The 22-year old motorist grew angry and blocked the older man's car.  Then he opened the door, cursed the senior and spat upon him.

This is very disturbing.  It shows the vulnerability of our seniors.  It also demonstrated disrespect some young people have toward the elderly.  We don't know what happened to cause the younger driver to lose his temper, but matters grew worse with the verbal/ spitting attack.

We need to protect our aging parents from experiencing this kind of behavior.  One way to do that is to keep them off the road as much as possible.  If they must drive, don't drive during peak traffic hours such as school openings and closings. 

Elderly Road Rage Incident 

This case is disturbing from several angles.  The first, of course, is that someone can be fired over a decade before retirement because they are considered too old for the position.  54 is not ancient, when people are now  living well beyond their eighties.

"Not being a good cultural fit" is also a concern because that is a broad statement by Google and could, frankly, mean almost anything. 

Google is a young firm run by young people.  It is a strange place that has been phenomenally successful.  This blog has spent a lot of time planning to please the giant search engine.  If you play the game right, you get the traffic.  If you don't, you'll languish without an audience.  That's life on the Internet in 2010.  Okay, we accept that.

However, if another 54 year-old could give some advice to these youngsters, here is what I would tell them.

You'll be in your fifties before you can turn around.  It will hit you fast.  You'll be in shock the first time a grocery clerk tells you to "come back Wednesday for Senior Day." Gray is  coming.  Get ready.

Next, who says a 54 year-old is all washed up?  Many people in their fifties, who have been snubbed and thrown out of their jobs, are now on the Internet making more money than they did before in their old jobs.  That's also consolation for anyone finding themselves out of a corporate world livelihood.  There are other solutions for earning money and the best revenge is success.

Finally, have we become a nation that can throw people away because of their age?  This is particularly scary as we face the rationing of health care.  This issue goes much farther than a Google spat at the office.  A nation will be partially  judged morally  on how it views its elderly.  People are not dispensable. 

When you read the article about the firing, pay attention to the readers' comments.  That's where the real golden nuggets of information are because it shows how people really think.   

Read Age Biased Lawsuit Against Google 

Many of us have the privilege of taking care of what has been named "The Greatest Generation."  June 6th is always a day of remembrance for many of us because it is the D-day anniversary.  It was 66 years ago today that the invasion began early in the morning as many brave men landed on the beaches of Normandy.

My Uncle Charlie was one of them and he arrived on Utah Beach in one of the first troop waves.

It is hard to imagine what it was like because many of the survivors rarely talked about it.  What small snippets of information we got were short and not very detailed.  The men often did not want to re-live those horrible moments.

My uncle, who was a sergeant, did tell the story of a young boy in his outfit.  He described the boy as being so young he had never shaved.

"I ordered him to dig a hole and stay in it," Uncle Charley said.  "He complied, and I was glad to see him alive and well after the battle.  I was afraid he would have been killed otherwise."

Now it's our turn to take care of them.  Many of them are now passing on, but we still have a few of our parents left who served in World War II.  Not only did they provide for us and take care of us but they also preserved freedom.  That's a powerful legacy.

While I'm reminiscing about D-Day I'm also reminded of a story told of a woman in labor somewhere in England.  It was the night of June 5, 1944, and the first planes secretly heading toward Normandy were still hours away from the battle which would begin at dawn.

She kept telling the doctor she could hear planes.  The doctor later said he thought it was her imagination, because no one else heard them.  Later, after the baby's birth and the invasion was revealed it was learned she had indeed heard planes.

These stories are so important to record. Get all the information you can now before it is too late.  Write down the memories and preserve them.  Your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be grateful.

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Where is the real respect for our elderly?    Do we often have condescending attitudes toward them or do we take the time to treat them as we ourselves would like to be treated?

This issue is a hot button in American society.  That's because the elderly and seniors complain that younger people often do not give them the consideration they deserve.

The definition of an older person is just that.  He, or she, is a person who is older.  That's all.  An 85-year old is a personality with the need to be loved and respected by everyone.  Those are the same needs he had as a 28- year old or 40-year old.

Elderly people and their family members often complain that others treat the older person as if he or she is a child.  Older people are often talked down to, in babyish talk.    Some in the medical profession are especially guilty of this.

Recently, a fan group online was upset by the manner in which one of their favorite senior actors was treated at a fan gathering.  He was cornered by some young men posing as reporters.  They proceeded to "interview" him and questions have arisen if  he was being singled out because of his age. ( He is in his eighties)

He handled the silly situation with a lot of class which proves there are many seniors out there who can take on younger mischief makers quite well, thank you very much.  A word of warning: what often goes around comes around.  This gentleman in particular has a lot of friends as well a huge fan base.

Here is an excellent article written by Darlene Doku who points out how the elderly are treated in many African countries where they are shown the upmost repsect.  Maybe some of us in America could learn something new.

Read Most Have Respect for Old by Darlene Doku

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