School was all but impossible for Sparky. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics, Latin, algebra and English in high school. He didn’t do much better in sports. Although he did manage to make the school golf team, he promptly lost the only important match of the year. There was a consolation match and he lost that, too.
Throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. He was not actually disliked by the other students; he wasn’t considered consequential enough for that! He was astonished if a classmate ever said “hello” to him outside school hours. He never found out how he would have fared as a “date.” In high school, Sparky never once asked a girl out. He was too afraid of being rejected.
Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates, and everyone else knew it, so Sparky simply accepted it. But one thing was important to Sparky: drawing. He was proud of his own artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year in high school, he submitted some cartoons to the editors of his yearbook. They were turned down. Despite this particularly painful rejection, Sparky had found his passion.
Upon graduating from high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject matter for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky drew the proposed cartoon. He spent a great deal of time on it and on the other drawings. Finally the reply from the Disney Studios came. He had been rejected once again. Another loss for the loser.
Sparky wrote his own autobiography in cartoons. He described his childhood self, a little-boy loser and chronic under achiever. He was the little cartoon boy whose kite would never fly, who never succeeded in kicking the football, and who became the most famous cartoon character of all, Charlie Brown!
Sparky, the boy who failed every subject in the eighth grade and whose work was rejected again and again, was Charles Schulz.
Charles Schulz persevered. He succeeded beyond his wildest imagination. He earned and deserved that success. He had failed at everything else he had tried. He endured rejection. It took a lot of trial and error to finally find out what it was that he was supposed to do. But he never quit. Because Charles Schulz persevered, the world is richer.
Sometimes it feels like elderly people are always angry, and not just because they can’t figure out the TV remote. If we’re being honest, TV remotes these days are far too complicated, even for the young and “tech-savvy.” But there’s a reason you smiled at that image as well as the many “old man yells at cloud” memes floating around the internet – angry old people are a real thing. But why do old people get so mean?
Why Do Old People Get Cranky?
Behavioral changes in old age are common and can be caused by a variety of factors. Some of the factors leading to rudeness in old age are:
Hormonal changes. Men see a decrease in testosterone beginning around age 40, and women see a decrease in estrogen beginning around age 50, both of which can lead to depression and mood swings. While women tend to cry and vent to friends, men mask their depression with anger, leading us to the “get off my lawn!” cry associated with the elderly.
Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Memory loss and cognitive impairment can certainly lead to anger and frustration, which can lead to a senior lashing out at those around them. Luckily, some of this can be treated with medication, so if you are concerned about dementia, speak to your doctor.
Vision or Hearing loss. Another reason why old people are so cranky is that they cannot see or hear as well as they used to. You would be cranky, too, if you had to say, “what?!” every time someone tried to talk to you, or you couldn’t see the hotties in your favorite TV shows as well as before.
Depression. Change can be rough, and the older you get the more change you experience. Loss of loved ones, loss of ability to drive or care for oneself, loss of one’s home – all of these situations are common to the elderly and can lead to depression. Depression can lead to anger and emotional outbursts. If your loved one (or you) is suffering from depression, definitely reach out to a doctor. There are medications and other therapies that can help.
Attention Seeking Behavior in Elderly Adults
It’s possible that the answer to your question, “Why are old people so mean?” is simply that they want or need attention. Elderly people may be jealous of your social life, have low self-esteem, or just feel lonely. Their quest for attention may manifest as anger, just like a young child would when they are not sure how else to communicate.
The important thing to remember as you deal with an angry elder – and admittedly, this is not always easy – try to come from a place of empathy and compassion. Remember they aren’t being grumpy or mean because they dislike you personally or want to hurt your feelings. Listen attentively and be as kind as possible. Getting old is no picnic. Hopefully, you too will be old someday, and you will likely want someone to be kind and attentive to you as well.
Another Hollywood Democrat Has-Been feels a need to voice his ignorant opinion:
“Climate change is killing the earth and ruining our economy. We need a bold step forward to save our economy, our planet and ourselves.”
-Leonardo DiCaprio-
“Intelligent people could not care less about any Hollywood Democrat opinions, Leo. The last time I remember you doing anything significant was 28 years ago in 1997, you were frozen to death atop a piano and sliding into the northern Atlantic Ocean after the R.M.S. Titanic sank.” -Sheila Tolley-
Explanation: On the morning of September 24 a rocket crosses the bright solar disk in this long range telescopic snapshot captured from Orlando, Florida. That’s about 50 miles north of its Kennedy Space Center launch site. This rocket carried three new space weather missions to space. Signals have now been successfully acquired from all three – NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) – as they begin their journey to L1, an Earth-Sun lagrange point. L1 is about 1.5 million kilometers in the sunward direction from planet Earth. Appropriately, major space weather influencers, aka dark sunspots in active regions across the Sun, are posing with the transiting rocket. In fact, large active region AR4225 is just right of the rocket’s nose.
