We were born before television,
penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods,
xerox, contact lenses, frisbees and the PILL.
We were 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
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 rabbits were not Volkswagons. Designer
jeans
were scheming girls named Jean or Jeanne; and having a meaningful
relationship meant getting along 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 computer marriages. We were before day-care centers,
group
therapy and nursing homes. We 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!
In 1940, "Made in Japan"
meant JUNK and the term "making out" referred
to how you did on your exam. Pizzas, "MacDonald'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....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. 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. 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!