Musings of an old guy on a Sunday morning

To you younger women, a few thoughts:

I know when you see an old guy, white haired or bald or both, you think “He's harmless. I can trust him. He reminds me of my dad...or grandpa.”

But if he's not your dad or grandpa, generally you ignore him. Your eyes will sweep the room as you come in and pass right by him as if he isn't there.

Unless you work for him or with him. Then you're likely to be same as any young guy. You think “He's in the way, been here too long, old ideas, old way of doing things, but I think I know how to get rid of him. Movin' on up...era of the woman, old man!”

And there's so much truth in this in the work place. But not always. The old man got there by fighting lots of fights and skirmishes over the many years with people who just may have been better than you. And he still knows how to do it, it's just not something he does unless he deems it necessary. So be careful. If he did it, so can you...but you won't be the first to try. It could be better to see if he has any lessons to teach and if you are able learn from him.

You can always get rid of him later.

Just remember an old saying: “when there's snow on the roof, there's usually a fire in the chimney.”

And remember: The old guy may not think of himself as old.

To you younger guys, a few thoughts:

I know when you see an old guy, white haired or bald or both, you think “yeah, I can take him.”

In the parking lot, that could mean you can beat him up and take his money IF you want to.

In the work place, that most likely means you have little respect for how the old man got there. “He's old and tired, no fresh ideas, can't handle the long hours, he's looking to retire soon...so I can move up. All I have to do is get rid of him. Easy.”

And there's so much truth in both scenarios. But I should tell you something now before you learn the hard way. Not every old guy is a physical pushover but more importantly, we know how to destroy you. We just do it with subtlety using the existing system and you won't know it's happening until we grin in your confused face as we walk you to the door.

But here's the real fun fact: generally we don't do that, we just usually smile a little ruefully.

We remember we were assholes once.