March 19, 2010 2:53 PM
How old is Grandpa?
I invited myself for a visit yesterday with a friend of mine from church - a lovely lady who is 83 years old. I wasn't expecting to be fed, but Dottie had made lunch for me. It was so peaceful and inspiring to spend time with her.
Here is something Dottie sent me this morning:
How old is Grandpa?
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:
' color 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 those who closed front doors as 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 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 person 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 time.
Are you ready ?This person would be only 59 years old.
Posted in Nostalgia | Permalink
Comments
Barbara, I'm sorry to say, this is not correct. A person who is 59 years old today could be born no earlier than 1950. Televisions have been commercially available since the 1930s, and the electric clothes dryer was invented in the 1940s. The first human life was saved with penicillin in 1942. The first modern air conditioning system was invented in 1902, as was the electric typewriter. And yogurt -- well people have been eating yogurt for over 5,000 years.
I like the sentiment, but many of the facts are just wrong.
[Michelle - I think they are talking about in the life of an average American. I was born in 1948 and am 61. I remember doing laundry in one of those wringer washers where you fed the clothes through a wringer to squeeze out the water, then hung them on the clothes to dry. A clothes dryer was not common in homes until at least the 60s - maybe rich people had them, but not common people. Ditto the electric typewriter and TV - which I've changed to color TV to make it more accurate. I worked in an office in downtown Washington DC in 1965 and it was not air-conditioned.
At issue is that while something may have been invented and "commercially available" it was not part of everyday life for everyday people. Which gets back to the sentiment of the piece - which is what is most important, I believe.
Posted by: Michelle Potter | March 20, 2010 12:28 AM
I understand that some of these things might not have been *common* in the 40s and 50s, but in at least one place it specifically says certain things were not *invented* yet. (Like ballpoint pens, which were invented in the 19th century, and hit American department stores in 1945, and dishwashers, which were invented in the 1920s.) Like I said, the sentiment is good. Perhaps the wording could be better. Maybe saying, "Almost no one had..." or "Most people had never heard of..." instead of saying they weren't invented yet.
[You're right, Michelle. I didn't write this, am just passing it on. Thanks for your input.]
Posted by: Michelle Potter | March 20, 2010 3:35 PM
