It is all about priorities. I am shocked to hear about the person who would not
be able to visit his mother every day if she lived 15 miles away. And you call
your father every few weeks? When both my parents were alive, I called them
once a day; after my mother died 10 years ago and my father was alone for the
remaining 3 years of his life, I called him morning and evening. I lived in
Switzerland and the Netherlands during that time and my parents lived in
Denmark, so we are talking international calls, but fortunately these are a lot
cheaper now than they used to be.
To each his own, I suppose.
Nathan Wajsman
Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.nathanfoto.com
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
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YNWA
On Apr 15, 2011, at 11:10 PM, Ken Norton wrote:
>> Poorly people have to be looked after in appropriate places, but Sun City
>> looks like a ghetto for the elderly. In many countries the elderly live
>> with their offspring, or nearby at least, while they are healthy enough to
>> do so.
>
>
> I hate to say it, but the American Culture has less respect for the
> elderly. But on the flip side, I'd say that it is our own doing. What
> has resulted is a nanny-state where thanks to all sorts of programs,
> such as Social Security, Medicaid/care, heating assistance, etc.,
> etc., there is no need for us younger generations to directly care for
> our elderly. There are places we send them and government paid ways
> for them to be cared for. Doesn't cost me a dime other than the taxes.
>
> Granted, these programs were all necessary to address the extreme
> poverty issues among portions of the population--especially when a
> younger generation wasn't available to care for them, but those very
> programs created to assist in monetary means destroyed the very fabric
> of the family assistance.
>
> But, that's not the entire story, though. American Culture is also
> based on migratory traits. Most of our ancestors migrated here from
> other countries, and every generation migrates to another part of the
> country. I'm of a family of eight kids and not a single one of us
> lives within 400 miles of where we grew up. Does that make us bad
> people? Or are we just following the American tradition? I do call my
> dad every few weeks.
>
> AG
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