ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — In these challenging times when young people face difficult choices in life about work, family and the future, it’s tough for them to know which direction to follow.
The answer isn’t always a Google search away.
Sometimes, the wisest people who can offer the best guidance are right in your own community, next door or even in your own home.
Senior citizens — some of whom have been in this world a century — have experienced the ups and down of life, and seen many changes, some good and some not-so-good, and have gained much knowledge over the years.
They’ve lived through it all — world wars, global economic downturns, natural disasters and political strife, the inventions of the telephone and television, and advancements in transportation and medicine, not to mention the mind-boggling evolution in technology that seems to dominate people’s lives today.
“Listen to your elders’ advice. Not because they are always right, but because they have more experience of being wrong,” the saying from an unknown source goes.
The Telegram asked several people over the age of 80 in the St. John’s metro region to offer some good advice to the younger generations.
From keeping active to getting outside away from technology, these senior citizens had plenty to say.
IDA PEAT, 100 years old
Originally from Grand Falls-Windsor, Ida Peat played a number of sports over the years, including tennis, badminton and skating, and was an avid gardener most of her life.
The physical activity was key in staying healthy, she said.
“You’ve got to have a positive attitude. I must say no matter what comes up, I always try to make the best of it." — Ida Peat
“It’s very important to be active and to exercise — walking, playing games and (eat) a healthy diet,” said Peat, who was a nurse at the Grace Hospital in St. John’s for decades. “You have to eat your fruit and your vegetables to get all your vitamins.”
But above all else, she said, be positive.
“You’ve got to have a positive attitude,” said Peat, a mother of two children who was married for 70 years before her husband, Hollett, died. “I must say no matter what comes up, I always try to make the best of it. I never complain.
“I know I’ve got lots of complain about, but I don’t complain. I just keep it to myself and make the best of it.”
ANDY O’NEIL, 93
At 93, Andy O'Neil has as much energy as someone half his age. Also a resident at Meadow Creek Retirement Home in Paradise, he said he loves to dance, and even demonstrated some of his moves.
“I need music,” he said, laughing.
“It’s hard to give advice to young people. They’re going to do what they do anyway, (but) life goes by awfully fast.” — Andy O'Neil
Throughout the years growing up in St. John’s, O’Neil said, he enjoyed fishing and walking, and is proud to say he never drank or smoked. He said young people will be sorry later in life if they do.
“It’s hard to give advice to young people,” he said. “They’re going to do what they do anyway.
“(But) life goes by awfully fast.”
He’s not sure if his healthy lifestyle is the reason he’s reached such a ripe old age, but said a good wife and supporting family are the biggest reasons he’s been so content. His wife, Catherine, died last year. The couple were married 67 years.
“I’ve lived a happy life,” said O’Neil, who has three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. “I have the best family in the world.”
His best advice for young people is, “Work hard, make lots of money, retire early and enjoy life.”
KAY POWER, 80 (this week)
Kay Power of St. John’s also believes staying active is key, but says her best advice to young people would be, “Be yourself, have fun and believe in the three F’s — faith, family and friends. Family is so important, friends are important and God is important. That’s my motto.”
She hasn’t slowed much over the years and believes being friendly and kind to people is also important in life.
“Be yourself, have fun and believe in the three F’s — faith, family and friends." — Kay Power
“I love to go up on Signal Hill and talk to strangers and watch the whales and meet so many beautiful people you never met before. They’re so friendly,” said Power, who worked as a nurse for 50 years. “There are all kinds of things to do.”
She advises young people to take a break from technology and get out and, “make your own fun.”
GERRY MADDEN, 83
Power’s brother, Gerry Madden, said times were simpler when he was a boy growing up in St. John’s, where he walked six miles back and forth to school daily and spent most of his time outdoors.
These days, he said, young people are inside behind a computer and are obsessed with technology.
“Do as you please, be responsible for your actions and don’t hurt anybody." — Gerry Madden
“The biggest difference I see in the younger kids is they have terrific thumbs,” he said, holding his hands up and moving his thumbs to imitate typing on a phone and computer games.
“Get out and talk to one another. Never mind the phones, at least a certain time of the day.
“It’s almost like somebody cut their arm off when they realize, ‘Oh my God I don’t have my phone with me.’”
However, Madden’s best advice is the same as what his mother often told him.
“Do as you please, be responsible for your actions and don’t hurt anybody and you’ll be OK.’”
CHARLES STARKES, 98
At 98, Charlie Starkes is one of the few remaining Second World War veterans and has seen a thing or two in his lifetime.
Starkes — who was born in Greenspond, grew up in St. John’s and lives in Mount Pearl — was a torpedo-man on the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Tracker during D-Day, June 6, 1944.
He helped fit the fighter planes with munitions before they lifted off the deck as part of Operation Overlord — the massive invasion that turned the tide to end the war in Europe.
“Peace don’t come cheap, you know. Millions of people lose their lives (in wars). It’s an awful price to pay for an argument, and that’s mostly what it is.” — Charles Starkes
Starkes said back in his day, young people had a lot of responsibility and had to work for what they got — unlike many today.
“They got ’er knocked,” Starkes said when asked his thoughts on kids today. “When they get out of school, the time is their own. They can go playing ball and do what they want to do.
“But when we were young, when the kids got out of school, we’d probably have to paint the fence or clean up the garden, chop some wood. We had all kinds of chores after school. So, they’re lucky.”
Starkes, a member of the Singing Legionnaires for more than 50 years, said young people should be grateful for what they have.
In a 2019 interview with The Telegram at the Remembrance Day ceremony in downtown St. John’s, Starks said he hoped younger generations never have to witness the kind of atrocities that he saw.
“Peace don’t come cheap, you know,” he said last year. "Millions of people lose their lives. It’s an awful price to pay for an argument, and that’s mostly what it is.”
It was, perhaps, Starkes’ way of telling the younger generations to, above all else, count your blessings.
