The women of the World War II generation are astounding. They don't stop till they drop. I know I'm generalizing but their positive attitudes and stamina are more the exception than the rule. We boomer girls could take a lesson. While we whine about depression and aching joints our octogenarian predecessors are boarding buses for trips all over the country. These tours are mostly ladies because many of them have buried at least one husband.
I witness this phenomenon regularly because I volunteer at Garvan Woodland Gardens, a botanical garden here in Hot Springs. Tuesday I went in for an extra shift because a busload of seniors from Texas were coming to the garden. There were 82 people in all and I'd wager that was the average age. Three docents were required because many of them were able to walk the 1.3 mile trail. Walking tours are usually no more than 20 to a group. Using those figures I can make a guess that approximately 60 walked and 22 rode golf carts.
The riders come out with canes and walkers and some are slower than Christmas but they are having fun. Boarding a golf cart is a challenge for some but they laugh at themselves as they pull on the cart roof or steering wheel or me until they are in. I've learned to warn of bumps and slight hills so those on the back don't bounce too hard or roll off. I almost lost a lady one time because she was leaning too far out, waving at everyone we passed.
They all have a story and they share with little encouragement. Flowers, trees, and smells spark memories and I enjoy the stories that inevitably follow. This is great for me because my voice is soft and many of them are hard of hearing. I drive and they talk. They teach and I learn.
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