Old Geezers

[Mark Luper]

My Mother-in-law sent me this and I liked it. Wanted to share it with you all.
 
           "OLD  GEEZERS"
 
"Geezers" are easy to spot; this is slang for an old man.
But, at sporting events, during the playing of the National Anthem,they hold their caps over their hearts and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them.

They remember World War I, the Depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy and Hitler.

They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean  War, The Cold War, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing,  not to mention Vietnam.

If you bump into a "Geezer" on the sidewalk, he'll apologize, pass a Geezer on the street, he'll nod, or tip his cap to a lady.

"Geezers" trust strangers and are courtly to women. They hold the door for the next person and always when walking, make sure  the lady is on the inside for protection.

"Geezers" get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children   and they don't like violence and filth on TV and in movies.
 
Geezers have moral courage. Geezers seldom brag unless it's about their grandchildren in Little League or music recitals.
 
This country needs "Geezers" with their decent values and common sense.   We need them now more than ever.

It's the "Geezers" who know our great country is protected, not by politicians or police, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country in  foreign lands, just as they did, without a
thought except to do a good job, the best you can and to get home to loved ones.

Thank God for "OLD GEEZERS."
I'm proud to be one!
I just wish my grandchildren and yours were GEEZERS too

[Ghosth]

Well said Mark!

[oboe]

Hope everyone reads this post twice.

Thanks, Mark!

[Ripsnort]

Ya know, when I was young, dumb, full of...vinegar....I think I purposely would subdue these feelings, just to be 'hip'....as I grew older, I became less concerned about being 'hip' and more concerned about just being me.  Guess I've been an old geezer all my life, just took age and alittle wisdom to get there...  

[Thunder]

Ya now MarkAT... I think that was a mighty fine post! And I would also like to add..hmm.. I'm gettin so old I forgot what I was going to say. But trust me.. I was good whatever it was! <Salute>

Thunder

[duffus]

Were courtly to women? Dang I knew I forgot something.

[TheFox]

Well said sir.

As my old boss used to tell me:-

"When you're 20, you think everyone is looking at you.  When you're 40, you don't care if they are looking at you. And when you're 60, you realise they weren't looking at you anyway !!"

I'm just getting to the point where I'm realising they weren't looking !  - guess now I must be an Old Geezer - and proud of it !

Fox
 

[buhdman]

Thanks for this post, Mark.  I hope this response is "appropriate".

While my grandfather was not a "war hero", I would classify him as a "geezer".  I'm only 50 and not near the age he was in this poem, and I can only hope to live up to his legacy in my own life.

Here's how I saw him when I was a kid:


The Caretaker


She was sick.
  He was tired.
She was confined to her bed, or to a wheelchair.
  He was confined to her side.
He called her "Gussie".
  She called him an old fool,
    when whe was tired,
    or in too much pain.
Such was the life of the caretaker.

Years of illness had gnarled her body.
Bed-ridden years of wheelchairs and pain
  had turned her life into a living hell,
    leaving only the agonized shell
    of the woman she had been.
I had touched her heart once,
  and made her smile.
    But that was years ago.

But he was there through it all.
  Ever patient,
    ever caring,
      ever loving.
He was there for her.
  With bedpans, clean sheets, a feeding tray,
  and a loving hand.
He was there for us, too.
  With Uncle Remus stories
    and a cold sixteen-ounce Coca Cola
    on a hot summer's day.
The house was a mess,
  but he had his hands full.
    Still, he was always there.

I never heard him complain.
  Not even once.
But I was young
  and I saw him through a grandchild's eyes.
    Loving.
      Respecting.
        Admiring.
He must have been dying inside,
  but I couldn't tell it.
I never saw him shed a single tear,
  until the night she died.

Then, for her, a lifetime
  full of pain and suffering
    was finally over.
For him, a lifetime commitment,
  to love, honor, cherish, and obey,
    in sickness and in health,
      was fulfilled.
Karmic debts were paid,
  in full.
And with her hand in his
  and his head pressed against her frail, lifeless body,
    he said, "I love you, Gussie,"
      and shed a lifetime of tears.


Walt Barrow, March 1989

[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: buhdman ]

[Mark Luper]

Awsome poem budman, brought tears to my eyes...

Often times the "heros" are just regular people...like you and me...