For All Those Born Before 1945...
We are survivors!!! Consider the changes we have witnessed:
- We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and 'The Pill.'
- We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ballpoint pens; before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes--and before man walked on the moon.
- We got married first and then lived together. How quaint can you be?
- In our time, closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of." Bunnies were small rabbits and were not Volkswagons. Designer Jeans were scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne, and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along well with our cousins.
- We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent, and Outer Space was the back of the Riviera Theatre.
- We were before house-husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and commuter marriages. We were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, 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!
- In 1940, "made in Japan" meant JUNK and the term "making out" referred to how you did on your exam. "MacDonalds" and instant coffee were unheard of.
- We hit the scene when there were 5 & 10 stores, where you bought things for five and ten cents. Sanders or Wilsons sold 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, but who could afford one; a pity, too, because gas was 11 cents a gallon!
- In our day cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was something you cooked in. ROCK MUSIC was a Grandma'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. And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby!
- No wonder we are so confused and there is such a generation gap today!