The following is from a poem by Nanao Sakaki...

...To stay young,
To save the world,
Break the mirror.



I am now old enough to believe in the generation gap.

I guess I have known about it for a while. Take Depression babies, for instance. My father is one of them, and he does not believe a meal is complete unless there is bread and butter on the table, something that I do, but usually only for holidays or out of deference to him.

One Christmas not too long ago, he and another Depression baby, my husband's step-grandfather visited. I put bread and butter on the table. They were the only two that ate it, and they were both happy.

Yesterday, I sat at dinner with my daughter and my niece, who is about to turn eighteen. I listened to them share their views about body piercings, tattoos, tanning packages and music, much of which was not an issue when I was their age. Still, I think I would have considered all of those things wasteful. Maybe not, though. Maybe I AM getting old and stodgy.

When I was their age, the issues were things like having a car and the gas to make it run. If you went out to eat, you only went once a week, and you considered it a special occasion, not just an opportunity to socialize.

I don't think their attitude is all wrong, mind you. I do think people can and do work too much. I just wonder where the dividing line is.

And since I haven't figured it out yet, maybe I am not so old after all.

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