Cheer Up

I'd like to press this sweet into the wrinkled palm of the miserable old lady across the street who shouted and waved her stick at 3 local children riding their bikes around the cul de sac. She'd gone out to tell them to not go onto the paved extension of some driveways there (not obvious to the children that it's not just part of the path). Fair enough. But she had to shout and wave her stick? These are neighbourhood girls, 9 and 10 years old. All well mannered. None of them argued with her, just moved onto the road. And so she started shooing them away from there too!
They came home shaken and worried that they weren't allowed up that end of the cul de sac at all.
I said it was fine, just stay off the paved driveway areas and be polite.
I went on my own to apologise to the lady and to reassure her that the kids weren't trouble (I assumed perhaps she was a nervous lady).

We had a polite, if strained, conversation. But I had to stand my ground when she remarked, when referring to young people 'they are all the same!'

"Actually, with respect".. I replied "...they are not all the same!"

I didn't bring my daughter up to be well mannered, just to have her rudely shouted at and dismissed by some old lady who has forgotten that children are people too.
I'm sure she'd have been offended if I'd asserted that all old people are the same. Thank goodness they are not!