Raisins are what make the bran so sweet

Reading Leslie's blog today reminded me of Tightly Wounds post a few days ago about her Grandmother and what a great lady she was. I know I felt the same about my Grandparents as well. Which led me to wonder, when did it happen that people stopped revering the elderly? Young people of today have no patience for the older generation. If Granma or Granpa have some money to dole out, then they are cool, other wise they are forgotten.
I remember thinking that my Grandfather was the wisest man in the world. My Grandmother always had these wonderful little bits of wisdom to share. Like putting salt on a birds tail will make it easier to catch. Or the one about a crowing hen and a whistling girl will come to no good end. Of course she also made the worlds best biscuits and fried chicken. What wonderful people they were. They brought so much sunshine and happiness into my life.
My Mother was never interested in being that kind of Grandmother. My children never knew my sperm donor Father, and my step-Father died when they were all small. My husbands Mother passed away when he was a teenager. His Dad, was a cantankerous old fellow who was more interested in chasing wimmen than his grandchildren. So my children never had the opportunity to have grandparents like I did. Maybe that is why they have no reverence for the elderly the way I do. Another great loss for our children.
While kids of today are much more savy than we ever were, they have a hard edge to them, a loss of empathy. No real understanding of the wisdom that comes with age. Will they ever understand that 'raisins are what makes the bran so sweet'?