An article in The New York Times (titled "Mean Girls in the Retirement Home") offered a window into a neglected corner of an even more neglected group of people—elderly folks who live in retirement homes. Writer Jennifer Weiner relates watching her 97-year-old grandmother struggle with fitting in her new living situation, which featured a brutal clique of "sweet little old ladies." The clique refused her Nanna a place at their table, rejected her attempts to join their bridge group, and generally made her feel excluded and unwelcome—much like bullies of any age.

Weiner writes of this perennial expression of fallen human nature, "Whether you're brawling on the playground or battling over the best seats in chair-ercize, bad behavior is constant, and the rituals for trying to get in with the in-crowd don't change much."

Possible Preaching Angle:

People don’t change. Why? Because at 9 or 90, people are people, and people are sinners, hurting and hurters, in need of the grace and kind acceptance of God.