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#52150 01/07/02 02:16 PM
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One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.

He asked what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general. The granddad 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 was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, 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....then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother, and every boy over 14 had a rifle that is dad taught him how to use and respect. And they went hunting and fishing together.
Until I turned 25, I called every man older than I "Sir".....and after I turned 25 I called policemen and every man with a title "Sir."
In our time, closets were for clothes not for 'coming out of.' Sundays were set aside for going to church as a family, helping those in need, and visiting with family or neighbors.
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
here 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 people who closed their front doors when 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 the 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!"

So...how old do you think Grandpa is?
58 years old!!!!!!
Scary, huh?


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58

What a coincidence. I might have been born before polio shots but they were a part of my youth. I never owned a gun or went hunting or fishing with my father. Don't remember when ball point pens came in but I weren't no geezer when it happened. At 25 it was 1968, Maybe Grandpa called policemen "Sir" but there were plenty who didn't. I called anyone with gold on his hat, "Sir" in 1968. The first stereo radio broadcast came during my youth; it was a simulcast on an AM and an FM station and you had to tune both radios. Tape decks were, if not common, certainly not unheard of. Some may have still listened to Tommy Dorsey when I was a youth, but many listened to Elvis Presley and Buddy Holley, not to mention Chuck Berry. Where I went to school 'making out' referred to getting it on with your girlfriend. I won't bother to compare the cost of things to the wages other than to say that my first "real" job netted me $60 for a 40 hour week. I've already covered 'rock' music.

So...how old do you think I am?
58 years old!!!!!!
Scary, huh?


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wwh Offline
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Dear wow: Somehow I'm reminded of taking our first daughter with us to a drive in movie, hoping she'd go to sleep on back seat. Bur the first movie was about cowboys and Indians, with lots of horses, so that she fought off sleep. She dozed off during intermission, but woke up during the feature with a mob scene of some sort. Plaintively she asked:"So many people, daddy, where did all the horses go?"


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Man had not invented ... dishwashers
Men still haven't: the inventor was a woman -- in 1886, well before grandpa was born.

The invention was at first not very popular, but not for a reason one might readily guess. At the time, the life of a typical housewife was so physically backbreaking that she rather looked forward to the chore of washing the dishes, as a respite. She had no desire to avoid that chore! Hence, originally the invention was well-received only by hotels, restaurants, and families sufficiently well off to have servants for the household chores. Indeed, the inventor's original incentive to devise a dishwasher was to mimimize the amount of crystal broken by her servants.

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Dear Faldage: The pot calls the kettle black:"making out' referred to getting it on
with your girlfriend"


#52155 01/07/02 06:24 PM
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Man had not invented ... dishwashers
Men still haven't: the inventor was a woman [...]

The invention was at first not very popular...


Reminds me of the delightfully unpeecee joke:

Q: Why do women have smaller feet than men?
A: It's one of those "evolutionary things" that allows them to stand closer the sink.

This and other such treasures can be avoided at this addy:
http://www.stumps.org/stumps/messages/1560.html

[procul harum]so shoot me![/pc]




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All of which leaves me strugggling to cope with the concept of a 58 year-old who predates these things.

Maybe he had a really sheltered childhood.


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No, no, shelters only came into existence, as such, in the 1970s ... so he couldn't have!



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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shelters only came into existence, as such, in the 1970s

Maybe in Zild! Around here we's haddem since time back way back. I believe they's even bin mentioned in some pre-revolutionary* litrachur.

They'd uh bin real big back when this dude was practicing duck n cover in his grade school classes.

That was back when *we took the queen offn our stamps.


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