The Wisdom Of The Aged!

Jim Hightower's column on Grannies For Peace recently caught my attention. I read anything I see on seniors, especially women, making a difference!

In this particular case, it's a group of New Yorkers, not all women but mostly so. Not all seniors but mostly so. They range from a few in their fifties on up to their nineties. Many belong to various antiwar groups with "grannies" in their titles. Indeed, there are a lot of them all over the country. Research on the web can be a learning experience if you want it to be!

This particular group really intrigues me. They have gathered for over 330 consecutive Wednesdays, in every type of weather imaginable, to protest the Iraq and Afghanistan wars! They come while battling cancer, on their way to various appointments, on canes and walkers. They carry placards and hand out anti-war leaflets and chant "Bring our troops home - alive!" They tolerate tourists taking their pictures and commenting about "how cute" they are all because it gets the people's attention. It engages them. We should get as much from our government.

I think of the collective wisdom of this gathering of aging patriots, and patriots they are. If they feel that strongly about these wars, there's something to be said. Their wisdom comes from lives lived long. That they remain physically able to pursue their vigil week in and week out is awe inspiring; that they feel so strongly is awe inspiring, that they actually do it is awe inspiring.

How long has it been since your awe was inspired?