I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

How Old Is Grandpa?

A friend of mine in Texas sent this to me and it gave me a whole new view of how quickly time slips away!

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away -- at least it did me.

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

The Grandfather 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 were no:

credit cards
laser beams or
ball-point pens

Man had not invented:
pantyhose
air conditioners
dishwashers
clothes dryers
and 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.
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."
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 in this country 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 those who closed front doors as 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 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
"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. and how old do you think I am?
I bet you have this old man in mind...you are in for a shock!
Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.

Are you ready ?????

This man would be only 59 years old.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, makes you stop and think. I copied it!

Mary Ellen said...

Something about this Independence day has sparked some lovely nostalgic memories of growing up in the 50s - this post is particularly evocative:

http://shoreacres.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/sprinklers-and-sparklers-and-mayo-o-my/

Kay said...

This is true isn't it. Times are a changing way too fast.

Peggy said...

I was shocked...I thought Grandpa was much older. It wasn't that long ago, my goodness I didn't realize times have changed that much!

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Amazing how quickly thw world has changed in these few decades. Lovely post!

Judith said...

Penicillin was actually used by the Allied Services during World War II, prior to 1950. And television was being developed before the war, though was not in our homes I think.

But the idea holds good - it does make you think. When I began to read I thought the Grandfather was going to end up saying: "Hey, we didn't have any of these things but I've still managed to stay alive to the ripe old age of ...
(81 in my case).

storyteller said...

I'm not surprised because I found myself thinking I was born before those things too ... then I remembered my dad talking about being a teenager when the Wright Brothers took flight. Time DOES fly and the world HAS changed. Powerful post with lots of food for thought.
Hugs and blessings,

Jenn Jilks said...

I found some terrific Grandma Doors in Wawa, Ontario.


Aren't they a nice idea??
Hooray for us grandmas!

Ramakrishnan said...

Hey

Grandpa & I are the same age. I fully endorse grandpas views. But I have changed with the times - now I am a computer Savvy modern grandpa. If you dont change with the times you get left out in the cold !

Ram

kal said...

Hopefully it did make you think, since many of the things stated are untrue. I know that things have changed rather fast in my 58 years here, but like Ram said I changed into a computer savvy grandpa"

Cheers All

kal

It is interesting that essentially the same list was put on the web in 1991 in the Nam Vet Newsletter (http://groups.google.com/group/soc.veterans/browse_thread/thread/8db42b7dbdb17d53/f2b69422f9a9dc92?)

One can look at the following sites that debunks many of the factoids in this list:

http://haldb.com/2008/03/how-old-is-grandpa/

http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/gazed/gazed77b.htm

Cheers!

What Can I Say?

What Can I Say?
I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

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