Recently I’ve been working as a temp at a well known hardware store chain. It just opened (Grand opening) so I’m helping to set up credit card accounts. Oddly enough there has been an unusally high percentage of senior citizens applying for credit. I dont know what all those old folks do with all that hardware. Anyways I dont mind, if not for the fact they are by far the rudest, most impatient, worst attitudes of any age group I seen have thus seen. Even yes gasp teenagers.
We are talking about 70+ year olds who apparently think they are special since the are older than you, or older than anything for that matter. Just to give an example one threated to get her attorney son and sue for something or another. Another cursing at an employee over a trivial matter that could be solved with a short polite conversation. Also they are extremely paranoid about giving you there social security number. They hold on to it for dear life. They are the only age group that I’ve come accross who do this, whats up with that?
I dont know if this happens to us all when we get older, if so I hope I die young so I wont end up like those grumpy old farts. I can see why people make fun of them now, they can put the “ass” in asshole.
Disclaimer:Im aware that not all old people have this sort of behavior, please dont be offended. Also, I know this is the pit so sorry for no excessive use of the f-word.
Gimme that damn credit! I want that Jacuzzi! I want to spend time in IT, not in line! Hell, I’ll die before it’s paid off anyway!
It reminds me of a classic Simpson’s episode, where Grandpa is bitching about all the free loaders. He then walks directly into a store front labled “Social Security” and starts sreaming “GimmeGimmeGimme!”
I was standing in line at a local hardware store recently. The elderly gentleman behind me struck up a conversation. He told me that he had seen “Gone with the wind” at the theator when he was a young man. He also was bitching about standing in line. He said that back in his day, there were no lines, that the stores would hire enough people to take care of all the customers. He was also remarking on the fact that I was buying PVC pipe for my waterlines, saying that back in his day no one would have believed that plastic water pipe was possible.
Just be glad you don’t have to work with them almost exclusively and listen to their god damn stories for hours on end every day. I swear to god sometimes I think the old bastards just pretend to be sick to get some social interaction.
There have been a lot of scary stories in the media about identity theft, and old folks being ripped off by giving out personal information over the phone. It seems older people took this idea and ran with it. Though phone scams were the inital problem, a lot of them are supicious of giving their SSN to ANYONE.
I’ve read a few publications for elderly people (hey, I read everything-- I like to know what others are thinking) which give dire warnings and relay horror stories of those who give out their SSN to seemingly innocuous clerks. The mags said that giving the number is completely unnecessary and should not be used for identification purposes, anyway. They recommended that people not give the number to anyone other than a government agency, and that you should refuse and ask for a different way of being identifed.
Personally, I like old people. Yes, some are jerks, but some young people are jerks, too. I like hearing those “back in my day” stories, and yes, I used to listen to them all day. They’re fun, and you can learn a lot.
I used to deliver Meals-On-Wheels, and one elderly lady would tell me a little snippet of her (very interesting) life story every time I stopped by. (She and her husband had been fabulously wealthy at one point. On her walls, she had pictures of herself and her husband with presidents, movie stars, and even a personalized autographed picture of Hemmingway, thanking her for a lovely dinner.) Unfortunately, this wonderful lady died before we got much past the 1960s.
Even older folks that haven’t done as much as she have great stories to tell. Personally, I would have liked to talk to the guy who was in line behind ** Hermann Cheruscan. ** They’re something very fun hearing about a time when PVC pipe was a fantasy.
Or issuing them credit. Credit bureaus use ssn’s as well.
I personally don’t start an argument if Geezer Joe doesn’t want to give out his social. Just tell me what bank you have your checking account with and we’ll discuss your Matlock Platinum Visa.
As I understand it, SSN’s were introduced as a number only your employer or the government (for tax purposes) should ever ask for. It’s my understanding that the law says no one can require you to give one except your employer and the IRS.
My dad, god rest his soul, was very paranoid about this, and told me (I don’t know if he was correct or not) that when SSN’s were first bruited about there was some concern about their becoming a sort of national ID number. Which they weren’t meant to be, and which, of course, they have become.
I think companies that require SSN’s from non-employees are, at best, skirting the law on this one, just personally. And they’re not the only ones. My home state started using SSN’s as driver’s liscence numbers, and after protests they realized they had to provide an alternative. Which I took. It was used as one’s student number at the university I went to. That’s not what SSN’s were for. They were meant to keep track of your social security–period.
I had lunch with my 75 year old friend yesterday. And yes she does “suck”. But all that means is that she is getting some from time to time while I’m not.
So in her case, she sucks, fucks, and rocks!
No, I’m not quite desperate enough to have sex with her. (Yet)
“We got to eat all the old people
Show 'em that you love 'em
We got eat all the old people
Shove 'em in an oven
Whack 'em
Rack 'em
T-bone and stack 'em
Two by two on the barbeque stack 'em”
When some people get old they should warrant our utmost repect as they can offer us wisdom and an insight into times past. We can benefit from their experience and knowledge.
My father is 84 years old. He doesn’t “reek of urine”, nor is he rude. He is a wealth of information, can fix ANYTHING and is better company than many of the people I know who are my age ( or younger.) He also drives JUST FINE. Quite possibly he doesn’t “reek” because he has a daughter who loves him enough to make sure he has clean clothes and takes care of himself. He does not have to impose on strangers for social interaction or affection because he knows he has someone who loves him and talks to him…and LISTENS to him. Quite possibly the people of whom you speak do NOT have anyone who cares enough to make sure they are taken care of properly. Quite possibly the people who “suck” are the sons and daughters of these old people who are not clean and are so starved for affection that they have to get their social interaction from strangers.
I HAVE noticed that as dad has gotten older he has started saying what he thinks to his children (not always, but sometimes if he thinks it is important enough) instead of “censoring” things. On the whole, I am not so sure that this is a BAD thing, but it does make for awkward moments sometimes. Example…my sister has been gaining weight lately, and she wasn’t exactly “svelte” even before this started. At Thanksgiving, sometime during the day dad said “(Sister), I love you and I don’t want to have to visit you in the hospital after your heart attack.” He didn’t say it in front of EVERYONE, only the three of us were in the kitchen. She was, of course, furious. What could I say? He was right. I just told her that he loves her, and was only trying to help.
We’ll ALL (God willing) get there at some point. Best to appreciate and respect our seniors for the wealth of knowledge and history and wisdom they can give us instead of rolling our eyes and treating them like redundant garbage.
MY father will go to his grave KNOWING that he was loved. I will make that happen…because no matter how difficult he ever gets, for all of my life he has BEEN there for me…no matter what. I can only do the same for him.