Deaf, Disgruntled Man

We have an elderly man that comes into our library almost every day. He is a little "muddled" in the head and virtually deaf. He cannot hear something unless you lean in close to his ear and almost shout it.

We have had numerous incidences where the man (believing since he can't hear anything that no one else can) will let out a stream of curse words VERY loud in the library. I remember one incident where he kept repeating "S---" and over again. Everyone can hear what he is saying and 20 heads usually turn to see where the choice words are coming from.

I dealt with him this week when trying to explain how much book sale items cost. He was confused about the "buy one get one free" deal we had going on. I told him repeatedly what the DVDs he had in his hand cost but he didn't seem to get it and people were staring as I virtually shouted at him : "Two dollars!" Not accepting the answer I gave him, he wandered off and began ranting (what he thought was under his breath) about how stupid our library was. Everyone on the staff heard it but being the professionals they are, the customer service staff brightly said to him as he checked out: "Have a good day!"

Forever Young

This week we had the teens make Christmas cards for the local senior center. Many of the teens were enthusiastic about making the cards, creating almost 40 cards for the seniors. However, one teen flatly refused to make a card for the seniors. He told me that he did not like seniors and thought they were creepy. I reminded him that one day he was going to be old and wrinkly and that probably one day some punk kid like himself was going to give him a hard time. This teen replied that he was never going to be old. Well, if you're not going to be old, then the alternative isn't that great.

Teens seem to think that they're going to stay young forever. The senior citizen years seem eons away. Yet constantly my fifty three year old mother tells me she remembers when she was my age "just like it was yesterday." So although those teens think that old age is forever away, the years will go quickly.

I have to add that my favorite card the teens made for the seniors was a happily decorated one that read: "Merry Christmas Elderly People." It was made in all seriousness but it gave me such a laugh.

Gruff from Grandmas and Grandpas

The last few weeks I've had some gruff from our area's senior citizens. Now I love senior citizens and have volunteered numerous times for them but these patrons are not your kindly grandmas and grandpas. They cut in line, order me around, and one yelled at me when he didn't get his way. I've given some thought to why these senior citizens are so cranky and argumentative and what I've come up with is that perhaps the library is one of the few places that they CAN be push others around and get their way. At the library we are polite and kind to everyone no matter how we are treated. In a society that calls these individuals "old fogeys" and says that anyone who forgets something has a "senior moment" these disenfranchised older members of the population probably feel powerless a lot of the time. They're often ignored by the media and even their own families. If they can berate me it might give them a sense of control and power in a society that gives them no authority. Of course it might also be because they don't feel very well and they're dealing with many aches and pains. I try to tell myself this when I get one on the phone ordering me around but I admit it's hard to keep a perspective sometimes. Maybe it won't be until I'm in their shoes that I will entirely understand.