Letter From A Reader:

Last week, I got a couple of emails from a guy named Chris Reid, which I thought I'd share (with his permission):

Seth,
 
Thanks so much for your blog.  I have a deep respect for the elderly; specifically for the wisdom they have to give and all the obstacles they have overcome in life.  If we would all just stop and listen to them, we could save ourselves so much heart ache.  Thank you so much for your work to compile this wisdom in such a fun and easily accessible way.  For anyone who has eyes to see, you are handing out gold bricks with every entry.
 
In my own search for wisdom, I have recently come across two articles of a bit of advice from the elderly.  I thought you might enjoy reading them. 

How Grandma's Advice Changed My Life
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1107560/jewish/How-Grandmas-Advice-Changed-My-Life.htm
 
Most People are Depressed for a Very Good Reason
http://www.violentacres.com/archives/169/most-people-are-depressed-for-a-very-good-reason/
 
Thanks again for your work.  I was sorry to read about your mother-in-law's passing.  She looked like a great person and a lot of fun.
Take care.
 
- Chris


My story is that I recently graduated from seminary in Portland, OR to become a pastor.  I am a Christian of the non-denominational persuasion.  I recently moved back home to Tulsa, OK and am in the process of trying to nail down a position at a church.  I've had a little more time on my hands than normal and was literally Googling for advice from old people and made my way to your site.  It has taken me a while, but I've slowly worked my way through all your entries.  You have a very comfortable writing style.  Very honest.  Very warm to read.  I hope you get as many breaks as possible to apply yourself and the genuine tone you bring to storytelling.  But the videos man; the videos are priceless.  I love hearing old people talk.  The older the better.  It's the best advice you can find.  And they're not looking for our approval about what they have to say.  I love it.  I could talk about it for a long time.

Here's one for you.  My grandfather passed away in 2005.  I was living in Nashville, TN at the time.  I called the hospital room about 20 min after my grandfather passed away and was able to speak to my grandma on the phone.  She was still in the room with the dead body of her husband of 60 years laying there.  I don't remember much from that conversation but I do remember at one point she leaned into the phone and said, "See, that's the thing about getting older."  I said, "What?"  She said, "You can't be a sissy."  It made me laugh, b/c she was kind of a spit fire and I love that kind of grit.  When life turns up the heat you just look it straight back in the eye.  What she was getting at was that as you get older you have absolutely no idea what's going to happen to you.  You could outlive all your friends.  Die quickly.  Lose your mind.  Be bored for a long time.  Get a disease that kills you slow.  Or go out in a flame.  You just don't know.  But I love that advice.  Just because you're coming to the end of your life doesn't mean you can get soft, it means you have to deal with some of the most difficult things you will face.  My grandma died 2 years later in 2007.  She was 84.  In the last few weeks of her life she kept asking for a calendar over and over again.  She died on Feb 13, 2007.  The exact same day her husband died to years prior.  Ha.  I love that grit.

Take care bro and keep up the good work.