The subject of my article today is about the living and breathing resources we have in Mason City and North Iowa. I have worked a great deal with the elderly during my years in marketing real estate. I love learning about their lives and the paths they took. What I can say about nearly all of them, is that they possess vast untapped banks of knowledge and experience that is un-used. I have encouraged many seniors to put their skills to work again in helping those that are younger to learn from the victories and defeats they experienced in the working world. Seems there is a fear of reaching out. Perhaps this comes from the perception that the media places on the elderly. More and more of what we see and hear within the media, is all about the young and the beautiful. Some of the advertisements are downright insulting and vulgar towards them.
In spite of the trials I have endured, I still consider myself very fortunate to have lived in a household that at times contained three generations. The wealth of knowledge gained was priceless. I hope that somehow we in Mason City and North Iowa can encourage those that hide in the shadows of society to come forward and share their knowledge with their communities. If that would happen, we would find that perhaps the young would decide to stay in the area instead of looking elsewhere for opportunities after they graduate from high school or our community college. We would have the opportunities to grow bigger and better because of the forgotten resources that we have finally put to use. Let us all go out treasure hunting.
