Sometimes Veto Watson just wanted someone to drive him to a place where he could watch the trains go by. He wanted little else in life but couldn’t get enough of trains. Mr. Watson had tons of books and videos on trains. And if you stopped by his secluded Elwood home for a visit, you couldn’t leave unless you watched one of his train videos.

But Mr. Watson was about much more than trains. He read about everything. He had newspaper articles taped to one wall in his house with stories he didn’t want to forget. His kitchen table was covered with newspapers and magazines, too.

And he grew garlic in his bathroom.

Mr. Watson once told me that he stopped trusting doctors when his wife died several years ago. That’s when he started reading up on herbal medicine and came to the conclusion that garlic was the miracle drug, the fountain of youth. He rubbed his wrinkle-free, 90-year-old face to prove it.

He told me that I would never eat garlic for health reasons. I was too vain, he said, and I would worry too much about what others would think of the garlicky smell. He said his health and well-being were more important than what other people thought.

Some afternoons I’d just sit in Mr. Watson’s crowded living room and listen to him talk about his life. He talked about growing up in a segregated society and serving in a discriminative military. He talked about both the meanness and kindness of people.

There was never a hint of bitterness in his voice about any of it, just a matter-of-fact tone about the way things where. If he learned one thing in his 90-plus years it was that most people are good. Everyone does the best they can with what knowledge they have at the time. We grow and learn, he always said.

Spending those afternoons with Mr. Watson felt like reading a good book. I felt the wiser for it. And I never took for granted his deep well of wisdom.

There are plenty of other untapped wells of wisdom like Mr. Watson in our families and in the nursing homes. They are living histories of information and valuable sources of knowledge and wisdom.

We could learn plenty from visiting with our elders in helping us deal with struggles today. Most have seen what we are faced with today come back around more than a few times.

Tomorrow marks the 10-year anniversary of the United Nations International Day of Older Persons. It’s a day that’s set aside to celebrate the contributions by older adults worldwide. It’s also a day to recognize and eliminate age discrimination. One article I read said there were about 600 million people 60 years of age or older. This total will double by 2025, the article also said. That means if we live long enough we’ll all be in that group.

A few years ago, Mr. Watson moved in with his daughter and son-in-law in St. Joseph. I always meant to go see him there but somehow I never did. I knew he had plenty more stories to tell. But I waited too long.

He died on Sept. 14. He was 97 years old.

I know Mr. Watson would have told me he led a good life with few regrets. He would have reminded me again that most people are good.

I don’t think Veto Watson ever tried to live to be 100 years old. He just tried to live each day and watch a train or two go by every now and then.

Alonzo Weston can be reached at alonzow@npgco.com.