Fifty Plus (50+) - The olden days

I teach law students. The evening students range in age from 25 to 35 with a few outliers. Last night we were discussing a case in which an officer of the defendant company waited a year and a half after the suit was filed before he went to take a look at the allegedly defective product--a swimming pool slide. One of the students asked:

"Could it be that, well, the company headquarters was in Florida and the slide was in Iowa, and it was 1973. Maybe it wasn't so easy to fly across the country then?"
:eek:
:notamused:
Has GenX done anything to make you feel old--I mean, wise--lately?

Has GenX done anything to make you feel old--I mean, wise--lately?

I don't know why the student's ignorance made you feel old. Shoot, it was easier to fly cross-country back then. No security, no luggage limits, free inflight movies, free meals, legroom, less crowded planes. You should have made him feel jealous. Did the student think that we still flew in Ford Tri-Motors back then?

http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/Cars/39%20Pontiac%20Woodie/tri-motor-1.jpg

Yesterday I was talking to a new employee orientation about safety in floods, and started describing a flood in Corvallis, Oregon where a bicyclist rode the bike path down by the Mary's River. He saw it go under a bridge, and followed it down into what he thought was a water puddle. But the water was about ten feet deep there, and while he got out by swimming, he did loose his bike. I had mentioned that this occurred in 1975 or so, and asked whether any remembered that flood. Then it hit me that none of them had been born yet. ;)

John

:oGod it was awful, flying back in '73. I hated those leather hats and goggles we had to wear.:rolleyes:

The first time someone called me sir I looked to see if my father was standing behind me.

Is it loose or lose when you had something and then its gone? Such as " did you lose your hat?" or "did you loose your hat?"

lose.

I totally enjoy my curmudgeonly oldness.

"Get off my lawn, you rotten kids!!!"

Öh, and by the way..... The bikes in Classic & Vintage totally rule anything built since then!

Is it loose or lose when you had something and then its gone? Such as " did you lose your hat?" or "did you loose your hat?"

I'd guess that would depend upon whether you left it at the coffee shop or the wind blew it off of your head.

In Lewis' case one might say that his hat came loose as he was flying somewhere over Kansas.

We go through a little exercise at work each year when the students return to college. Most of this year's freshmen were born in 1990. Many of them will have a difficult time remembering the Clinton administration, which ended when most were 10. Most will only know about Monica Lewinski from what they read in history books.

Most were only 11 at the time of the 9/11 attack. But nearly all remember it first hand.

Most could not walk yet, or perhaps hadn't even been born, when Iraq invaded Kuwait to start the first Gulf War.

As my staff consult with students, we try to develop some understanding of their cultural perspective. It can really be eye-opening.

They hold the door open for me and some call me "sir." Others just giggle and point.

What are they pointing at? Your lack of pants?

What are they pointing at? Your lack of pants?

Damn - slipped my mind again. Thank God for those baggy boxers.

Talking with the kids is the main thing I miss about no longer working in the same building as our call center. It was a real eye-opener, the first time I was talking with the older ones (the supervisors, all of 22 or 23!). They were talking about remembering the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and I told them about getting to stay up late to watch the Apollo 11 lunar landing. I knew I was getting old when the first response was "Yeah - we read about that in our history books!"
- Bob

I'm a few weeks short of being 62, and I'm a "campus cop" at a big university. The incoming Freshmen this year were born in 1990.....

..... we try to develop some understanding of their cultural perspective.

Call a spade a spade -- your phrase should read, "...we try to develop some understanding of their LACK OF cultural perspective."

With kids from 16 to 37 I can safely say that cultural perspective is usually acquired only by living through it.

Call a spade a spade -- your phrase should read, "...we try to develop some understanding of their LACK OF cultural perspective."

No worse than ours was. Certainly World War II seemed like a different planet than where I grew up in the '50s. Cars without fins seemed old fashioned. And a telephone without a dial? LOL! Truth is we all suffer from a lack of cultural perspective. The youth of today when they grow up will wonder at the youth of tomorrow. :twitchy:

You Old Guys!

I'm getting better, not older. What I use to do all night takes all night to do BUT, it's a lot more fun.

I remember listening to Eisenhower give the graduation speach at West Point..............while he was still the President...

In 1973 I was flying around the country everyday in a KC135. Maybe the younger gen should read a little more history.

Me: "Why don't you dial his phone number and ask him if he wants to go?"

Grandson: "What do you mean 'dial' Grandma? I just push the buttons." :roflmao:

No worse than ours was. Certainly World War II seemed like a different planet than where I grew up in the '50s. Cars without fins seemed old fashioned. And a telephone without a dial? LOL! Truth is we all suffer from a lack of cultural perspective. The youth of today when they grow up will wonder at the youth of tomorrow. :twitchy:


Born in 47 and living in London--I had reminders of WWll on every street with Bomb sites. And Cars!!!--Only one of my neighbours had a car and that was a pickup truck for his vegetable delivery business. He only got the pickup because his horse died in 53. Remember- this was LONDON and when I moved to the country in 57- the car situation was still the same.

Couple of years ago -I met up with a few friends I knew in my Youth. Couple of things they remembered- "Where were you when Kennedy was shot"- we all knew. And although we never got to Woodstock- All of us have seen the DVD of the event and a couple of us have it.

Then came the inevitable Question from the 35 year old- "Who was Kennedy?" but the unexpected question was from the 20 year old-

"What were the "Who" doing in America and getting a good reception from the Americans?"

Just couldn't answer that one. And I think it was from shock when she admitted that all the tracks on the DVD were on her I-Pod. And that most of her workmates were into that Era of music aswell.

Never knew that youngsters appreciated classic music.

Good point. When I was born Hiroshima was no further in the past than 9-11 is today, but I've always regarded WWII, like WWI, as history. Of course, as stapfam makes clear, events can recede into history much more rapidly when they happened somewhere else.


No worse than ours was. Certainly World War II seemed like a different planet than where I grew up in the '50s. Cars without fins seemed old fashioned. And a telephone without a dial? LOL! Truth is we all suffer from a lack of cultural perspective. The youth of today when they grow up will wonder at the youth of tomorrow. :twitchy:

Another point I forgot - when I was reminiscing with my old mates- we remembered our summer holidays when once a week we used to get the bikes out and go for a ride. I do mean a ride. Kids aged from 13 to 16 and all kinds of bikes- S/S tourers- 3 speed sturmey archer gearing if you were lucky and one affluent lad had a Raleigh Blue Streak with drop handlebars and 5 speed derailler gears. We used to go off for a 40 or 50 mile bike ride and was always to some point of interest amd normally took all day.

None of the friends ride a bike now but they had to admit that they were great summers and great rides. When they found out that I had started riding again to try and stay fit- they started talking about borrowing the kids- or grandkids bikes - and going out for a bit. Then it got onto what sort of bike and how much it would cost to get a decent one. Told them about offroad riding on the Tandem- Riding the south Downs on the MTB and the new thrill of road riding. Then I told them the cost of my bikes and they went very quiet.

My mates are still as tight fisted as they used to be.

1973 was before the fall of Saigon. Student should have known even from the movies like Forrest Gump. And now McCain as a Navy jet pilot.

for years, my favorite quote was from Gen. Jorge Santayana.... He who remembers not of history is doomed to repeat it. it implied (for me) the necessity to learn history, in order to apply that which was learned.

somewhere along the way things changed. history seems less important now.

now my favorite quote is by Ernie Sanders.... "Dad, I love you. Need a hug?"

be well,

jim

1973 was a groovy year. I recall having cool tie died bell bottoms ... long side burns ... a 1966 VW fastback (6 volt system) ... and a much smaller gut.

I've been teaching a land surveying course, boundary law, at a local university this semester. I tell them how we used to have to use a transit and measuring tape to survey. All they have to do now to measure a distance is push a button. I have to admit that if I had to go back to the old way I would find something else to do.

Commentator Dennis Miller summarizes a sentiment felt by many Xers, “It’s no wonder Xers are angst-ridden and rudderless. They feel American’s greatness has passed. They got to the cocktail party twenty minutes too late, and all that’s left are those little wieners and a half-empty bottle of Zima.”

Generally, those younger than me don't make me feel old. In fact, the more I'm around younger people, the younger I feel.

This one might only apply to Californians: I was on a shuttle bus yesterday, and someone made a comment to the driver about taking us on an "E ticket ride". The driver had no idea what that was. I had to explain to him that Disneyland used to require individual ride tickets, A through E, depending on the ride.

I was talking to my daughter's friend and mentioned my sister used to work at a Licorice Pizza store. She thought it was some sort of fast food.

Seems to me Arkansas hit it right, we all have perspectives driven by our life time. Skills and communication skills and styles also differ greatly. I have been working with computers since 1980, but the young guys have a skillset way beyond moine. OTH, I learn to be polite and considerate, which I see little of these days. We all got the good, we all got the bad.

for years, my favorite quote was from Gen. Jorge Santayana.... He who remembers not of history is doomed to repeat it. it implied (for me) the necessity to learn history, in order to apply that which was learned.

somewhere along the way things changed. history seems less important now.

now my favorite quote is by Ernie Sanders.... "Dad, I love you. Need a hug?"

be well,

jim

Back in the 60's, my college History prof liked to give that Santayana quote on the 1st day of classes but he would then contrast it with a quote from Henry Ford: "History is bunk!", then cautioned us the truth was usually somewhere in between the two, but often closer to Ford's insight than Santayana's. Don

Back in the 60's, my college History prof liked to give that Santayana quote on the 1st day of classes but he would then contrast it with a quote from Henry Ford: "History is bunk!", then cautioned us the truth was usually somewhere in between the two, but often closer to Ford's insight than Santayana's. Don

one must remember when reading/studying history.... all recorded history was written from a biased perspective... usually that of the victor.

be well,

jim

When I speak to them of such things as rotary dial phones, black and white tv's, with only a few VHF channels, and two or three UHF channels, slide rules, (you should see their eyes pop when I pull out one of mine), usually, they look at me with total bewilderment, or total boredom. One, (female, 25 years of age) said, "wow, I could never have lived like that". Yeah, it happens.

Some time ago, there was a Dave Berg cartoon in MAD magazine. A school teacher, with a grade school class, asked the students about the great depression of the 1930's. One student stood up and said he knew all about it. When asked to explain, he said "Back then, they didn't have cell phones, or DVD players, or iPods, or computers. That made everyone depressed".

somewhere along the way things changed. history seems less important now.


You're kidding - right?

How many parallels can we draw between Iraq and Viet Nam?
Why do the things that are happening in Afganistan surprise us?
Why didn't our administration think putting the cost of the Iraq war on a credit card would eventually bite us?

Idiots!

one must remember when reading/studying history.... all recorded history was written from a biased perspective... usually that of the victor.

be well,

jim
Or as an irish proverb puts it.

The victors write the history, the losers write the songs.

You're kidding - right?

How many parallels can we draw between Iraq and Viet Nam?
Why do the things that are happening in Afganistan surprise us?
Why didn't our administration think putting the cost of the Iraq war on a credit card would eventually bite us?

Idiots!

i'm not kidding in the least. history has lost much of its importance.... FOR ME. i think you missed the point of my post entirely. i was stating a personal position. but, in thinking about it, i suppose it applies on a broader scale, too. consider this.... using historical outcome as the basis for present decisions bears the flawed failure to recognize that individual, cultural, societal, international and global values, wants, needs, desires and motivations are not the same today as during the historical point of comparison. additionally, because the accuracy of the historical record is not (as taught in the U.S.) all that accurate, one is again left with decisions based on incomplete, flawed or deliberately misrepresented information. this becomes somewhat reminiscent of the GIGO concept in the application of logic or operation of computers.
i haven't watched the news for almost five years. interestingly, i feel none the lesser for it. i rarely pick up a newspaper. i stopped reading history books (particularly those written by the victors or endorsed by any governmental entity.) it is amazing to me how much less stress and anxiety there is in my life since i started focusing on, and living in, the present and on the things in my immediate life. not that i have any more control over my life than before, mind you. but, i now recognize that i have no control over those things outside myself, and very little control, if any, over those things within myself. and... i recognize that i can control how i react to those things outside myself and witness those things which occur within.

and.... i don't think i can answer your rhetorical questions.

be well,

jim

Gee kidz, hate to tell you, but World War II was living history for me as a kid in Nazi-occupied Belgium.
Must be gettin' on in age, as we will be great-grandparents this year. Y-i-i-i-i-kes!

Wait, if Obama gets in. We are going to rewrite the book.

Gee kidz, hate to tell you, but World War II was living history for me as a kid in Nazi-occupied Belgium.
Must be gettin' on in age, as we will be great-grandparents this year. Y-i-i-i-i-kes!

Us Europeans have a lot more to remember about the war. Born just after it but still the reminders are still here today.

I'd have to agree with grouch on the subject of history being important. It's not so much that history will repeat itself exactly as pointed out above by jiminos but rather that the dynamics of historical situations will repeat. Trying to understand what dynamics caused what results and why serves as an example to follow in future decisions.

Example: You burned your finger on a hot frying pan when your were young. You may be more wary of touching your George Foreman Grill today. History hasn't repeated, but you have learned something from the past.

Gee kidz, hate to tell you, but World War II was living history for me as a kid in Nazi-occupied Belgium.

When I was in school, there was enough history to fill the whole school year. Now with all that extra history that kids have to learn these days, how do they fit it all in? :lol:

When I was in school, there was enough history to fill the whole school year. Now with all that extra history that kids have to learn these days, how do they fit it all in? :lol:

They condense it down to a ZIP file to be forgotten about later.

When I was in school, there was enough history to fill the whole school year. Now with all that extra history that kids have to learn these days, how do they fit it all in? :lol:

Global History is now a two year course in our High Schools!

Born in '51 and WWII seemed like ancient history to me. Met my bride in '73 and
the world seemed to be so technically advanced at that time. Looking back at
what all has happened in just those past 35 years wears me out. Yawn, time for
a little nap.

Oh. here's a chuckle. Until we dropped our "Land Line" a couple years ago, our
daughters had to teach their friends how to dial our wall mounted phone if they
had forgotten to charge their cells. :)

i'm not kidding in the least. history has lost much of its importance.... FOR ME. i think you missed the point of my post entirely. i was stating a personal position. but, in thinking about it, i suppose it applies on a broader scale, too. consider this.... using historical outcome as the basis for present decisions bears the flawed failure to recognize that individual, cultural, societal, international and global values, wants, needs, desires and motivations are not the same today as during the historical point of comparison. additionally, because the accuracy of the historical record is not (as taught in the U.S.) all that accurate, one is again left with decisions based on incomplete, flawed or deliberately misrepresented information. this becomes somewhat reminiscent of the GIGO concept in the application of logic or operation of computers.
i haven't watched the news for almost five years. interestingly, i feel none the lesser for it. i rarely pick up a newspaper. i stopped reading history books (particularly those written by the victors or endorsed by any governmental entity.) it is amazing to me how much less stress and anxiety there is in my life since i started focusing on, and living in, the present and on the things in my immediate life. not that i have any more control over my life than before, mind you. but, i now recognize that i have no control over those things outside myself, and very little control, if any, over those things within myself. and... i recognize that i can control how i react to those things outside myself and witness those things which occur within.

I'm thinking that Obama shouldn't be counting on your vote.

I'm thinking that Obama shouldn't be counting on your vote.

the other guy shouldn't count on my vote either. near as i can tell, the democrats want the government to solve all our problems... the republicans want the government to legislate morality... they both want my money and more control. i want the government to leave me (and everybody else) alone. you know... kinda like how it was set up originally... or would that be history? :)

be well,

jim

Or, as P. J. O'Rourke put it...

"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it."

1973 was a groovy year. I recall having cool tie died bell bottoms ... long side burns ... a 1966 VW fastback (6 volt system) ... and a much smaller gut.

That was the year I graduated high school, and also the year I bought my first road bike.

Sh----t, I think I came back for Nam in 1970 or 71 I think. Had a wife and four children.
Lived in Dallas.

stapfam:
Remember being in London in 1947. You Brits still had food rationing.
Left from Southampton to New York on the (original) Queen Mary, it's first trip as a passenger liner since WWII, when it served as a troop ship. Well, we traveled Tourist Class, but even that was quite an eye opener for me! Never saw such food and luxury before!
It was years before I quit having screaming nightmares from the war. Finally sort of outgrew them until the 50th anniversary from WWII when everything came flooding back.
No matter how bad things may seem to be, life is still good compared to back then!