Elderly Ida

I spoke with an elderly woman today . . . Ida was her name. She was a most interesting lady, though not known for fortune or fame. She told me a bit about her life . . . coming to America after WWII. Her life must have been exciting, now known only by a few. She told me her family isn't interested in her past . . . "They will not listen", she said, I found her story so riveting, I wondered, "What's going on in their heads?" She told me of her mother . . . how she listened to the family stories she put in her ears, "I cry now inside, when I think of that time, because today, no one wants to hear." There are many more Idas out there . . . whose stories we must learn to protect and keep. What will heppen when we are Ida's age ? Will anyone listen when we so want to speak? Ida's story may be a common one . . . yet, life writes each one differently. Remember to listen to the Ida's, because her generation has changed the shape of history. Her words so touched me that . . . when we fail to listen to the stories of generations gone by, We lose that part of our own lives, and like Ida, "Inside I want to cry."