IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO CALL

60-plus age men and women these days. Say goodbye to “seniors” (boomers have never liked that term anyway) and hello to the “modern elders.” Psychologist and gerontologist Ken Dychtwald, PhD, in his newest book, What Retirees Want, says “the most generally acceptable terms today seem to be ‘older adult’ and ‘older person,’ and simply saying ‘older’ and ‘younger’ are useful to distinguish age cohorts.” He goes on to say, “In this book, we go with the flow and use older, mature, senior, or elder as the context suggests.”[1]

 

One term we should all not want to be known by is “cheap,” especially when it comes to those who make their living by serving us. Never more so than these days. Business on so many levels, both owners and employees, has taken major blows and we’ve all been affected. The restaurant food-service industry is one of the hardest hit of all. Even Seattle’s 68-year-old fine dining Canlis Restaurant, in an unprecedented move, turned to takeout, drive-thru and delivery during the COVID-19 outbreak in order to keep its highly skilled employees working.

 

Liz Gresch, M.D., recently shared in a Timber Ridge CLS Bulletin, a pledge written by Bethany Jean Clement and Tan Vinh, food critics for the Seattle Times.[2] It’s good advice for all of us, especially when served by younger adults and teens—really anyone working who works hard trying to “get by” these days. So here is:

 

THE TAKEOUT PATRON’S PLEDGE

I do hereby solemnly swear:

that I will not look down on truncated go-to menus, but rather regard them as a sensible way to optimize goodness;

that I will avoid ordering hot sandwiches with lettuce on them because that’s just not going to end well at home;

that I will eat my french fries as soon as it is safe to take off my mask, i.e., as quickly as I can get 6 feet from others or into the car, for cold french fries do a disservice to us all;

that I will follow any and all cooking or reheating instructions carefully in order to give the food a fighting chance;

that I will tip generously, for times are tough; and that I will not leave negative Yelp reviews because I am not a jerk who kicks people when they’re down.

 

IF JESUS WERE PHYSICALLY PRESENT

today he would be all over this pledge, asking his team to serve up the take-out food he had prepared beforehand for 5000 men, plus women and children (not socially distanced) gathered to hear him teach. And after blessing the food he might have said to everyone, “Enjoy. The meal is free … but times are tough. Tip the servers generously. They’re worth it. You’ve heard me say this before. It is more blessed to give than to receive.”[3]

 

So remember this the next time you get the chance. Especially now. It’s the sort of thing Jesus’ modern elders do.

 

 

 

 

 

[1] What Retirees Want, Ken Dychtwald and Robert Morison, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2020

[2] The Takeout Patron’s Pledge, Bethany Jean Clement and Tan Vinh, Seattle Times, 08/23/2020

[3] Acts 20:35