Lest all the school shootings make us forget, age alone does not make you a morally centered person.
I remember one time my Mom called the police to report some harassing phone calls. So OK, they were on their way over to take the report. And then Mom started getting ready to leave! My big brother, who was at that time an upwardly-mobile, college-bound teenager, was shocked and yelled at her, “You don’t call the police and then leave!!!” To which Mom nonchalantly replied, “I have to go, I can’t wait for them.” She really had no idea what was wrong! It was only after my brother pointed out, “If they come and you’re not here, I’m going to look very, very bad!” that she took the obvious step of calling the station again to request that the officers not visit us after all.
At the time I was absolutely flabbergasted that a teenager had to point out the proper way to act to a single, independent working woman. And this teenager had been raised by the same woman, yet in that episode she seemed utterly clueless and he didn’t.
Does anyone else have stories about young 'uns having to teach manners or morality to their elders? I bet there’s a lot of examples that have to do with drinking, or gambling, or screwing around, but it doesn’t have to be as serious as that. It could just be a relatively harmless little episode like the one I just recounted.
P.S. I love my Mom! She’s living proof that one can grow and change for the better even in later life. Gives me hope!
