Don’t let commercials fool you — it’s not so bad becoming your parents

OK, I’m finally fed up. I was going to refrain from being negative, but I have to vent.

There are a couple of insurance companies whose advertisements are driving me nuts. The least offensive, but totally stupid, is the one with the ostrich. I’m not going to name companies because, frankly, I have no idea whom they represent, which is a separate issue altogether.

Why would a company think that a pet ostrich would help them sell insurance? There is a slight correlation with having your head in the sand — but even that is a subconscious stretch. How does “only pay for what you need” have to do with an oversized pet bird?

OK, my editor told me the bird is actually an emu. I apologize.

But the one that really gets me riled up is the company that is going to save us from being our parents. Dr. Rick is an expert in Parentology — I assume that is fictitious — and has launched a career in saving young homeowners from becoming their parents.

Now I am always up for a good laugh, but this has an undercurrent of meanness. What’s wrong with introducing yourself to your server in a restaurant? I love to do that, and if they are cordial, they always get a bigger tip.

Using your speaker phone in a public space is a little tacky, but your parents probably didn’t even have a cell phone. And if they did, they probably don’t know it had a speaker.

What does all of that have to do with choosing an insurance company? Even if I have to squelch a giggle, it still irritates me that the message — even tongue in cheek — is “don’t be like your parents.”

I don’t think there is much, if anything, wrong with being like your parents. Of course, I am prejudiced because I have four children. I’m always flattered when I see the best of me in them. Now, occasionally, I do see the worst of me reflected in them.

I remember saying that I would be different from my own mother for a variety of reasons, but as I grow older, I recognize that my parents did their best. The older you get, there is more room for forgiveness, so I hope that every generation practices that.

If you complain about the price of popcorn at the movies or tell corny jokes to a young teenager or organize a queue at a book signing, just remember that your parents were great people with good morals and high standards, and you’d be lucky to be like them.

And the bottom line is, I can’t remember what company does which advertisement. I might remember if they said really nice things about older people, wouldn’t you?

Find Connie’s book, “Daily Cures: Wisdom for Healthy Aging,” at www.justnowoldenough.com.