As hoary old plaints of parental laments
go, this one stands out for its ancient
lineage; surely it extends back in time
to ancient Greece, before then Egypt,
perhaps even Mesopotamia when befuddled
parents contemplating their relationships
with their errant children, shook their heads
and intoned that phrase: What's happening
with kids today? To that my old high school
chum adds: We weren't like that in our time.
For anyone over -- let's see, how about
age 40? -- the bedraggled words of anguish
are familiar; correction, it's familiar to the
younger cohort too against whom it's directed.
But wait a minute, how old is that younger
cohort, teens, 20s? Digest this if you will:
my old friend really is old in her mid-80s
and her children are correspondingly 'old'.
Her frustration rests on the fact that for
the past year one of her sons refuses to
speak with her and will not inform her of
the cause of his juvenile withdrawal of
the 5th injunction of the covenant between
humankind and god where all are commanded
to Honour thy father and thy mother for
it is they who gave thee life, thou ingrate!
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