by A. A. Neale

There's a lot of difference between the young and the old. I came up with a few items that distinguish the two groups. You might even want to add to this list.

• The young are in a hurry to do it all. The old want it all to slow down.

• The young are fired up. The old are trying to keep the flame lit.

• The young want it now. The old are holding out for tomorrow.

• The young don't want to hear about the good old days. The old shake their heads at these wild and wacky times.

• The young want to make more money. The old are looking for a cheaper place to buy their prescription medicine.

• The young's hormones are off the charts. The old are taking hormone pills.

• The young are climbing the walls. The old are propping up the fat and flab.

For all those differences and more, the young and old are both human beings subject to the same principles that govern this old world. Sometimes the old, through lumps and dumps, have gotten a better sight of those principles than when they were younger.

What does an old man have to say to the young? Here's a few things, for starters.

• Be a saver; be a giver.

• Follow good examples; outstrip your examples' goodness.

• Save sex for marriage; make marriage the place for sex.

• The world doesn't owe you a thing; owe no one nothing, except love.

• Plan your life; today is all you've got.

• Say something significant; babble with the babies.

• Be what you claim; admit you're not what you should be.

• See the little guy, especially your kids; be the little guy.

• Down is easy and quick; up is the long, hard row.

• Don't take no for an answer; know when to say no.

All this in the spirit of Proverbs 1:8,9. "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck."