, for grief or anger may have taken them, or all things that they loved have passed before them. - is very true.
keep it up, son!
ang ganda nitong post niyo ate bing :) ako sana pag tumanda ako ng ganyang edad na nasa picture hmmmmmmmmmmmm gusto ko katabi ko mahal ko sa buhay yung tipong kasama ko sila..basta yun na yon.gusto ko muna cool ako na maging mommy then cool na maging lola yung tipong marunong makiayon at ma gets ko magiging panahon ng mga apo lol(laugh out loud)basta sana umabot ako ng 79 0r 80 ayos na salamat na ako ke Lord.ayoko ko maging matured gusto ko "cool" para suave....
ReplyDelete@ rolly - you're welcome.
ReplyDelete@ j - can't imagine a 'cool' lola kung paano ang magigin itsura.. but probably one who would be open minded and could adapt to the changes of the times can be 'cool'. musta na, j?
ate bing ayos pa rin ako magandang nilalang pa din nagko kolekta ng moral lesson palagi hehehe ikaw ayos ka lang ba dyan?sana ayos ka lang dyan ..okis
ReplyDeletecheers