window into the past

elderly people who are still all there are the coolest people to spend time with. when you look around their living space you see ancient photos that seem current to them and furniture that to a younger person only exist in the movies or a thrift shop. you also get a window into the past. history books cant give you what an elderly person can. a book can tell the facts and even about how people may have been effected by these facts, but a book can only be read. you can ask an elderly person questions . they may not always remember, but when they do its amazing.

years ago when my great uncle was still alive he told me about how when he was small there were only horse and buggies. he also said that there used to be a stone in front of homes and stores . there was a large gap between the ground and the carriage. the men could easily jump down , but the women in their dresses could not do so gracefully . this is where the stone comes in. the women would step onto the stone and then onto the ground. it was much more graceful this way. he also said that years after horse and buggies were just a memory these stones remained. after awhile people didnt even remember why they were there in the first place.

after cars were invented one always knew when it was a good year economically when one looked in the driveway at the university and there were many cars parked there. (this of course was outside of new york. )

my great uncle also described the thrill of riding on a train for the first time. there werent even any seats, but for him it was just so exciting to travel city to city in such a modern mode of transportation.

my great uncle also lived years before window screens were invented. he said it was awful when one rode on a bus. all the bugs would fly in your face. not a great visual indeed. it was something i had never thought of . i thought window screens had been around forever. who knew?

i could have read all about these events in a book, but these facts on their own may not have actually interested me. knowing someone who had experienced such events made them seem less of a fairytale and more plausible. my great uncle not only knew about these things, he lived them.

there are so many nuggets elderly people carry within them. we must help them pass them on to us before they arent able to pass them on anymore.