I Feel it in Me Bones

Today, my knee hurts. This event produces two effects. First of all, it causes me to become more whiney than usual. Second of all, it causes me to reflect. You know those old guys who sit around on their front porches together becasue their wives are tired of having them around the house. They sit together and discuss the good ol' days and talk about how much they could buy with a dime.
Then they get to predicting the weather based on the painful feelings they get from artheritic bones and joints. And I wonder, what if these fellows really could predict weather based on their aches and pains. What's more, what if they could predict important world events.
Oh, how that would change how we value our elders. Instead of locking them away in homes where we don't have to wipe up their drool and change thier diapers like they did for us, they would be locked away in government buildings somewhere with numerous fellows in white lab coats asking all varieties of questions.
"Good morning Mr. Jenkins, and how are you feeling this morning?"
"Ohhh, not too bad, but i've got an ache in my left ankle. Spose' that means that ol' Sodom Hoossin is goona try to invade Alaska."
The scientists would nod, make a few notes, and then sound an alarm letti9ng the president know what was about to take place.
If only it could be that easy. If only the unproductive members of society would somehow magicaly become useful again so that they would be validated in their existence instead of becoming a nuisance to those around them. Or perhaps we could discover some other way to find value in those who once found value in us.