The Senior Citizens
(…a message to the youth)
By Apolinario Villalobos
Never scorn or despise the senior citizens. Without them, there is no world fit for habitation. Without them, there would have been no bright guys running governments. Senior citizens are the seeds of humanity that brought forth different races that roam the earth. Senior citizens are what the youth have become –intelligent, ripened, seasoned, experienced, toughened, esteemed, honored, valued, appreciated, and many more.
The senior citizens toiled day and night to earn so that the youth in their care can eat decent meals and earn knowledge from prep schools, middle schools, colleges and universities. They sat it out all night when the youth in their care contacted diseases. They cried when the youth in their care succumbed to sickness and finally go to eternal sleep. The woman senior citizen carried what would become a child, for nine months which is the fulfillment of her life as a mother. The elderly man, literally broke his back in carrying loads to earn an honest living for the growing youth in his care.
Never hate the senior citizens just because they break cups and plates due of trembling hands. Never call them useless creatures just because you feed them, after they have exhausted their savings to buy you nice clothes, gadgets and pay for your tuition. Never neglect their needs for medical attention, because for you, they can finally rest if their deterioration is hastened. You, the youth, are treading the road that leads to where they are now.
The senior citizens should be venerated. They deserve the same care that they once gave you as a growing youth. They should not be caricatured because of their wrinkled skin, stooped posture, bowed legs, gummy smile and chinky eyes due to dimming sight. They should not be shunned because of a typical smell, as they can no longer take a bath on their own.
The senior citizens should be loved the way they loved you since the first minute you saw the light of the world. They deserve it more than anything else…more than any weight of gold…more than the brightest sparkle of a diamond. They need to feel the warmth that they once wrapped your frail body.
You will become one, like them…ripened by time and toughened by trials. They are you, years from now…
penpowersong 