I <3 my grandpa. The most dignified and wise man I know. It's rather inspiring. He was crippled early in life and they didn't think he'd live past 15.
He had to drop out of school in 4th grade because of his sickness. He was also discouraged from education because it wasn't the appropriate thing for "a poor cripple" to do. He went on to graduate from college with an English degree, despite his lack of a complete elementary or high school education.
He became an English teacher. He worked for a few years and he became a school counselor. Later still, he went on to become principal of my high school.
I just look at him and I think that I would have wimped out if I had faced the struggles he faced. He has an interesting view on all his troubles. He relates to the biblical story of Paul and the "thorn." It was some pain he was inflicted with. Paul prayed three times to have God remove it. It remained. Then God told Paul that he had this "thorn" to keep him humble. My grandpa firmly believes that this is true with him as well.
Not all old people are crazy. In fact, I think most of them are rather cool. They have interesting stories to tell. If you dismiss them as "old, crazy, intolerant, and racist," you miss out on who they are. Judge people on what they are as a whole, not one factor that has become overblown in today's society.
