My friend's grandad Joe is a bit senile, but he remembers a lot from the past and everytime I see him he tells me his family history again and again ("My dad built the farm in 1888.." and "I met my wife when I was 15..." etc), about England and cities he's visited, about the Empire, the Second World War and the local history. Joe never really stops talking once he's begun which is quite annoying (even though I love history). However there's a lot I admire him for, such as always dressing really properly and nicely. He's too old to go out and doesn't see other people than his wife and his daughter's family who live next door but is still always wearing a shirt, tie and jacket.
Most English people of his generation are really nice, at least the ones I've met. The strangers who say "good morning" or smile when I walk past them, the ladies in the charity shop, a man who started talking to me in a cafe, and the old lady who I met in a shopping centre, they're all so easy to talk to, and so ful of life and joy. It doesn't matter if they knees hurt, if they lose the hair or if they're a bit senile like Joe, they're still happy and grateful for being alive and for what they have. I wish more people focused on what they have instead of what they want or could have.
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Update 23rd April 2009
Grandpa Joe passed away this afternoon. R.I.P.
Most English people of his generation are really nice, at least the ones I've met. The strangers who say "good morning" or smile when I walk past them, the ladies in the charity shop, a man who started talking to me in a cafe, and the old lady who I met in a shopping centre, they're all so easy to talk to, and so ful of life and joy. It doesn't matter if they knees hurt, if they lose the hair or if they're a bit senile like Joe, they're still happy and grateful for being alive and for what they have. I wish more people focused on what they have instead of what they want or could have.
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