I WAS enjoying a sit-down dinner with my 13-year-old daughters the other night. I say 'enjoying' because having a dinner together can be a challenging thing for the Flemings to do these days.

Anyway, the topic of our dinner discussion was Independence and whether or not Bermuda is ready to be an Independent nation.

I was the first to give my impressions and knowing that I am never short on opinions my daughters patiently listened to my 'predictable' passionate opinion in favour of the matter.

Then there was silence. Then there was some chewing and more silence.

Not sure of what this silence actually meant, I looked over at twin number two who, usually thinking a lot like her mother, looked convinced that my argument as always (smile) was probably right.

Just as I was satisfied that I had rendered the appropriate parental influence, twin number one looked dubiously at me and said: "Momma, how on earth is Bermuda going to go Independent if, as black and white people of the same country, we can't even get along. Before we think about any Independence we all just need to stop and hold hands!"

My first reaction to her comment was . . . I hate it when these kids are right! Don't you just miss the days when children accepted everything their parents said as gospel?

My second reaction to her comment was to sheepishly admit that some process of reconciliation seemed beneficial before we could move on to an Independent Bermuda.

Her next question to me was: "So what's the problem?"

I went on to explain that it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Her response: "It's as easy as we make it!"

Yes, without a doubt, I'm the proud mother of critical thinkers who make it their God-given duty never to let their mother off the hook of responsibility.

What can I say, the apples never fall too far from the tree. Still, like it or not I had to admit that my daughter's implication was correct ? 'interdependence' is a critical factor towards successful Independence.

Just like in our household where my daughters have to rely on the support of my husband and I before they can venture out on their own, even when they are fully grown and we are older, we'll still need each other's reciprocal support in some way.

Interestingly, soon after this occasion, the executive officers of Age Concern and I had the privilege of a sponsored visit to Age Concern England, the National Council on Ageing in the United Kingdom.

This, of course, would be the last place that I expected to learn anything about the missing link towards a unified, interdependent Bermuda.

But, much to my surprise, we learned a lot about the importance of combining free enterprise and social programming in servicing the elderly.

And, we learned the importance of the development of mechanisms that transmit both grass-roots and traditional concerns to public policy-makers.

Specifically, we learned about the important role of Age Concern England, a non-governmental vehicle of representation for the people, all the people, including traditionalists, black and ethnic minorities, immigrants and other special interest groups who effectively and collaboratively create a unified message by coming together as 'autonomous' bodies to formulate an organised system of direction.

For sure, the democratic structuring of the National Council and its diverse, representative composition of elected members was quite impressive.

But, perhaps what was most impressive for me was meeting with Age Concern England's policy unit responsible for providing research and briefings to an 'All-Parties' House Sub-committee on Ageing.

Since, under the charity law of the United Kingdom, The National Council on Ageing is prohibited from having a specific political affiliation, this 'All-Parties' sub-committee has the responsibility of providing the current Government, the Opposition, the Liberals and the Independents with accurate information on the needs of seniors as identified by The National Council on Ageing, the non-governmental, federated body of Age Concern.

How does this tie in to interdependence in Bermuda?

Well, getting back to the idea of 'holding hands', what if we had an 'All-Parties' House Sub-committee on Ageing right here in Bermuda?

What if we could all decide to be honest brokers? What if we put all of our differences aside for the good of the country, and collectively began to work out a plan on how to care for our seniors, all of our seniors, the black, the white, the rich, the poor, the conservative, the labourite, and anyone in between.

Then, having mutual ownership in the plan, what if we got the entire community involved in holding the authors of the plan accountable for their part in it ? the relevant Ministers and Shadow Ministers, Age Concern and its membership of community and commercial service providers, families and individuals.

Perhaps then, rather than having our hands engaged in holding our cards close to our chest, or in pointing fingers, or in smacking wrists, we could actually create an environment where we can support one another towards a common goal of caring for our aged.

Finally, I don't expect that everyone will agree with me on the Independence issue, according to my daughter, I and others like me still have some convincing to do.

However, whether you agree with me at this point or not, I think there is one thing that we can all agree on right now ? we are all in this 'Bermuda' boat together.

If for a moment we could stop rowing in opposite directions and take the time to chart a collective course, we'd all enjoy the benefits of at the very least, an interdependent Bermuda.

Ridiculous! Difficult! Impossible! Well, even a child can tell you ? it's as easy as we make it!

Until next time, my friends.