"Each of those very old people, no matter how fragile their hold on life might be and no matter how useless they might be in the eyes of society, is a rare parchment," my chaplain friend told me. The aged among us are rare parchments, waiting to be read by those of us who will take the time to listen. We are honored to sit in their presence. And these rare parchments may indeed show us how we ourselves, God willing, might grow up to be rare parchments, too.
— Margaret Guenther, Toward Holy Ground