Some reckon their age by years,
Some measure their life by art;
But some tell their days by the flow of their tears
And their lives by the moans of their hearts.
~Abram Joseph Ryan

You were born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, xerox, contact lenses, frisbees and the PILL. You were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, lazer beams, and ball-point pens. Before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes--and before manwalked on the moon. You got married first--and then lived together. Closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of". Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens. Designer jeans were scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne; and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with our cousins. Fast food was what you ate during Lent; and Outer Space was the back of the Norridge Theatre. You were before house-husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers, and computer marriages. You were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes. You never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, wordprocessors, yogurt, and guys wearing earrings. For us, time sharing meant togetherness--not computers or condominiums. A "chip" meant a piece of wood. Hardware meant hardware, and software wasn't even a word! The term "making out" referred to how you did on your exam. Pizzas, "McDonald's" and instant coffee were unheard of. We hit the scene when there were 5 cent and 10 cent stores where you bought things for five and ten cents. You could buy ice cream cones for a nickel or a dime. For one nickel you could ride a street car, make a phone call, buy a Pepsi, or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600. And, gas was only 11 cents a gallon. In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable. GRASS was mowed. COKE was a cold drink. POT was something you cooked in. ROCK MUSIC was a grandmother's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal's office. We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were surely before the sex change. We made do with what we had. We were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby.

REFLECTIONS ABOUT GROWING OLD

Just a line to say I'm living
That I'm not among the dead;
Though I'm getting more forgetful
And more mixed up in the head.
For sometimes I can't remember
When I stand at foot of stair,
If I must go up for something
Or I've just come down from there.
And before the 'frig so often
My poor mind is filled with doubt,
Have I just put food away, or
Have I come to take some out
And there's time when it is dark out
With my night cap on my head,
I don't know if I'm retiring
Or just getting out of bed,
So if it's my turn to write you
There's no need in getting sore,
I may think that I have written,
and don't want to be a bore.
So remember -- I do love you,
and I wish that you were here!
But now, it's nearly mail time
So I must say, "Good-bye dear."
P.S. There I stood beside the mailbox
with a face so very red
"Instead of mailing you my letter
I opened it instead!"
~ Anonymous

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