Is it too late to learn Dutch?

There are plenty of good things about this country, but the way we treat those in need - the poor, the disabled, the homeless, the sick, the aged - is not among them. When you look at how we stack up against nations that are comparable in terms of development level and wealth, we don't.

Admittedly, the grass is always greener, etc., but when I look at the social welfare programs elsewhere, I mostly feel like the poor little match girl, shivering the cold, nose pressed up against the window, peering in and wistfully watching how the other half lives.

One place where the grass - or the tulips, or the windmills, or the wooden shoes - really does seem greener is the Netherlands, especially when it comes to looking for places where the olds are treated well.

On one list I found, they ranked third - behind Finland and Denmark - as the best place to grow old. (Criteria included longevity, health, security, and happiness.) The US came in 28th, nestled in there between Slovakia and Slovenia. (Or was it the other way around?).

Oh, even the Netherlands isn't perfect for the aged.

In a survey a few years back, more than half of those over 75 said that they were lonely.

This really isn't surprising. When you're older, you're not all that likely to be out working. Your kids are grown. Your grandkids may not be around. You may have physical problems that make it harder to get out and socialize - even to get out to wakes and funerals. Because, oh yeah, your peers are starting to die off and wakes and funerals are playing a larger part in your social life. Until they aren't.

So, yes, it wouldn't surprise me that the old folks - even in a good-for-the-old country like the Netherlands - experience a lot of loneliness.

But, because the Netherlands is a good-for-the-old country, they're trying to do something about it. Case in point:

A Dutch supermarket chain introduced slow checkouts for people who enjoy chatting, helping many people, especially the elderly, deal with loneliness. The move has proven so successful that they installed the slow checkouts in 200 stores. (Source: Dutch News)

The chain is Jumbo; the slow checkout is called a "Keltskassa", or chat checkout.

‘Many people, the elderly in particular, can feel lonely. As a family business and supermarket chain we have a central role in society. Our shops are a meeting place and that means we can do something to combat loneliness. The Kletskassa is just one of the things we can do,’ Jumbo CCO Colette Cloosterman-Van Eerd said...

‘We are proud our staff want to work the chat checkout, ‘Cloosterman-Van Eerd said. ‘They really want to help people and make contact with them. It’s a small gesture but it’s a valuable one, particularly in a world that is becoming more digital and faster.’  

This is a great idea.

Admittedly, when I'm at the grocery store, I just want to get in and out. Oh, I'll chat a bit - maybe - about the weather or whatever while I'm packing my groceries into my backpack and tote bags. And I've been known to make a tiny bit of small-talk convo with the folks at the local (indie) hardware store or the local (indie) drugstore or the local (indie) book store. 

Once in a while, I find myself making a remark to folks - complete strangers - I encounter on my walks. 

Especially on days when I haven't heard the sound of my own voice.

I live alone, and I'm fine with it. I've always liked my own company. I've always liked downtime, white space, me time. And I've always required a lot of it. 

And my days aren't communications-free. 

I text. I email. Sometimes I even get on the phone. 

And I do do things with actual real-live people. I volunteer. I go out to lunch or take walks or just hang out with friends and family. 

But I can see how people get lonely.

So I like the idea that there would be special lines in the supermarket - the anti-express checkout - where no one in the line behind you will be eye-rolling, snorting, foot tapping, or generally making impatient sounds and moves. 

Apart from the till, a number of Jumbo supermarkets also introduced a ‘chat corner’ where locals come to have a coffee and a natter.

What, me natter?

As a matter of fact...

And how's this for a natter? I think Kletskassa is a wonderful idea. Just lovely.

It's really not too late to learn Dutch. 

So, bravo en bedankt, nederland.

We could take a page or two from your book.