Do you see our elders moving more slowly than yourself about their business, wizened and bowed, perhaps hard of hearing or short of sight? Do you see our elders as they are; each worthy of our great honour and respect?
I recently bought a home from the estate of an elderly gentleman called Harry Black. He was well known about town as a decent old fellow who built a beaut orchard and in turn shared his fruit. A nice man who’d led a good life was the impression people had.
However as I looked through his obituary it was apparent Harry Black led a far from ordinary life. What people knew about him was merely the tip of a remarkable iceberg.
Born before the depression he left school at 15 to help his family pay their way. He also joined the YMCA and started the Ramblers Bushwalking club which continues still today.
During WW2 he was determined to serve his nation and its people. He proved his heart and courage through terrible tribulation of mud, blood, and tears in New Guinea. Eventually he joined the Australian Parachute Battalion that took Wewak back from the Japanese.
After the war he joined the staff of the Canberra YMCA and soon became its Secretary General. For his substantial achievements in community development he was awarded a Coronation Medal.
Next he joined the Antarctic Division of Foreign Affairs and led, as Officer in Charge, numerous Antarctic expeditions. During this time he invented a navigational system and a blizzard mask.
Both of these inventions made a significant difference to Antarctic exploration and were characterised as being creative and technically simple solutions to problems that had eluded teams of well-funded engineers for years. For these contributions he was awarded a Cambridge University Polar medal and also the Russian Polar Medal.
After his Antarctic adventures he became a press secretary, then an advisor, then the coordinator of foreign aid for the CSIRO. On retirement he reviewed books for the Canberra times. In between all this he managed his greatest achievement of all being a loving relationship with his wife and their three children together.
Not every existence is as adventurous as Harry’s however every elder in your midst has lived a full and worthy life. Pay attention: See them with honour and respect.
Martin Hunter Jones is an honorary member of the Australian Counselling Association.
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