Few people have influenced the person I am today quite like my great-uncle.

Though generations separate us, “Uncle Larry” is someone whom I have always connected with. When I was young, he supported my loud and curious nature, helped me foster an enduring love of travel and, perhaps most importantly of all, taught me that it is essential to make life fun.

Though he has white hair and walks with a cane, he continually displays that you are never too old to be a child at heart and that you should never take yourself too seriously. Up until I graduated from high school, I would spend a couple of hours a week after school with my uncle. Despite his age, he always acted like a kid on a playground — never afraid to pull on my pigtails or engage in playful banter his waitress of the evening — and he always made sure that everyone around him was having as much fun as he was.

Though I have since grown up and moved away, I still cherish all of our memories together and try to live by his example to be fun, generous and kind.

You might be wondering why I’m rambling on about some strange older man, but as today is National Senior Citizens Day — a holiday first recognized by former president Ronald Regan when he signed Proclamation 5847 in 1988 — I think we should all take a moment to appreciate all that the older generation has taught us.

In today’s world, where answers to any question can be found in seconds with a few clicks on a keyboard, it is easy for younger generations to discount the wisdom of the generations that came before us — I certainly see enough young people complaining about “baby boomers” on social media. I find this dismissal of the older generation to be shortsighted. There are lessons we can learn from seniors that cannot be found on a webpage.

In my line of work, I often find myself sitting across from local senior citizens, pen and notebook in hand, listening to their stories. Never once have I walked away from an interview with a senior citizen thinking I had wasted my time. Instead, I always learn something new — a historical fact, a new skill or a new perspective on an issue I had not heard before.

Outside of the newspaper business, there is value to these conversations, and I think we all should be having them more often.

So, today, why don’t you sit down with a senior citizen, hear what they have to say and learn from them? You might find out you have a lot more in common than you think.

All that to say, happy National Senior Citizens Day, Uncle Larry.