mwdegutis Loc: Illinois

(Read this to the end-- quite an eye opener.)

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end... It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events.

The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandmother replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
television
penicillin
polio shots
frozen foods
Xerox
contact lenses
Frisbees
the pill

There were no:
credit cards
laser beams
ball-point pens

Man had not yet 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 Grandfather 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."
Our lives were governed by 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, CD's, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.
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 Five & Dime 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 Ford C**pe 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.

We were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
We volunteered to protect our precious country.
No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap.

How old do you think I am?
Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
Are you ready?????

This woman would be only 62 years old.
She would have been born in 1952.

GIVES YOU SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

She Wolf Loc: Currently Georgia

I am 60 years old. I remember all these things. Life was simple then. I have watched this country go from a place where children were taught to respect their elders to a country where children are encouraged to be rude by their parents. I still say Sir and Mam to people older than me. My grandchildren do also.

It seems to me the technological advances have made us unable to think of our fellow man as human beings, deserving of respect. Children are no longer reared by parents. They are reared by TV, the internet, and video games. All of these things teach a ME attitude.

My Grandchildren send thank you letters not emails. They are taught to respect themselves and others. We need more parents in this country.

MrEd Loc: Georgia

Well now, I was born in 1943 and can remember times when children could play outside until after dark and not worry about drive-by shootings, someone snatching your kids out of your yard, and neighbors asking if you were alright if you looked like you were hurt. Neighbors that talked to each other and neighborhoods that people could be proud to live in.

Not only did we love our neighborhood, but our schools and our country as well. We didn't walk around with our hands out looking for someone to take care of us, we took care of our own. We had REAL hobbies that took up a good bit of our time and we actually made something, either model airplanes or cloths or something that made sense. Not like now when teenagers complain about having to do something around the house instead of going to their local hangouts.

Our hangouts were to a local drug store, because they had a fountain and we would sit around drinking a coke and talking and making plans. Now days a local hangout is likely to be someone bed room when their parents were gone, or maybe not, but they didn't bother them. Or maybe it is the local junk dealer, and I don't mean junk yard junk dealers either. They live on dope were dope used to be the paint I used to paint my models with.

We learned to do things with our own two hands and not depend on Mommy buying it for us. If we were lucky we got an allowance once a week, but that was for working around the house, not just because we wanted to buy something. Now the kids DEMAND that their parents buy them the latest fad and then proceed to tear it up and ask for more.

Our government may not have been perfect then, but it was a hell of a lot better then now. We respected each other and took each person at his word, unlike now when you can't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.

clarkwv Loc: west virginia

Why all of this is true some of it was only true to her. like for example, "Your Grandfather and I got married first, and then lived together." covers her, but people have been living together without marriage forever. There were single parent families, not everyone made it home from the war. "We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.", because you got a swat on the ass if you did not, the same with calling older people "sir or madam". As the draft existed not all would say serving one's country was a privilege. Having a meaningful relationship, meant going steady. If you happened to know any hard hat divers you knew men who wore earrings. Making out was necking unless you were a nerd and most of them knew what it was. Instant coffee was in "C" rations. There never was a time when all of these would be true, but it is nice to pretend!

grace scott

Those definitely were the good old days.

clarkwv Loc: west virginia

Do you remember have drills of hiding under you school desk in case of nuclear attack?

She Wolf Loc: Currently Georgia

We were taken into the halls. Being an army brat I had some idea what a nuclear attack would be. I remember thinking, if the bomb is dropped, we are all dead doesn't matter where we are.

clarkwv Loc: west virginia

At the time I live in north New Jersey across the river from New York City, talk about good by!

Zeno Loc: Omaha NE

Dear mwdegutis: It certainly will give a person something to think about. It did my old heart good to read your story.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

greyfox Loc: western mass.

A very good post, i was born in 1942----those early years were much better than the years our kids had!!

Al-ien

When I was a kid I lived in a little town that was probably 25 percent black. We went to school together, we played games together, we visited each others homes and were invited and we were able to walk the streets without any problem. We didn't know there were any race problems. Then along came the false Rev's Al and Jesse and others like them and all hell broke loose. Our town and so many other small towns around us just started to fall apart. It was such a nice time in history. I wish our children and grandchildren had the same opportunity now. They were good old times. Talk about the old times, yesterday Dec. 7, 1941 on a Sunday morning as I recall I was playing on the parlor floor,by the radio, listening to Amos and Andy when war was declared. Where did the time go?