The Old Men's Voices

I love listening to the old man voices while I sit in the restaurant and write. There’s comfort in them.

Their geniality and obvious happiness in each other’s company.

Their slow coffee drinking.

Their well-groomed casually-dressed look.

But their voices. That’s the warm, hope-giving part.

The rumble, the rounded consonants, the mumble, the slight wheeze, the slower cadence, the repetition, the chuckles, like stones from a rock tumbler. Time rubbing their voices smoother and gentler.

No shouts. No shrill. No demands. No panic.

I feel an ease in my body, slowing of my breathing as I listen to them, knowing that they have lived through much loss and sadness and disappointment, and then the failures of other people and the failures of their own bodies.

And they are ok.

They are here.

They have chosen to see each other and keep going.

They are a bedrock here and an anchor for us.

I wonder if any of them realize they contribute something to the world just by being here and talking? Would they imagine that their mere presence gives comfort and hope to anyone? I kind of doubt it. Chances are, some of them feel useless and worthless in the world, as many people do when they get older and are unable to "contribute to society" by working or being productive. This is a modern myth, that we accrue worth by our contribution to the GNP.

This is one myth immediately contradicted by any reading of the gospels. Jesus saw worth and dignity in every person, no matter their age or abilities. If you have watched "The Chosen," you have seen how beautifully and movingly this is displayed by Jesus. Everyone contributes to the world, even if it's only by being loved by God.

"Listen to Me, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.

Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustain and and I will rescue you."

Isaiah 46:3-4