If My Father Was Still Alive

If My Father Was Still Alive

Written by : Jeffrey R Hilton

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If my father was still alive,  I would tell him,  I love him more than he could ever know.  I would tell him that I am sorry that I didn't want to hold his hand,  as he took mine walking down our street together because,  I was 15 years old now !  I would tell him that his heart lives inside me still,  as sure as his blood runs through my veins.  I'd tell him that I've always admired him and try my best to help others selflessly as he did.  I would ask him more about his Dad,  and about his young life.  I would ask him if he still remembers letting me ride in the back window of the Volkswagen he once owned.   I would talk to my Dad about all the good times we had when I was growing up and share a good laugh over a beer.   I would tell him I was still impressed that he knew I unhooked his odometer and took the car for a joy ride when I wasn't supposed to.  I would tell my father that if I couldn't be more like him,  I was glad to at least be,   part of him.

I'd take my Father out to lunch and discuss current world events that are ever shaping the world and ask him if he ever thought he would see some of today's greatest inventions.  I'd tell him that I am grateful for his firmness with me,  when I needed it most.  I'd try to explain that I was young and impressionable and went against his good advice too many times.  I would ask him if there was anything I could do to make his life easier and comfortable in his advanced age.  I would thank him for all the things he taught me and for never beating or abusing me.  I know he would forgive me for the mistakes I've made and tell me,  it's what you do now and in the future that counts,  and to not to hold  onto and let past mistakes,  cloud my future.

If you have a father that was taken early in life,  and you still miss him, then share this post to pay homage to him.


If you are lucky enough to have a father,  that's still alive  

show him the greatest respect and let him know that you love him with all your heart.

Sometimes the best people are taken from the world suddenly,  and better affirmations of the heart be spoken to the living,  than holding them inside for the departed where they may haunt your soul.

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Do Have A Good Day And Honor Thy Father.

Jeffrey R Hilton

GOODDAYBADDAYASISEEIT

Saving Seniors. Will You Be There?

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Saving Seniors, Will You Be There?

Nobody's getting any younger. The population is heading for a drastic change already well under way,  a demographic shift that will see seniors as a larger majority of the populace than ever before.  The population of seniors 65 and over is currently on the rise from between 2000 and by the year 2050, The percentage of seniors will grow to be 147 % of the U.S population,  while during the same period,  the general overall population of the U.S will only increase to 49 %.  


In 2006, 13.7 % of Canadians were 65 or over and by 2056, the number will increase to 
30 %.  The way the present structure to take care of the elderly is set up,  It is headed for collapse as a growing number of older Canadians and Americans retire and younger people are not moving into the workforce to replace many of them, the system will struggle to maintain the funds to support old age with this model.  Surely with the amount of young and talented bright minds out there today,  one of them could come up with a better model than the current failing one that exists today.  I think a percentage of lottery funds should be funneled to be the base for a better improved system to take care of the aging population.  


The problems that plague the elderly are generally the same across the board. What they worry about is that  living skills and abilities diminish causing the need for care and losing the independence that many try to hold onto desperately.  Common health problems associated with age like crippling forms of arthritis, mild dementia and heart problems. The cost of prescriptions and procedures is such that a lot of seniors are foregoing treatment because they can't afford the high cost of drugs and extra billing.  This end result is further strain on the medical system from these seniors developing more serious conditions as a result of not getting treatments and taking prescribed drugs.


The elderly worry about affording medical aids that allow them more freedom and ability.  Insecurity, financial worries and relationship problems with spouses and children are often a worry.  Children with elderly parents, sadly,  often abandon them at a certain age in North American culture.  This causes more strain.  Affording home care is another worry seniors face and the added strain of having to find a care-giving company that only hires top notch qualified personnel and monitors their care givers,  as not all of them give the kind of care the elderly should be afforded and many perform services that are substandard.  it's not uncommon to see bruises on the elderly after a care giver leaves them from rough handling techniques from inexperience or even losing their patience.  Even affording basic necessities to live is a major concern for many seniors.


Seniors residences are turning into big and profitable business's.  Great that more of these places are being built,  but most are upscale and beyond reach of the average senior.  We must change the mindset of government that continually removes or rescinds on fair benefit rates and breaks for seniors and keeps them on the poverty line.  Seniors are often to the target for budget cuts and as always if nothing changes, the same people responsible would never entertain the thought of doing anything as generous and contributing to resolve the situation by taking a pay cut themselves.


Maybe the Government should be run by non profit organizations. Wow would that free up a load of cash to pump into problems that plague us.  Why does North American society not embrace and revere their elderly like other countries do?  We need to adopt the same mindset. Seniors are vastly overlooked as a source of valuable knowledge and wisdom of experience.  And besides,  why not repay the kindness to our parents of bringing us into the world. The sacrifices our elders made to build and defend our countries and rebuild them time after time against the Nazi war machine and other aggressors is nothing less than spectacular patriotism and determination in the face of adversity.  Most elderly war veterans would go to war again if it meant defending their country even in their advanced state of age. Most younger people have no appreciation for the kind of sacrifices their elders continually made to maintain the freedoms we are allowed today.


The whole world needs to learn the benefits of being compassionate not only to their elders but to all of their fellowmen.  In many other countries,  parents move in with their children when they get to old to manage on their own, where they remain until they die. This is a great respect of elders at work and a model every country should follow. Nursing homes are a rarity in Japan.  Would it not be a great accomplishment to be able to say the same of North America?


Let's work together for the future of seniors so they may lead dignified lives after retirement. After all,  you'll be there soon enough!

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Do Have A Good Day And Never Overlook Compassion As A Tool To Achieve Greatness.

                                             Jeffrey Robert Hilton

                            










  
   

War Veterans

War Veterans

Written by : Jeffrey R Hilton

This is the time of year when most of us pay homage to the veterans that made so many sacrifices.Many with their lives. A lot of younger people have no idea of the horrors seen and lived by most war vets.  These young people need to learn and remember what the generations before them went through so they could enjoy freedoms they would never have if not for these brave and selfless individuals.  
I am well informed,  about veterans,  having lived in the U.K. for four years;Two of them with veterans in a sheltered housing for retired service personnel setting.  And an additional two years associating with another group of vets in another sheltered housing setting in England.  I've always held an interest in the history of war and am well read in the subject.


I have the deepest respect for these older folks and I got to know many of them,  and heard many stories.  I also ran into a few vets that didn't want to talk about their experiences.  this is common among veterans.  These guys are hard nuts to crack and who could blame them for not wanting to talk about some of the horrors they endured.  Most of them have spent 60 years plus waking up every night from vivid dreams of  horrible experiences endured and would rather not dredge up old memories.  


One thing that irks me to no end at this time of year are the amount of thefts of poppy funds boxes.
It's absolutely heartless as these veterans need this money and certainly deserve it more than a bunch of crack heads that thinks it's open season on these boxes every remembrance day.


A lot of these war veterans fought their way through  multiple conflicts and wars.  That, is guts, perseverance and pride of country.  One of the soldiers I had the pleasure to know was one of the guys that didn't like to talk about it.  He was Airborne and parachuted 3 times behind enemy lines. He was captured the first time and threw into a prison of which he escaped.He made it back to England only to be dropped again into enemy territory where he was again captured and escaped.


The third time he was captured, he suffered a fate that befell a lot of men that escaped from the Germans. He was shipped off to the now infamous COLDITZ Prison.   A prison designed to hold prisoners that had escaped multiple times from other POW camps. Colditz was virtually escape proof.  He spent the duration of the war there in Colditz. There is a movie about this prison based on the true story of the many allied prisoners held there.


I became friends with many male and female war veterans 
These women and men are still highly spirited and positive.  One of them, a next door neighbor as a little girl of 8 yrs was being evacuated on a train with other children to the English countryside had to hit the floor of the train car with the others as their train was strafed by German planes twice.


I worked for a time for one of the last surviving BEVEN BOYS. These were young men that spent the entire war in mines in the U.K. mining precious metals for the war effort.
Educate yourself about these people and educate your kids to respect these people.


The point I am trying to make is that these special people won't be alive much longer. Let's give them the respect and kindness and thankfulness they so deserve  while they are still here among us that have flourished and enjoyed an enriched life because of their valiant efforts.

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I bid you Good Day !

Jeffrey R Hilton