Greyhound busses smell like doom. That’s the thought that entered Luna’s mind as she watched the city lights fade in the distance. A pungent, sterile smell that signaled finality. A fitting smell, considering where the bus was taking her. She was plummeting towards a summer of boredom at 60 miles per hour. The trip was her parents’ bright idea, they insisted that it was her responsibility as a good grandchild to spend a summer with her grandparents while they were still around and sharp enough to remember it. It’s not like she had anything better to do with her summer anyway, but that didn’t improve her attitude about the whole situation. Her entire junior year had felt like she was never in control. Her tight knit group of friends had unraveled as everyone developed knew interests, her parents had been busy at their demanding jobs, and her boyfriend realized he needed to “focus on his education” and did not have time for a relationship. This lame excuse did not fool Luna, she knew that in reality he was focusing on Sadie, a cheerleader who had a perfect figure and a snarky attitude that boys couldn't resist. After this totally unsatisfying year, Luna was in no mood to spend her summer dealing with her senile grandparents. Her parents could make her go, but they couldn’t make her be happy about it.

Luna drowsily opened her eyes and squinted in the glaring morning light. Checking her iphone, she realized that they would be arriving at the bus station in about 10 minutes. Sighing reluctantly, she gathered her belongings and braced herself for the adventure ahead
“Luna, darling you’ve gotten so big!” Granny Blanche squeezed her in a gridlock hug and swayed back and forth excitedly. “Good to see you Granny B.” She tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible while being squeezed half to death. When she was finally released from the hug, they made their way out to the parking lot and loaded her bags into Granny B’s gold Cadillac. When everything was loaded up, they climbed in. It took Luna about 30 seconds to realize that Granny B’s driving skills were as outgoing as her personality. They would be lucky if they got to their destination in one piece.

As the ancient Cadillac screeched to a stop, Luna took in her surroundings. Sunset View Retirement Village was one straight road of faded white brick houses with rusty red stucco roofs. Each dwelling had a small porch, and Granny B’s porch was currently inhabited by her husband Grandpa Ike, who did not stir as they exited the car. Granny B shook her head disapprovingly. “My lands, that man has only been awake about a handful of times since 1985.” She marched up the steps at a surprisingly fast rate for her age. She took the newspaper he had been reading, rolled it up, and gave him a swift whack on the head. “Isaac Goonberry, where on earth are your manners. You wake up and give your granddaughter a proper welcome right this instant” The old man jumped and his eyes flew open. “What’s going on? I was right in the middle of a good sleep” “Ike, get your lazy self up and give our little angel a proper welcome.” Grandpa Ike snorted with disgust. “In my day children were taught to respect their elders. I’ve never stood up to greet a child and I don’t plan to start now.” Well this is starting out well, she thought to herself. She just wanted to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. “Hi Grandpa. I’ll just go inside and unpack.” But apparently the old man was just getting started. “No manners, just like I expected. Children these days wouldn’t know respect if it slapped them in the face”
Luna felt her face grow red. She was tired from travelling all day and that only intensified her emotions. She had sacrificed her summer against her will to spend time with this man and this was how he welcomed her. She hadn’t even walked in the door and already he was criticizing her.

Before Luna could stop herself, she was running down the steps and away from her grandparents. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to get away from there. For a while, she just ran. Slowly the tension of the day began to untangle in her mind. As her feelings simmered back down to a manageable level, she realized she was out of breath. As much as she wanted to run forever, she was out of shape and the hot summer sun was taking it’s toll on her. She scanned her surroundings for a place to rest. She saw a bench under an Oak tree in the distance. There was a gray haired man sitting on it intently reading the sports section of the local newspaper. She slowed down and tried to smile as if she hadn’t just been crying. “Mind if I sit?” she asked. The man glanced up from his paper and smiled pleasantly. “Sure little lady, have a seat” She sat beside him, planning to catch her breath and be on her way. After a second she became aware that the man wasn’t reading his paper anymore. Becoming uncomfortable, she looked up. The man was studying her with a kind smile on his face. “I’m sorry” he said. “You probably think I’m some old creep. It’s just that you seem to be upset about something and I was wondering if you needed a listening ear. My granddaughter is about your age and she calls me when she has something on her mind. She’s away at college studying to be a teacher.” The man beamed with pride. Luna took a deep breath. “It’s just that I gave up my entire summer to spend time with my grandparents, and all my grandpa can do is criticize me.” She told him the situation that had taken place on the porch, and summed up her rant with one final statement. “I gave up my whole summer for them and they’re not thankful at all. Obviously if they can find so much wrong with me they don’t really want to spend time with me. I knew this whole plan was a bad idea.”
When she had finished saying all that, She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. That feeling was quickly replaced by the realization that she had just opened up her heart and spilled out her emotions to a random stranger on a park bench. What had she been thinking? Just as she began to panic, the old man started to speak. “Young lady, I’m not the most educated man in the world, and I’m not really qualified to give you advice. But I’m a stubborn man, so I’m gonna give it to you anyway. When I was a little boy, I was constantly told that I did not respect my elders. I hated that just as much as you do. Then I grew up and had children of my own, and I found myself telling the same thing. Now that I’ve reached this old age, I think I understand the dilemma a little better. It seems to me that both sides are right. It’s true that children often forget to respect their elders. It always has been that way and it always will be. But us adults are guilty to. We forget what it’s like to be at that age where you’re beginning to have grown up thoughts and ideas, but still expected to be respectful. We forget to listen. Now I can’t fix your problem, but I can give you some advice. Go home and have a conversation with your grandfather. Struggle through the criticisms and try to find the good points. You see dear, some people are full of great stories but lack the ability to tell them effectively. That’s when it’s your job as the listener to sift through the rough parts and find the good parts. Some of the greatest pearls of wisdom are covered in the roughest shells.”