Respect

I remember when I was a teenager my father told me I was disrespectful to a certain man. I said that what that man did was not worthy of respect. Father told me the man deserved my respect because of his age. I said that I didn't respect age, but actions. My father told me to always respect my elders. I still stand on my previous position regarding respect. I suppose I have always had a problem accepting the norm defining respect. Now I am defined as 70% disabled [by the State of Israel], and as such I am authorized to go through the 10-items-only lane with a full cart and (if I desire) go to the head of the line immediately. I do the former sometimes and rarely do the latter. I respect the people waiting in the line as having been there before me. I also respect the government agency authorization that allows me to disrespect the general rule of the 10-item-or-less checkout lane. I never understood Respect as being clearly defined. Sometimes I stand when a person I respect enters a room. Sometimes the person has come to speak to the group, and sometimes the person has come to sit with us all and listen. Sometimes I enter a room and some people will stand for me. I don't know what I may have done to deserve this honor from them. I am no one special. Maybe they were taught by their fathers to honor their elders. I am certainly "elder" than many. Maybe I need to dwell on this concept of Respect. Maybe my father understood that the respect I bestowed on others would one day come back to visit me. Interesting idea.