In the 1990’s I mentioned to a class of college students that I was teaching
about having a “happy fizzies party”. Needless to say, the blank looks that
greeted that anachronistic reference reminded me that it meant NOTHING to
them. As decades passed, I fine some of my Baby Boomer references that were
common to me are now hopelessly as out of place as talking about Pinkie Lee
or Howdy Doody. This IS a whole new generation.
On the subject of becoming a dinosaur (or as my students affectionately
referred to me as a “fossil”), ask YOURSELF if You Remember . . .
*Being sent to the drugstore to test vacuum tubes for the TV.
*When Kool-Aid was the only other drink for kids, other than milk and sodas.
*When there were only 2 types of sneakers for boys, and girls wouldn’t wear
them.
*When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
*When nearly everyone’s parents smoked.
*When boys couldn’t wear anything but leather shoes to school.
*When all your friends got their hair cut at the kitchen table.
*When everyone’s mom was at home when the kids got there.
*When nobody owned a purebred dog.
*When a dime was a decent allowance, and a quarter a huge bonus.
*When you’d reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
*When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.
*When your mom wore nylon stockings that came in two pieces.
*When your teachers wore either neckties or had their hair done everyday.
*When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without
asking . . . for free, every time.
*When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him, or use him to carry
groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
*When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a
real restaurant with your parents.
*When colleges threatened to give a student an “F” if they did not do the
work or attend classes . . . and actually did!
Ah, where are Buffalo Bob or Archie Bunker when you need them?
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”