How Old Do You Think This Man Is?

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

The granddad 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 was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, well 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, and every boy over 14 had a rifle that his dad taught him how to use and respect. And they went hunting and fishing together. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, 'Sir'-and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.'

Sundays were set aside for going to church as a family, helping those in need, and visiting with family or neighbors. 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 here 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, and r'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.

How old do you think I am????

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ANSWER: This man would be only 59 years old.

Yikes... I wonder what I'll be saying in 50 years.

[ 08-08-2004, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: Bahamut ]

scary isnt it? i remember when i was only like 5 years old, my brother and dad was drooling over a black and white computer not even a 286 i think. that was 16 years ago.

There is no doubt the world has lost a lot of innocence, but change isn't nessicarily a bad thing, maybe it's just the unwillingness to change that bothers people most. The money thing is obvious due to inflation and increased profit margins.
In my opinion although i'm only young, i think the world lost it's innocence when not only JFK was assisanited but also his brother Robert Kennedy.
But really, people like to exadurate the bad things in life and i hate it, things aren't that bad, but yes i do agree we were a lot more innocent back then.

I think the world lost it's innocence way back when some bipedal organism was diggin' for grubs with a stick and figured out 'hey, I can whack things with this!'

The world losts its innocents? i tend to disagree on that.

The worlds gotten more open en because of that we can see the bad things and we know what they are. But lets not forget about the fact that 59 years ago 70hr workweeks were commen you simply had no free time to spend with your children or your wife (most children only saw their fathers during the week). Lets not forget about the fact that 59 years ago half of the countries didnt allow women to vote, or that 59 years ago America, South Africa and a lot of other countries had racist laws. 59 years ago, if you were homosexual you had 2 choises, hide your sexuality or live your life like an outcast. If we go even further back we'll see the rise and fall of the maffia, you cant really say that was really innocent was it? Maybe the world has gotten a bit rude, and a bit dirty. But it's in many many ways a hell of a lot better then 59 years ago.

[ 08-08-2004, 10:58 AM: Message edited by: Rikard T'Aranaxz ]

Yep Rikkie, nostalgia can be a blind beast... [img]smile.gif[/img]

Imagine what we'll be able to say when we're 59 years old.

If we(the younger ones,no that´s not you Mr.OverThirty ;) ) live to be that old that is

... and the grandfather continued.

"Back then, we also didn't question our parents about anything, 'cause my dad would haul off and whack me one just as soon as look at me. The only acceptible responses to mom was "Yes, Ma'am" and "No, Ma'am". To dad, it was yessir and nosir.

"My parents would haul off and hit me if I misbehaved. Heck, my schoolteachers would do it, too. And my friends' parents... pretty much everyone could hit you if you were misbehaving (or they thought you were), and everyone else allowed as how you probably had it coming.

"There were seven of us living in a three-bedroom house with one bathroom to share among us all. We always had to wake up early if we wanted to get a shower before work or school.

"I had two pairs of pants, and my mother washed the other one every single day. I had to wear a collared shirt to school every day, and a tie most of the time. We always worried if dad was going to have a job when he got home that night.

"We couldn't afford store-bought toys, not even those penny whistles. We had to make up and create our own toys. One Christmas, my sister got a doll. It was the best Christmas she ever had, and she loved that doll until it fell apart. That was her only present that year, and it was a good one. All I got was a pair of socks.

"There was a war going on in Europe and Japan, and we had to give up lots of things to support the war effort. One restaurant figured out if they took plugs of meat out of every hamburger patty, you could make more hamburgers and no one knew the difference. That was the result of rationing.

"College was a place that only fancy kids went to, or really, really smart ones who could get a scholarship. Most people did whatever their parents did, whether that meant working at a factory, in a mine, or in a schoolhouse.

"There was none of this "self-actualization" stuff. You had what you had in life, and you were grateful for it... however little it was.

"And we used to listen to our grandparents talking about what it was like when they were young, when they only had meat three or four times a year unless they were super rich.

"Radio was our primary source of entertainment, and I still remember when the Williams family got their telephone.

"And those were the good old days.... and am I glad I don't live there any more."