When I was young there was no internet, no X (formerly known as Twitter), no Instagram no Snapchat, no online shopping, no online banking, no Zelle, no Venmo, no Paypal, no electric cars, no hybrids, no bitcoin, no AI, no Apple watch, no Ring doorbell, no cell phones, no anything almost.
What there was was blood, toil, tears, and sweat. Young folk, Winston Churchill said that.
Things have changed massively in my lifetime, not necessarily for the better, even though many labor-saving (British, labour-saving) devices have been invented.
I'm so old I can remember playing with a slinky, a hula hoop, roller skates, a Viewmaster Stereoscope, and pick up stix (little girls played jacks, hopscotch, skipped rope, and pushed dolls around in small baby carriages (British, perambulators).
I can remember gasoline (petrol) costing 17.9¢ per gallon.
I'm so old I can remember when Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen Degeneres were funny.
I remember Dr. Jonas Salk. I remember Betty Furness, Ish Kabibble, S&H green stamps, Kay Kyser's College Of Musical Knowledge. I remember the bouncing ball on Sing Along With Mitch. I remember Jerry Lewis's annual telethons to raise money to find a cure for muscular dystrophe. I remember Ozzie and Harriet.
I remember Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile barrier. I remember Mark Spitz. I remember Olga Korbut. I remember Torvill and Dean in lavender costumes dancing on ice skates to Ravel's Boléro.
I remember Roy Rogers and Trigger.
This little trip down memory lane has been provided by a person who in less than two weeks will have been married to the same woman for 62 years. They have gone by in a flash.
Life now includes aches and pains, I am old and wrinkled, and a stranger looks out at me from the mirror.
I think most of us see a stranger in the mirror. The exterior does not match the interior. Happy Anniversary in a few days' time.
ReplyDeleteYou said a mouthful! If only our exterior could match our interior. Thank you, Janice (especially for the anniversary greeting)!
DeleteI remember most of the things you mentioned also! Happy Anniversary in two weeks! That's a lot of years to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteI’m undoubtedly older than you. Thank you, Ellen.
DeleteI remember about half of these things. I also remember when I was about thirteen and looking at elderly people and thinking that it would be a long time before I was old. Well , here I am and it's gone very quickly.
ReplyDeleteMaybe some of the people I mentioned were not on Canadian television. I used to think 60 was elderly and were both way past that. Thank you, Red.
DeleteA big congratulations on your 62 years. I hope you have a wonderful day
ReplyDeleteI know (or at least hope and pray) that it will be. When you get this old, every day is a gift. Thank you, Kylie.
DeleteYou forgot to mention that everyone else looks like they are14 years old. And time is zooming by. And I remember all you mentiobed and more. The most important is Kate Smith singing God Bless America.
ReplyDeleteHow could I forget Kate Smith and God Bless America? Thank you, Emma.
DeleteWell done in the marriage department. I'm only a year or two behind you (so far as age is concerned) and have similar memories. I certainly remember the day the 4-minute mile was broken and I can even tell you where I was when I saw it on television. The one name that meant nothing to me was Mark Spitz. My ignorance is odd given what I have just read about him.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was composing this post I wondered whether readers in the UK would recognize so many American references. I nearly put Michael Phelps instead of Mark Spitz but decided he was too recent and I waffled between Olga Korbut and Nadia Comaneci. I do think Olympic sports figured stand a better chance of being recognized than mere show business types. Thank you for the ‘well done in the marriage department’. It took two of us.
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