Isn’t it funny how the older you get, the more you experience things you might have seen your parents and elders go through? I realize these time vignettes have us scratching our heads or having an a-ha moment. Let’s pick three subjects most of us are going through: grocery stores, gas, and ageism.

I can’t think of anyone in my circle of friends or associates that likes to go grocery shopping anymore. We used to love going to our favorite food stops to get the right ingredients for whatever we made. Starting with Covid and now ever-soaring prices, the thief of joy has ruined one of our happy places. Recently, my youngest son got married. As part of the celebrations, we contributed to a large BBQ as one of the pre-wedding day gatherings. We were tasked with providing smoked pulled pork and St. Louis ribs. Pork butts and shoulders have hovered around the same price, but ribs post-Labor Day were astronomical, tallying around $30 a rack. I’m talking about commodity, average racks! Just yesterday, I went into the same grocery store, and the same frozen rack was $10 and change. Shameful and head-scratching. Thank goodness for our very generous and still producing gardens. At this point we might need to start raising our own livestock.

And then there's gasoline. I read this morning and heard on the radio that OPEC was reducing their production by a mere 2 million gallons daily. This will more than likely create a shortage down the road and a higher price at the pump for all of us. So, gas companies today started to immediately raise the price, even though this reduction hasn’t started yet. To call it opportunistic and greedy would be an understatement. Head scratcher.

And then we have ageism. This one is a topic I hear about from more and more of my contemporaries. Luckily, I have not experienced this myself, but I imagine it’s just a matter of time since I am already a dinosaur. I remember vividly when my father knew he would be forced to retire from his position on the police force. He was furious. Eventually, that reality did come to pass. In retrospect, the man was as healthy as a horse, did not look his age, had a brilliant mind, and a wealth of knowledge and experience! We don’t revere and honor our elders as many other countries do. Here, most older Americans get cast aside. All that wisdom and knowledge is worth a lot! I also know we thrive on so many levels because of younger generations. Creative innovation and looking at things from a different perspective help our worlds turn, like we did when we were younger.

My query is simple; does this resonate with you and your perspective? Please, share your thoughts. Cheers.

Live well always

A different point of view

Join for free* to continue reading.