It is one of the common diseases of this society to show little or no respect for advanced age. The elderly are considered useless trash to be consigned to a lonely, lingering death in an old age home. "Guest" will soon find this out to his own great discomfiture, I would assume...

In classical societies of the past, where the dollar had not yet taken over all other considerations, the elderly were considered to be the repository of the accumulated wisdom of the community...and their words were given much notice and respect by the younger.