By a 58 year old grandmother

My grandson asked me what I thought of such things as the shootings at schools, computers and what it was like when I was young.

I took a few minutes to think

Let’s see. I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xeroxes, contact lenses, Frisbees and The Pill. There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ball point pens.

Man had not invented air-conditioner, panty hose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and nobody had yet walked on the moon.

We though fast food was what people ate during Lent and Yom Kippur. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings - not purchasing condominiums.

We didn’t have FM radios, tape decks, Walkmans, CDs, electric typewriters and frozen yogurt. Women may have pierced their ears but nobody pierced anything else.

We listened to the President’s speeches and Jack Benny on our radios.
If you saw anything with “made in Japan” on it, it was junk.

Pizza Hut, MacDonald’s, and instant coffee were not around. We had 5 and 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice cream cones, phone calls, and rides on the streetcar were all a nickel. So was a Pepsi. Or that same nickel could have bought enough stamps to mail a letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a Chevy coupe for $600, but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

“Grass” was mowed. “Coke” was a cold dink, and “pot” was something your mother cooked in.

“Aids” were helpers in the principal’s office, a “chip” was a piece out of a teacup, “hardware” was what you found in a hardware store and “software” wasn’t even a word.

I was there before gay rights, women’s lib, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers and group therapy. Lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment and common sense.

We were taught the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege and living in America was a bigger privilege.

I believe we were the last generation to actually think a woman needed a husband to have a baby.

Yes, things were quite different when I was young. <<