YES we can. If one thinks where he is coming from and on which shoulders he is standing. Talk to your father like I talk to mine as often as possible. My father 84 had a very colorful life and a lot of experience. Last year he travelled to kenia and flew with a russian helicopter to a camp an the hill of the Kilimanjar. The elder generation has already experienced a lot of historical rifts, wars and social and cultural changes in their lives paling anything what we see today as exeptional. Our lifes today are way to the norm as we contemplate. There is nothing special today. Comparable the older generation had a much harder time in all aspects. So go back to your parent and talk to them - long. When they will be gone, you will be sorry not having paid more attention in time.