Someone wrote, "I was talking to my Dad about
current events the other night. I asked him what he thought about the shootings at
schools, our immoral President, the computer age and just things in general. As he began
to reply, I began to write.....""I was born before television, penicillin,
polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the Pill. There weren't
things like radar, credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented
pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric
blankets, air conditioners and he hadn't walked on the moon."
"Your Mom and I got married first - then lived together. Every family had a father
and a mother, and every kid over 14 had a rifle that his dad taught him how to use and
respect. 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.'"
"In our time, closets were for clothes, not for 'coming out of." Sunday's
were set aside for going to church as a family, helping those in need, and just visiting
with your neighbors. We were before gay-rights, computer dating, dual careers, day- care
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 you 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. And time sharing meant time
the family spent together in the evenings and weekends not condominiums."
"We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, CD's, electric typewriters, artificial
hearts, word processors, yogurt or guys wearing ear rings. We listened to the 'big bands',
Jack Benny and the President's speeches on the radio. 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's, McDonald's and instant coffee
were unheard of. We had 5 and 10 cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and
10 cents. Ice cream cones, phone calls, rides on a street car, 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 a letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, but who
could afford one. To bad too, 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, a 'chip' meant a piece of wood, 'hardware' was found in a hardware
store and software wasn't even a word."
"We were not before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were
surely before the sex change, 'Billy' has two mommy's, and pornography in a family home
and at newsstands."
"And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband
to have a baby. No wonder people today call us old and confused, and there is such a
generation gap!"
Author Unknown