Dan: In this leaderless Ontario of mediocrities I looked for solace to the life and times of George Drew and Leslie Miscampbell Frost. Both of them served in the Great war. Both were injured and endured lengthy recoveries. Both built Ontario. They did not sell it out.
Think to of Brian Brooke Claxton who served his country in the Great War and then with valour in the federal government. He married a Savage whose sister was Ann. Her twin brother was killed in the Great War within weeks of his deployment. She was an outstanding artist and teacher in Montreal throughout her long distinguished life. General Leslie is Claxton;s grandson. He granted me an hour of his time to explore his grandfather's massive contribution to this country's welfare. General Leslie is a very interesting man. Worth consideration for an interview. No?
Individually, all people are interesting across the board. No matter their age but especially if they are older.
Perhaps we haven’t been taught what kinds of questions to ask. I suggest sitting with anyone and asking them what is the meaning of their experiences, what do they long for. What happened with their first love. How do they think about death. What is the meaning of life to them?
And these are questions first and foremost I need to ask myself. Sure, where they went, Woodstock, miniskirts may seem uninteresting, but asking what was it like to be 13, how did Woodstock change your worldview, etc, those questions might bring forth a deep connection.
My take is we are asking the wrong questions. And perhaps we are looking in the wrong place. Unless we look at ourselves, we might be hard pressed to be interested in those close to our age....give it a try. You might be surprised.
This is a an interesting observation Dan and caused some reflection. It rings true. I am reminded of the pipe smoking WW2 vets that I went bird hunting with in the Chilcotin and the stories they recalled. One was a young pilot and during training flew his plane under a bridge.....a big no-no. Another was the tail gunner in a bomber that was hit and limped back home only to crash on the runway, the tail of the plane broke off and he was the only survivor.
My contemporaries regale us with stories of the great deals they got on Amazon and their latest binge on Netflix .
Ok, maybe that’s not completely fair . Actually yes it is.
I think the lyrics you included for ´Happy Days are Here Again‘ are actually from ´Get Happy’ (which two songs Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland immortally mashed up after Barbra had one of her first hits with the former -- see https://youtu.be/UxFvQEanqbQ )
Dan, this was an enjoyable column for the very reason that you are describing me. Not me as one of your interesting older folk but me as someone who (in my early seventies) remembers so much banal stuff that, truly, no one, least of all my grandchildren SHOULD be interested in. On the other hand ...
On the other hand, there were many things that we were taught in school that, as near as I can tell, are not taught any longer simply because they don't meet the current agenda - and I will leave that alone right there. Much of what I was taught about history, how language develops, etc., etc., etc. had merit for our children and grandchildren.
On the other hand, if we don't take the time to tell young people interesting things, why would those young people be interested in anything that we, the older people, have to say?
In truth, a great deal of the blame for our children's lack of interest rests with we their parents.
About a week ago my wife and I were walking with our 45 year old son and his children, our grandchildren. At one point my son described to his children a particular evergreen as a pine tree and I pointed out that no, it was a spruce tree, in fact, a blue spruce tree. He was surprised that a) that was a fact and b) that I knew; I was surprised that he simply did not know such a basic thing. Later, in speaking with my wife, we agreed that we cannot recall that we ever taught that to him. I was sure that we had but perhaps .... So, the fault is with us.
We, the baby boomers, have had a lifetime where we tried our best for our families but, so often, that involved being at work and not taking the time to talk extensively to our children.
So, you want your young folk to find old folk interesting? Well, we had better start by BEING interesting; it's on us.
Dan: In this leaderless Ontario of mediocrities I looked for solace to the life and times of George Drew and Leslie Miscampbell Frost. Both of them served in the Great war. Both were injured and endured lengthy recoveries. Both built Ontario. They did not sell it out.
Think to of Brian Brooke Claxton who served his country in the Great War and then with valour in the federal government. He married a Savage whose sister was Ann. Her twin brother was killed in the Great War within weeks of his deployment. She was an outstanding artist and teacher in Montreal throughout her long distinguished life. General Leslie is Claxton;s grandson. He granted me an hour of his time to explore his grandfather's massive contribution to this country's welfare. General Leslie is a very interesting man. Worth consideration for an interview. No?
I’m one you speak about but have to differ.
Individually, all people are interesting across the board. No matter their age but especially if they are older.
Perhaps we haven’t been taught what kinds of questions to ask. I suggest sitting with anyone and asking them what is the meaning of their experiences, what do they long for. What happened with their first love. How do they think about death. What is the meaning of life to them?
And these are questions first and foremost I need to ask myself. Sure, where they went, Woodstock, miniskirts may seem uninteresting, but asking what was it like to be 13, how did Woodstock change your worldview, etc, those questions might bring forth a deep connection.
My take is we are asking the wrong questions. And perhaps we are looking in the wrong place. Unless we look at ourselves, we might be hard pressed to be interested in those close to our age....give it a try. You might be surprised.
This is a an interesting observation Dan and caused some reflection. It rings true. I am reminded of the pipe smoking WW2 vets that I went bird hunting with in the Chilcotin and the stories they recalled. One was a young pilot and during training flew his plane under a bridge.....a big no-no. Another was the tail gunner in a bomber that was hit and limped back home only to crash on the runway, the tail of the plane broke off and he was the only survivor.
My contemporaries regale us with stories of the great deals they got on Amazon and their latest binge on Netflix .
Ok, maybe that’s not completely fair . Actually yes it is.
I think the lyrics you included for ´Happy Days are Here Again‘ are actually from ´Get Happy’ (which two songs Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland immortally mashed up after Barbra had one of her first hits with the former -- see https://youtu.be/UxFvQEanqbQ )
Dan, this was an enjoyable column for the very reason that you are describing me. Not me as one of your interesting older folk but me as someone who (in my early seventies) remembers so much banal stuff that, truly, no one, least of all my grandchildren SHOULD be interested in. On the other hand ...
On the other hand, there were many things that we were taught in school that, as near as I can tell, are not taught any longer simply because they don't meet the current agenda - and I will leave that alone right there. Much of what I was taught about history, how language develops, etc., etc., etc. had merit for our children and grandchildren.
On the other hand, if we don't take the time to tell young people interesting things, why would those young people be interested in anything that we, the older people, have to say?
In truth, a great deal of the blame for our children's lack of interest rests with we their parents.
About a week ago my wife and I were walking with our 45 year old son and his children, our grandchildren. At one point my son described to his children a particular evergreen as a pine tree and I pointed out that no, it was a spruce tree, in fact, a blue spruce tree. He was surprised that a) that was a fact and b) that I knew; I was surprised that he simply did not know such a basic thing. Later, in speaking with my wife, we agreed that we cannot recall that we ever taught that to him. I was sure that we had but perhaps .... So, the fault is with us.
We, the baby boomers, have had a lifetime where we tried our best for our families but, so often, that involved being at work and not taking the time to talk extensively to our children.
So, you want your young folk to find old folk interesting? Well, we had better start by BEING interesting; it's on us.