Eldercare Triptych

Out and About

32" x 88.5"
mixed media

Once the world honored their elders and respected the cycle of life they represented. Caring for the older generation was once considered payback for the energies they had invested in us while we were growing up. It is certainly past tense to say we respected the accumulated knowledge and wisdom of our elders. With the advent of the computer memory chip, there seems to be no need to depend on anyone for the linking of information, wisdom, and first-hand experiences. The elders of our society are not only useless to us, but are a reminder of a horrible joke biology will spring on us. In the realm of human capital, the elderly have a very good chance of being written off. Their social value depreciates in direct relation to how fast their life-time accumulated wealth can be siphoned off. Nursing homes are said to be mismanaged and squander both government and family contributed dollars. Nursing homes contend they are just like any other business and cannot maintain a margin profitability while complying with minimal regulations and the demands of their customers’ family/advocates. Like a dehumanized, ill-fed, ill-mannered and oozing heap of inconvenient waste, the old folks take up space... wait out their time at death's door and then disappear.
© Sol Robbins