Patton: In NH, Old Age Ain't For Sissies

Whoever said that “old age ain’t for sissies” got it right. That’s particularly true here in New Hampshire where scaredy-cat seniors scurry to Florida to live, leaving hardier older folk to remain here to face unafraid our severe and endless winters.

The pluck of our seniors was demonstrated once again when a 95-year old, World War II veteran, Arthur Kamberis of Manchester, used his cane to fend off an attacker. Kamberis was shopping for his wife’s prescription in a drug store when the suspect began following him. Kamberis took the money he needed for his purchase and pushed the rest back inside the wallet. Apparently, the assailant saw the money and approached Kamberis to take it from him in the parking lot outside the store.

“’He saw me coming up to strike him on the shoulders. I hit him three or four times, Kamberis said.’

Kamberis wasn’t hurt.

‘He wasn’t very aggressive, but I was, said Kamberis.’” (WBZ-TV, 5/4/15).
What made Kamberis so mad? “I had my credit card, my license, my grandchildren’s pictures in there and all sorts of stuff it would have been wicked for me to replace.” (WMUR-TV, 5/5/15)

Whoa, now I understand. The man tried to steal his grandchildren’s pictures. Now, that’s enough to send any grandparent into a fury. “Hands off my little angels, you varlet!”

A Good Samaritan who was driving by saw the attack. He stopped his car, rushed to Kamberis’ aid, helped scare the assailant away and then drove Kamberlis home, all without revealing his name.

‘”The young man, maybe in his mid-20s or maybe early 30s, but he was a big, rugged guy,’ Kamberis said, describing the man who helped him. ‘He shouted, ‘Hey! Get away from him.’” (WMUR-TV, 5/13/15).

‘”And I told him what a splendid thing he tried to do because something worse could’ve happened ,’ Kamberis said.” (WBZ-TV, 5/4/15).

And the public helped in other ways, too. Based on images from a surveillance video, the police received tips which enabled them to arrest a suspect with a lengthy criminal record. The suspect claimed it was all a misunderstanding. He was right. He didn’t understand that Kamberis wasn’t easy pickings and would fight back.

As befits a member of America’s greatest generation, Kamberis remains philosophical about the incident. “Arthur says he hopes the man who tried to rob him will get his life together. ‘I would say to him stay honest, that’s all.’” (WBZ-TV, 5/4/15).

Based on the wisdom of his age, Arthur Kamberis knows that life presents enough challenges of its own; we don’t have to go out of our way to look for problems.

Gary Patton is the author of “Outtastatahs: Newcomers’ Adventures in New Hampshire.” “Newcomers” can be obtained on-line at Amazon.com or at local bookstores in Concord, Portsmouth, Exeter, and Concord. Patton’s second book, a novel entitled “Selling Mt. Washington” will be available this summer.