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Do young people really think us 'oldies' are simple?

My sister recently went back to the opticians because her sight was blurred through one lens when looking through her new glasses. She has been wearing glasses since she was five and thus pretty used to wearing them. The young receptionists informed her that you have one dominant eye and she was obviously looking through the wrong eye and was therefore reluctant to waste the opticians time by making her a new appointment!


Created By on 08/06/2017

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Anonymous
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Eddie88
13th Mar 2020 14:55:17
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I think a lot of young people do treat older people as simple because it at least makes them feel superior to SOMEBODY. I retired three years ago from forty years as a senior manager in a very busy office environment where I spent all day nearly every day being asked for advice on and answers to a very wide range of issues. My career progress was dependent on my getting the answers right.
In addition like an awful lot of older people I married, had children and learnt to cope with all that life inevitably throws at you.
Although I'm now retired I'm not aware that me mental faculties have diminished and I'm just as interested in learning new things as I ever was. Nevertheless I've had to get used to shop assistants, medical staff, office staff et al suddenly talking to me very slowly in a louder than normal voice, using very basic and simple language and repeating things to me ad nauseum (this by the way includes my own children sometimes).
For my part I'm desperate not to fall into the trap of insisting things are "not what they used to be" or being too opinionated on "how things should be done". I've had to learn not to cause confusion and sometimes embarrassment by using over-complicated language to a younger generation that largely doesn't understand it (sorry but it's true) and not to lose my temper when I do think I'm being patronised. The danger is that you begin to feel that no-one wants to hear your voice at all and that is a really hard concept to get used to. Maybe that's just getting old.
PatriciaB96
27th Jun 2019 18:08:37 (Last activity: 30th Jun 2019 11:14:32)
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Good evening , oh yes , once we reach a certain age , they completely think we are brain dead , well heres one for us oldies ,

What wet , warm and very satisfying , ???
Answer a cup of tea lol
Response from PatriciaB96 made on 28th Jun 2019 09:19:08
Good morning Lionel , many people have bad relationships with there families , and it causes them pain , and discomfort , they feel they were not listen too or understood , so they detached themselves from all emotional ties as they grow up , but in truth its alot of resentment , sometimes its best to bury the past and move on , keeping all that inside of you , its not healthy .

Patricia
Response from PatriciaB96 made on 28th Jun 2019 13:11:38
Good afternoon Lionel , yes war was terrible , my own grandparents suffered serverly , but the war was along time ago , people can not live in the past , those who do usually have problems moving forward , and cant cope for what lies ahead , the past cant hurt anyone , not even you , Lionel , perhaps you have your own misgivings as you have said , maybe its time to let go of it , before it hurts you inside , many people try to bury that deep down , but in relatity , it will always surface if its not delt with , only you can control your future no one else can , think of things that make you smile , be glad of what you do have , and forget about what you dont .

Patricia
Response from PatriciaB96 made on 30th Jun 2019 11:14:32
Lionel , you say you have let the past go , but you keep on about wars and decay , yes there may be more wars in the future , who knows , I think its inprinted on your memory about it , its sounds very negative response , for life in genral , you seem to look on the downside quite alot , yes we can not forget the past , but we can let go the horror it produced , and move on away from it .

Patricia
Wellies
21st Jun 2017 17:06:22 (Last activity: 23rd Jun 2017 20:27:28)
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G'day and thank Y'all for replying to my post about the Princess. Didn't expect it.
To happyhacker " whoops !!! Well what can you say ? It wasn't a real good chat line to impress a Princess. Us Aussies don't have Princes and Princesses over here. So when they do come over for a visit they are vulnerable to Aussie frog scams. She must have been a bit stupid to listen to a frog in the first place. But there again, being a savvy Silver.surffer she saw through his scam and ate him before ending up in a life of servitude
To Yodama. I never mentioned anything about the Princess being an Aussie. The frog/prince was an Aussie. I can't reveal the Princesses name for legal reasons, but she was a cousin to the Queen twice removed and was English with a bit of Scottish in her. ( that's the bit that helped her from her predicament ) an old Scottish saying her Grannie her told her " Dinae speak tae strange frawgs or ye'll end up wae a hip replacement " On Googling the Princesses biography I found that she had never heard of hopping animals like kangaroos, or MacRoo burgers, had just had a hip replacement, and couldn't hop after them anyway.. So an Aussie frog with a castle and a crippled Mum must have been so inviting for her. Especially when she found out that a fish had eaten one of his feet and he couldn't hop anymore. A sad tale, but true.

To happyhacker. Have a think about it.. If the Princess had kissed the frog, turned him into a Prince, and then ate him to get his inheritance....then what?. I don'know if the laws have changed in the UK since I lived there.....but it was known as canobalism. ( can't seem to get the spelling of this right ... but it means eating people ) In O.z there are laws against eating people. You can eat roos, wallabies, possums, wombats, magpie geese, snakes, spiders, frogs, haggis and rabbits. But human Princes over here are an endangered species and people are liable to heavy fines, and or lengthy jail sentences for eating them, and also forfeit any inheritance.
To georgesmum. Thanks for having a chuckle. I'll send you a wallaby pie with mushy peas for Christmas.
Cheers to all,
Wellies
Response from happyhacker made on 23rd Jun 2017 20:27:28
Yeh, sorry made the mistake of not reading it carefully. Whoops! indicates my blunder.
happyhacker
20th Jun 2017 08:07:28 (Last activity: 20th Jun 2017 08:18:30)
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The Princess wasn't thinking right! She should have married him, then eaten him, and then claimed her inheritance!
Response from happyhacker made on 20th Jun 2017 08:18:30
Woops!
Wellies
19th Jun 2017 06:44:08 (Last activity: 19th Jun 2017 10:05:29)
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Once upon a time a beautiful Princess was strolling through a forest when she came across a frog sitting on a lily pad in a pond. " G'day Princess " croaked the frog ( he was an Aussie frog ). The Princess was startled. " Do not be frightened dear Princess, croaked the frog. You see I am really a Prince and a wicked witch put a spell on me and turned me into a frog. The only way I can turn back into a prince again is if a beautiful Princess kisses me. If you will do this for me, dear lady, I will marry you and you can come and live with me and my Mum in yonder castle atop the hill. You can cook and wash and iron for me, and take Mum for walks in her wheelchair, and you will be forever happy. "
That evening when the Princess was dining alone, on frog's legs and chips, she smiled to herself and said " I don't bloody think so. "
Response from georgesmum made on 19th Jun 2017 10:05:29
Love it!
Wellies you have a fantastic sense of humour....I look forward to following your refreshing posts.
ArchieUK
11th Jun 2017 08:17:22 (Last activity: 11th Jun 2017 12:07:12)
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Yesterday morning I took a copy of the comments into my local optician and asked the receptionist for her comments, she replied that her job was to make appointments, keep files and records and help the optician wherever she could, NOT to make judgements.

She caught man in charge as he had just finished a test, showed him the comments and his comment was ----- " Somebody is trying to wind you up" ----

I rest my case.
Response from jeanmark Original Poster made on 11th Jun 2017 12:07:12
Why are you implying I am trying to wind you up, I relayed a true event.
CaroleAH
9th Jun 2017 01:05:56 (Last activity: 10th Jun 2017 13:01:24)
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Good grief! I hope that your sister complained. Receptionists should rarely give advice unless they have a protocol, drawn up by a professional to follow and even then they need to be wary. I sometimes think that elderly people don't like making a fuss and when confronted by a confident receptionist, possibly in a medical or, in this case, optical setting they will take the least line of resistance. Having been an A&E receptionist for 13 years my colleagues and I found that the people who were the quietest in the queue were often the ones who were the ones who warranted immediate attention. I hope that your sister is now okay and that her new glasses are now perfect.
Response from jeanmark Original Poster made on 9th Jun 2017 13:46:34
My sister's assertiveness gene isn't as strong as mine but she is quiet capable of dealing with such issues. The interesting thing is the optician told her her deterioration in sight was caused by a cataract. She was able to inform him that rarely does a cataract evolve from nothing to blindness in 3 days and maybe he should have picked it up during her eye test. He at once apologised and promised to carry out another eye test and provide new glasses for free once the cataract had been removed. However, she is able to complain but is the first to admit she can't be bothered, acting stupid can be an advantage!
Response from CaroleAH made on 9th Jun 2017 14:51:06
I'm pleased that your sister has now been given a reason for her blurry vision but am somewhat concerned that the optician had not noticed/mentioned the cataract before now. I rather think that once I had had the cataract removed and got my new spectacles I would be looking for a new optician! Hope all goes well with the operation and that normal sight is restored as soon as possible.
Response from jeanmark Original Poster made on 10th Jun 2017 13:01:24
Thank you Carole.
[deleted]
9th Jun 2017 11:02:41 (Last activity: 9th Jun 2017 13:55:42)
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[deleted]
Response from jeanmark Original Poster made on 9th Jun 2017 13:55:42
Totally agree Yodama. I once asked for an over-the-counter cough medicine and the young assistant asked if I 'had blood-pressure' I responded yes as everyone who was alive had blood pressure. I went on to say that what she should have asked was "Are you being treated for high blood pressure", that would have given her the appropriate response. I then suggested that maybe she should re-read her training instructions. I wonder if she made that mistake again. They don't call me grumpy for nothing!

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