Standing Tall at 70: A Life Lived with Courtesy
I’m 70 years young, and I still stand on the bus when someone needs the seat more than I do. Not because I’m trying to prove anything.
Just because it’s what we were taught—to notice, to care, to act.
Back then, respect wasn’t a buzzword. It was baked into daily life. We waved to neighbors. We helped without being asked.
We gave up our seats, not for praise, but because it was the right thing to do.
Today, I see heads down, earbuds in, eyes avoiding contact. And I smile - a sad smile. Because I remember a time when courtesy was common, not rare.
But every now and then, something reminds me it’s not gone. A bus operator standing up, asking others to move for someone in need.
Telling me, “Take your seat again.” That moment mattered.
I’ve lived a life full of stories—some wild, some tender, all true. From jumping out of second-story windows to rescuing cats from locked sheds.
From a small child riding a retired Mountie dog named Mac to watching him pull our toboggan up snowy hills.
These stories may not change the world.
But they’re pieces of a time when kindness was instinctive, and respect was the rhythm of everyday life.
So I’ll keep sharing. Because maybe, just maybe, someone will read one and remember how good it felt to care.