Lessons from Old Men

Back in the day when I worked at Naples Cafe, I made friends with the old men who came in daily to drink coffee. In my last week in Vernal I decided that I really needed to go in and visit with them. Its amazing how 70-80 year old men can be some of the best friends you'll ever had. One old man named Nord is headed down hill pretty quick and I will be a sad little girl when he is gone. Friday when I was down visiting he got really dizzy and had to take one of his nitroglycerin pills and it didn't help much. I don't think he will make it through the winter. So long as he makes it to the 23rd he says he can die happy. It will be his 70th birthday. For having such a huge age gap those old men have taught me little things that I will never forget. An example is even though I'm more than 50 years younger than most of them they still treat me as an equal and listen to my opinion the exact same way they listen to each other. Another old man named Thom gave me his number today so I could keep him posted on his "favorite grandkid" while I'm at school. They don't look at me as a little girl that doesn't have enough experience to know about life, they look at me as a young adult that can give them a different point of view. I hope as a teacher I can take that into my classroom. And they never look down on me if I disagree. They challenge me instead to back up my opinion and teach them why I think what I do. Even if they don't agree at all with each other they still respect that everyone has a different head to think with and maybe their point is more correct than their own. And as far as guys walking past and making crude comments to me, it doesn't happen. One boy thought he was funny and said something perverted about me and he had five old men ready to rip him to shreds. And they let him know in no uncertain terms that he was to apologize to me and learn not only manners but respect for women. On top of them respecting my opinion they call me ma'am as if I'd earned it and always open the door. It's all but a race to see who can pay first for the whole group. The little things that they do out of habit never cease to amaze me. Even though they sit out on the porch they all stand up to push a chair over for me when I get there. I hope that when I get out on my own I can give someone the same high opinion of me that I have of them. I hope I can take their ideals of respect and communication into a classroom and teach some teenagers the same things that these old men have taught me. I've written down a list of the things I have learned from them that I think that all teenagers should learn. If everyone could share ideas like they do the world would be a much better place. Here's to you Nord, Thom, Tim, Troy, Clint, and George.