Stay with this -- the answer is at the end.  It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

'    television

'    penicillin

'    polio shots

'    frozen foods

'    Xerox

'   Contact lenses

'    Frisbees and

'    The pill

     There were no:
'    credit cards

'    laser beams or

'    ball-point pens

     Man had not invented:
'  pantyhose

'    air conditioners

'     dishwashers

'    clothes dryers

'    and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and

' man hadn't yet walked on the moon

Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . And then lived together.

Every family had a father and a mother.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, "Sir".
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir."

We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.  

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.  

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.  

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.  

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, C Ds, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.  

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.  

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.  

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk  

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.  

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . But who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.  

In my day:

'    "grass" was mowed,

'    "coke" was a cold drink,

'    "pot" was something your mother cooked in and

'    "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.  

'    "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,  

'    " chip" meant a piece of wood,
'    "hardware" was found in a hardware store and

'
  "software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap... And how old do you think I am?

I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same ti me.  



Are you ready ?????



 
This man would be only 59 years old!!!!

Yep! That's me. And I've got five of them and four grand daughters. Time flys when your having fun.

And I remember the penny candy, and the 3 cent stamp, and, unfortunately, outhouses. My first brand new car cost $1999, and I didn't need a co-signer to fill the gas tank. It was simple, and it was nice.

And my college tuition to the brand new junior college was $10 per credit hour.

there was no internet and no discussion boards so there were few people you could share this with. I'll take this modern world any day.

Penicillin was around when you were born.  It was discovered in England in the 30s by Flemming.. but during the war, the discovery was passed to the US so that the Germans would not get a hand on it.  It was available in 1948 which is presumably the year you were born.

also....
the TV- that too was around... not commonly around but that too had been around for about 10 yrs... or so...  Heck even I remember TV dinners... and I am 59... also.

As to the polio vaccine... well, that is controversial -even today... salk vs. sabine.

as to air conditioners.. they existed, especially in the south where I grew up, but were not common... I can remember them cooling auditoriums by blowing air over ice...  yea... that'l keep ya cool  Bwahahaha....

But the real question is - WERE WE Better?

Communist scare... bigotry... racism - separate but equal... if you were unlucky enough to get cancer... you died... I lost several relatives to C....  McCarthism.

also, I think that we repressed a lot of stuff... wife beating... child abuse and so on....

I am never sure... but it is something to ponder.

-- Modified on 3/4/2008 10:03:17 PM

-- Modified on 3/4/2008 10:04:27 PM

I walked 10 miles to school each day, with the snow up to my waist? Now that I think of it, I guess it was only 6 blocks, but there was snow.

Ya know, uphill both directions...

I think there was even a Twilight Zone about that, speaking of good old days.

Penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928.

1st televised anything was a college BB game in 1939 [columbia and somebody else], from Baker Field, NYC, 1939.

I can't remember who it was that said:  "At our age we remember a great many things that ought to have happened ..."

on this board consorting with these beautiful, very young women?

Oh yeah, I remember......because we can!

Thanks TER