Sometime between earlier that day and later that night I was headed to the mall, there was a chill in the air and while I wasn’t in any real rush there was a definite urgency in my stride as I reach the entrance. A few steps away I see an older gentleman walking towards the same entrance; though he’s several feet away, I open the door and hold it for him. His eyes widened with a smile “Why thank you young man” he says politely; he reminds me of the type of grandfather you would see on one of those made for TV holiday movies. “My pleasure” I say. Our exchange of pleasantries ends there, and though at the time I didn’t give it much thought, but I realized I rarely see this anymore. I look around I see people coming and going, and yes I see the door being held as the one passing through holds it with one hand for the person behind. But when it came to seniors, how many people stopped and let them go through? No one. For that matter what about our elders? I was raised to respect my elders – and holding the door to allow them to pass ahead of me was a given. So I’m a bit taken back by how rare a sight it is today. The world is moving forward and changing, old values are making way for new ideas…but I think some its important that we hold onto the essence of some of those old values, the ones that remind us to be thoughtful, courteous and respectful.
