The Elderly

I bought some groceries from Giant Eagles and was standing at the queue to check out. There I saw an old man standing at the end of the queue. He was putting the stuff people bought into plastic bags and then putting them into the carts. He didnt seem to be in good health. There might be many factors for his being in this position at this time, but its a pity that he still has to work at this age. First thing that comes to mind is that why didnt his children take care of him? But, may be he didnt had any, or they themselves were not in a position to take care of him. There can be 100 other factors, but whatever may be the reason, it was not a good sight.

While my mind was doing some guess work to find the reasons behind it, initially I wanted to blame such stores who make elderly work. But I think I was wrong there. Its good that stores like Giant Eagle hire such people for tasks that are relatively easier both mentally and physically. With every job there will be some stress involved but without job it would be difficult for them to survive.

So what can the society do? Ideally, no one should need to work in the evening of their lives, but life doesnt always go the way we want. So there is a need to search for avenues where elderly can fit in. Grocery stores is a good option. Toll-booths probably might be another place where they can work.

And what can you and me do? Alot. While there is no upper limit to what we can do, the least however, is to make sure that our parents dont have to go through this.