Anna Douglas was 72 years old when she started writing her newspaper column. After she retired, she found a volunteer job with an agency. The agency that she chose to work for helped find jobs for old people. Every day she talked with other retired people like herself. By talking, she recognized two things: Old people had abilities that were not being used. Old people also had problems—mostly problems with communication.

Mrs. Douglas found a new purpose for herself. She had written stories about people for national magazines. Now there was a subject: old people like herself. She began to write a newspaper column called “Sixty Phis”, which focuses on getting old. She wrote about the problems of the aged, especially their problems with being misunderstood.

Anna Douglas tries to see the truth behind a problem. She understands the reasons why problems begin. She understands old people and young people as well. For example, one of her readers said that his grandchildren left the house every time he came to visit. Mrs. Douglas suggested some ways for him to increase understanding with his grandchildren. She told him to listen to young people’s music and to watch the most popular television shows.

“It’s important to know something about your grandchildren’s world,” says Mrs. Douglas. “That means questions and listening—and listening is not what old people do best.” She continues, “Say good things to them and about them. Never criticize your grandchildren or any other youngsters, teenagers, or young adults. Never tell them that they are wrong. Don’t give them your opinion. They have been taught that they should have respect for old people. The old should also have respect for the young.”

Mrs. Jones was eighty, but she still drove her old car like a woman half her age. She loved driving very fast, and was proud of the fact that she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished for a driving offense (违章).

Then one day she nearly lost her record. A police car stopped her car because the policemen in it saw her run a red light without stopping.

The judge looked at her seriously and said that she was too old to drive a car, and that the reason why she had not stopped at the red light was most probably that her eyes had become weak, so that she had not seen it.

Without saying a word, Mrs. Jones opened her handbag and took out her sewing. She chose a needle (针) with a very small eye, and threaded (穿线) it at her first try.

When she had successfully done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed both the needle and the thread to the judge, saying,   “Now it’s your turn. I suppose you drive a car, and that you are quite sure about your own eyesight.”

The judge took the needle and tried to thread it. After many tries, he had still not succeeded. Mrs. Jones won, and her record remained unbroken.

One day, Robin was bored, so he decided to have an adventure. He took his staff (棍子) and his horn (号角), and he went for a walk in the forest alone.

It was a beautiful morning and Robin came to a river with a small bridge across it. He stopped and rested. He was enjoying the sun on his face and thinking happy things when he saw a big man. He was nearly seven feet tall, with a thick, black beard and shoulders as wide as a tree. This man was on the other side of the river. He was walking with his head down and he was carrying a staff in his hand.

“Time to have some fun.” thought Robin, and he quietly ran to the middle of the bridge and waited.

“Good day!” said Robin when the big man was in front of him.

He looked up, surprised “Good day,” he replied.

Robin smiled. After a minute, the man spoke again.

“Excuse me, sir, please move out of my way.”

“No, dear sir. Please move out of my way.”

The man looked at Robin. “Get out of my way!”

Robin laughed. “But my dear sir, I was here before you!”

The man’s face turned red with anger.

“Move!” he shouted and lifted his staff. Robin lifted his staff to fight. The big man was strong and Robin was fast. But at last, Robin made a mistake. Robin’s head hurt and he fell off the bridge and fell into the river.

The man laughed. Robin looked up, and he laughed, too. He climbed out of the water and blew (吹) three times on his horn.

Suddenly, out of the trees came twenty of Robin’s men. Will Stutely arrived before the others.

“Robin,” said Will, ‘you are all wet. What happened?”

Robin pointed to the big man. “He knocked me into the river.”

“Then he is going to have a bath, too,” said Will.

“Wait!” said Robin. “Don’t hurt him. It was fun. We fought a fair fight and he won.”

Robin put a hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Don’t be angry. Come with me and have something to eat.”

Slowly, a smile spread across his face. He hit Robin on the back in a friendly way and said, “All right, I agree.”

(Adapted from Robin Hood by Howard Pyle)