Old People Have Cool Stories

Not a new observation, I know. Check out the Foxfire books for a whole bunch of cool stories and useful wisdom.

I made this not-new observation last night when one of the older people I know started talking about his days as a Range Safety Officer for the Army. He told me about the time he was re-training some guardsmen on grenade-throwing, and Something Went Wrong. No one was hurt (well, not more than necessary to keep two people from being maimed), but it was an exciting tale.

If you want to write a short story and have no ideas, go find an old person! Sit, ask a simple question (“How are you today?”) and then just listen. I guess they’re not all as talkative as my grenade-throwing trainer, but keep asking; you’ll hear something. Even if you don’t, you’ll probably be making someone’s day.