Tribal Elder

I get it, I totally understand now why there were, and are Tribal Elders. Tonight I was troubleshooting an electrical problem with my non working cloths dryer when it hit me. People spend their whole life collecting experiences with the hope of being able to use those experiences and eventually share them with someone before you pass in this life. I have spent the last 52 years collecting these experiences. With all of this knowledge on how stuff works, and how to fix broke things I can use it to better my family and friend. Now I know why I am the first one called when something is broken. I am my families Tribal Elder.

Recently I completed a class at Catawba College called "Indians of the Carolinas". In this class we learned about how important Tribal elders were to tribes. They had years and years of knowledge that younger tribe members did not have. The Tribal Elders were respected because of this knowledge. This is another reason to love being this old.
Now my job is to make sure I do not waste this knowledge. I have always made sure that I did train my kids. I showed them all how to take care of their cars on your own. Changing the oil, being able to troubleshoot strange noises. I thought this was always a good skill for my kids to have. That way if they do have to take there car in to a mechanic they will not be taken advantage of. I have shared this with my son and daughters. Now I must start working on the Grandkids. So much info to pass on.
"It's a life time of knowledge."