A Great Lesson Learned

So there I was waiting for the bus this morning. I was engrossed in the book I was reading (thanks Marie for the great recommendation) and oblivious to everything and everyone around me. I was just minding my own buisness and waiting...waiting...waiting.

Then I hear..."I said hello, I said hello, I said hello, and no one bothers to talk to me this morning." I might add that each time she said, "I said hello" it got louder and much more rude. So by about the third time I look up from my book and see Grandma Italy. This, of course, is not her real name but is the nickname that I have given her long ago. She is this little Italian grandma that uses a cane and takes the same bus as me in the mornings. She got a lot of spunk and she's nearly deaf so when she speaks she shouts. I love her.

She notices that now I am paying attention to her and takes this opportunity to teach me a great lesson. She looks at me with deep sincerity and says (with sorrow in her eyes), "Where I come from young people greet their elders when they approach. Where I come from they respect their elders. Where I come from they..." and she drifts off. I can tell she is getting teary-eyed and I know I should say something in my defense, but I don't. I have no excuse...she is right. What has happend to our society? Why don't we respect our elders anymore?

Just before the bus arrives she looks over at me again and with tears in her eyes she says, "I miss my home." I can see pain behind her old tired eyes and it makes me think. I help her get into the bus and take my seat. Because of her, I am changed.