We should not be weary on how the world becomes now. We should not look at the younger generations with indifference because since time immemorial this had been happening and will continue to happen in every chapters of human life. We have to accept it as it is because it is a fact, that every generation is peculiar and distinct in every way. Sometimes when our voices are not heard by the younger people and orders are not done as we like, we feel we are neglected, we feel we are nothing, because nobody cares to listen to us anymore. It’s the usual feeling of older people like us. Kulang sa pansin. Matampuhin, bugnutin at kung anu-ano na lang ang masabing masama pag hindi nasunod ang gusto. We should not stick to that kind of attitude because it will just make us shrink and deteriorate so rapidly with our age. And the effect is a bad karma not only on our part but the person who receives the invective because more often than not, we might be making this particular person a rebel instead of making him a saint. Let us all be proactive in interacting with the younger generations and find our way towards achieving a win-win solution in the process using our long years of experience.
I remember an incident when I was yet in high school. We used to take our lunch break in one of the cafeterias near the school. The owner of the cafeteria, a war veteran, seemed friendly and entertaining at the start. He used to tell us some stories about his life’s experiences. We listened, sometimes asked him some questions and tried to exchange ideas with him. We didn’t expect one day his mood was changing. He became so arrogant and one-sided telling about his heroic war experience in Korea and as a member of the guirilla warfare fighting against the Japanese. We just sit down and listened as he told us his heroic achievement as a war veteran, until one of my classmates asked him some surmising questions.
“Bakit po wala kang sugat sa katawan at parang walang nangyari sa iyo. Hindi tulad ng ibang beterano dyan na ang lalaki ng piklat dahil sa bioneta at sharpnail ng granada?, asked one of my classmates.
“Magaling akong sundalo bata at alam ko kung paano dumipensa sa mga kalaban para hindi kami tamaan.” was his bragging answer.
“Kaya po ba naging veteran ka? Siguro po pag may kalaban na kayo noon, magaling ka lang tumakbo at magtago sa foxhole. Kaya po siguro ang tawag sa iyo ay ‘better ran’ dahil magaling ka ngang tumakbo, di ba?” jokingly asked one of us.
We broke out in laughter hearing the joke. But the olderman was so serious and felt so insulted the way the question was made. I saw his face blushing as he was so angry with us. Then he uttered unspeakable invectives we believed so unbecoming of a war veteran like him.
“Mga ppptng…nyo. Wala kayong kagalanggalang sa mga matatanda. Yan ba ang natutunan nyo sa eskwela? Kayo ay pamunta pa lamang at ako ay pabalik na! Umalis na kayong lahat dito bago ko kayo pagbabarilin.”, he shouted at us with anger.
We dispersed and ran inside our school so apologetic on what we did to him.
The report of the incident reached at the office of the mother superior. We were summoned and all of us present in the incident were then scolded by kneeling before the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary for three hours and, we were eventually suspended from attending classes for one whole week.
Now, I try to recollect the effects of this incident. His cafeteria was closed a month later. One of us became a known student leader during our college years; he eventually became an activist, and a rebel. The other one became a doctor and he is now in the US. In my case, the dream of becoming a priest was a frustration. Unfortunately, not one of us becomes a saint.
I remember an incident when I was yet in high school. We used to take our lunch break in one of the cafeterias near the school. The owner of the cafeteria, a war veteran, seemed friendly and entertaining at the start. He used to tell us some stories about his life’s experiences. We listened, sometimes asked him some questions and tried to exchange ideas with him. We didn’t expect one day his mood was changing. He became so arrogant and one-sided telling about his heroic war experience in Korea and as a member of the guirilla warfare fighting against the Japanese. We just sit down and listened as he told us his heroic achievement as a war veteran, until one of my classmates asked him some surmising questions.
“Bakit po wala kang sugat sa katawan at parang walang nangyari sa iyo. Hindi tulad ng ibang beterano dyan na ang lalaki ng piklat dahil sa bioneta at sharpnail ng granada?, asked one of my classmates.
“Magaling akong sundalo bata at alam ko kung paano dumipensa sa mga kalaban para hindi kami tamaan.” was his bragging answer.
“Kaya po ba naging veteran ka? Siguro po pag may kalaban na kayo noon, magaling ka lang tumakbo at magtago sa foxhole. Kaya po siguro ang tawag sa iyo ay ‘better ran’ dahil magaling ka ngang tumakbo, di ba?” jokingly asked one of us.
We broke out in laughter hearing the joke. But the olderman was so serious and felt so insulted the way the question was made. I saw his face blushing as he was so angry with us. Then he uttered unspeakable invectives we believed so unbecoming of a war veteran like him.
“Mga ppptng…nyo. Wala kayong kagalanggalang sa mga matatanda. Yan ba ang natutunan nyo sa eskwela? Kayo ay pamunta pa lamang at ako ay pabalik na! Umalis na kayong lahat dito bago ko kayo pagbabarilin.”, he shouted at us with anger.
We dispersed and ran inside our school so apologetic on what we did to him.
The report of the incident reached at the office of the mother superior. We were summoned and all of us present in the incident were then scolded by kneeling before the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary for three hours and, we were eventually suspended from attending classes for one whole week.
Now, I try to recollect the effects of this incident. His cafeteria was closed a month later. One of us became a known student leader during our college years; he eventually became an activist, and a rebel. The other one became a doctor and he is now in the US. In my case, the dream of becoming a priest was a frustration. Unfortunately, not one of us becomes a saint.
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