Those that have lived longer than us always have something to teach us, that we can take with us for the rest of our lives.
When my wife's Aunt Caroline was in her nineties, she lived with us, and she once remarked: 'Remembrance is sufficient of the beauty we have seen.' I cherish the remembrance of the beauty I have seen. I cherish the grave, compulsive word.
Grandparents are God's gifts to children.
Old times, as my father used to say: If you're not careful, they'll gut you like a fish.
Even the elders can give a number of helpful hints.
The beautiful thing about older people is their ability to cut the fat off of conversation. When they talk, they don't go on forever and ever. They say what they have to say, and that's it. That was my grand dad. Some of the things he said stunned me, but his words were logical. I'll never forget them.
My upbringing is why I am the person I am today. I have very wise parents.
If you associate enough with older people who do enjoy their lives, who are not stored away in any golden ghettos, you will gain a sense of continuity and of the possibility for a full life.
I was very fortunate that all my holidays I'd spend with my grandfather, experiencing a much more traditional way of life and listening to these wonderful stories, which I now feel are such an important part of Indian thinking.
When I was younger, my parents used to say, "Trust us on this. We have more experience than you." And I was like, "Shut up, you don't know anything!" But I was an idiot. They did know more stuff because they'd experienced more things.
No preacher is listened to but time, which gives us the same train and turn of thought that elder people have in vain tried to put into our heads before.
The counsels of the old, like the winter sun, shine, but give no heat.
Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the voices of Life. Even if their counsel is displeasing to you, pay heed to them.
We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow. Our wiser sons, no doubt will think us so.
To be grown up is to sit at the table with people who have died, who neither listen nor speak.
