Appell Pie
July 2020
Ask
The world is in a state of turmoil. We are dealing with the Pandemic and social upheaval. Our news media spends 24/7 covering it from all angles and political positions. I for one am tired of it as I sit in front of my computer wearing a mask for the greater good. Lol. I don’t want to add any more coverage of these situations so I am writing this column on a totally different subject, Ask.
I guess it’s because people we know are getting sick and some are dying in this Pandemic that I feel we should become aware of Ask. For those of you that are lucky enough to have your parents still in your life, you are lulled into thinking that they will always be here and available to answer questions that only they have the answers to, but we don’t Ask. It can wait we think, it’s not that important right now, but it is.
How many of us know senior citizens who are in their nineties living at home with family members or in senior facilities? Do you realize the knowledge they have to share and the experiences they have lived through that would be interesting and important for you to know? All you have to do is Ask. Ask any man or women in their nineties what year they were born in. Most were born in the late nineteen twenties or early nineteen thirties way before television, jet planes, the intranet, calculators, fax machines, portable radios, technicolor movies, drive thru restaurants, the polio vaccine, dental implants, the computer The Beatles, Doo Wop, Rock N Roll, Rap music and of course the cell phone. Herbert Hoover was President, WW11 was still nine years away, followed by the Korean War, Vietnam and numerous wars in the Middle East. The twin towers in New York were not even conceived of yet but they live in the memories of these senior citizens.
In other cultures around the world senior citizens are respected, revered and catered to. I know several of these people, mostly men who have seen combat in WW11 and some again in Korea. They have grey hair and may walk a little slower but their minds are sharp and their knowledge deep. If your grandparents or parents are with you still, you are extremely lucky to have them. Sit down with them one day and just Ask. You will be surprised how willing they are to tell you the family secrets, the things they did correctly in their lives and the mistakes they have made. Even if the elderly person is not your family you still can Ask and receive their knowledge, not necessarily school taught but life’s lessons.
I started writing a book for my son and his children about my life and about our family members he has never met but has heard stories about. I don’t know if he is interested today or if I will ever finish writing the book, but when the time comes and he finally has a question to Ask he may find the answer. I have reached for the phone many times to call my late parents only to be left wanting for an answer.
Take the time now to respect those who came before you and learn their lessons. Take pictures, record/video stories they can tell so your urges to call them to Ask won’t be too late. See more Appell Pie articles in the archive section of Today’s Restaurant News. www.trnusa.com
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