Good Deeds

Maybe far too many from this latest generation are lost.
Maybe too many males have grown up without any fathers to act as role models.
Maybe too many females have grown up seeing their mothers and grandmothers being the only responsible adults in their lives.

Maybe I'm sexist - but what ever happened to manners?
I'm sure this not what Gloria Steinem intended when she fought for women's liberation.
When did it become acceptable for young males to be so reliant upon young females for their well being?
What ever happened to opening doors for women?
What ever happened to giving up ones seat to a lady standing nearby?
Whatever happened to walking before the lady down a flight of stairs and behind a lady while walking up a flight of stairs?
And when did women stop expecting such behaviors?

One of my young cousins totaled his car last week.
Two days prior, the water pump on my spare car flooded my engine with antifreeze and water rendering it useless for the time being.
This young cousin had just gotten a new job and was now stuck without transportation.
As he sat around stressed over his current dilemma, "Do something for someone else.", I said.
He saw no point in this.
Why should he help someone else when it was he who now required assistance?

As with every summer, this young cousin and I had a list of chores to do for my elderly neighbors.
Seeing that he now needed to earn extra money to make repairs on a car, he thought that this would be the ideal time to do the work.
But this work is always done for lunch, a soda or even for free.
He would not make any money sweating in the 100 degree Southeast Texas Summer sun.

But something strange happened.
One of my neighbors noticed his car missing and a mechanic working on my spare.
This neighbor (for whom we did no work) offered to loan my young cousin one of his spare cars for the next few months at no cost.
(Well, really he would be loaning it to me at my responsibility but for my cousin's usage.)
"But we didn't even do anything for him.", my young cousin said.
"Yeah.... It happens like that sometimes.", I replied.