How old is Grandpa???

Stay with this — the answer is at the end…

It may just surprise you!

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 ball-point pens

Man had not invented:
pantyhose air conditioners dishwashers clothes dryers clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air.

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, CDs, 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,
‘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! They would have been born in the Mid-1940’s and be in their mid-60’s! (damn, I’m almost there…)

As an aside- My parents were born on both sides of the turn of the Century- They literally saw the world go from horse and buggy to space travel in one single generation… What does that say for us? and Gen X and Gen Y???

Personal opinion, not too damn much… sigh…

Why am I on this kick? Well, I’m half way around the world, for effectively three 4 hour meetings, because even in this day and age of connectivity; they still want a body sitting across the desk to make agreements. AND one of my %^^& co-workers can’t use his computer to figure out the time difference, so he calls my US cell (which thanks to the marvel of technology works over here), and wakes my ass up at 0400!!!!

He wanted to know if I had anymore information than what I had sent yesterday afternoon my time in my trip report, which of course I don’t since it’s nighttime and nobody is at work… sigh…

Now if I can just get the chef to actually cook the bacon this morning, I’ll be a happy camper…

Comments

How old is Grandpa??? — 12 Comments

  1. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my parents grew up and how people actually took their kids to church and tried to raise them to be good, decent people. They didn’t have parents that made a million excuses for their behavior.

    This world lacks civility and simplicity.

    Personally, I miss sitting on my front porch, listening to Phillies games on the transistor radio (just before the Walkman).

  2. Dang… I’m only one generation away from them… I think we were one of the first generations to experience all the new techie stuff… 8 track tape players, 10-speed bikes, VCR’s (my folks had a B&W TV up until 1983 – nevermind a VCR – it was sometime in the late 90’s before we could convince them to get one). And then there was ATARI! I’d say there’s always that “special time” to return the call to that intelligent co-worker of yours….

  3. My Grandmother was born in 1906 and I have often thought about all the things that happened during her life. My father was born 1929 just one day before the stock market crashed and my mother was born in 1930. I never really thought about all the things that happened after they were born though. It is amazing how much changed during my grandmothers and my parents life and how much my children take for granted.

  4. FF- Don’t temp me 🙂

    Snigs- If you had a house with 10 foot ceilings and 8 foot windows, you don’t need AC, flow through keeps it cool 🙂

    RT- Gotcha… 🙂

    Momster- My mother was born in 1911, saw a lot- adapted to it all 🙂

  5. NFO- I lived in a house with 15 foot ceilings and 8 foot (or maybe bigger) windows. I still needed air conditioning.

    I’m just not worth knowing otherwise. Trust me.

    See, I’m still a hot chick- one flash at the time anyway. 😀