Measuring change
IT’S strange how birthdays inspire thoughts about the past and what has happened in your lifetime, well these days they seem to, which might also be a sign of my age.
I write this on Friday, September 13 — my 81st birthday. I have been thinking often in recent weeks of how times have changed.
I don’t want to be too serious today, so I’ll share some thoughts emailed to me by a friend several years back, which put changes in my lifetime in perspective.
The unknown author does so with humour rather than malice.
But, enough of that, I hope you gain some insight from this, as I did when I first read it and continued to in recent time sharing it with audiences at my public speaking engagements, which I have now signed off on.
Those people did relate to the wisdom I shared, but perhaps that is because most of them were 60plus and members of Probus clubs and mainly retirees.
Anyway, this piece is headed: “We are survivors”.
I hope you enjoy it, and that it may give younger readers a better understanding of the world in which their oldies grew up.
Here goes:
“For those born before 1945 ... We were born before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, videos, frisbees and the pill.
“We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ball-point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, airconditioners, drip-dry clothes . . . and before man walked on the moon.
“We got married first and then lived together. We thought fast food was what you ate in Lent, a Big Mac was an oversize raincoat and crumpet was something we had for tea.
“We existed before house-husbands, computer dating, dual cars and when ‘a meaningful relationship’ meant getting along with cousins and sheltered accommodation was where you waited for a bus.
“We were before daycare centres, group homes and disposable nappies; we never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electronic typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yoghurt or young men wearing earrings.
“For us, time-sharing meant ‘togetherness’; a ‘chip’ was a piece of wood or fried potatoes; hardware meant nuts and bolts and software wasn’t even a word.
“Before 1945 ‘Made in Japan’ meant junk, the term ‘making out’ referred to how you did in your exam; ‘stud’ was something that fastened a collar to a shirt and ‘going all the way’ meant staying on a bus to the bus depot.
“Pizzas, McDonalds and instant coffee were unheard of.
“In our day, cigarette smoking was ‘fashionable’, ‘grass’ was something you mowed, ‘coke’ was kept in the coal bin, a ‘joint’ was a piece of meat you ate on Sunday, ‘pot’ was something you cooked in and ‘ice’ kept our food cold in the ice-box in the kitchen.
“We who were born before 1945 must have been a hardy bunch when you think of the way the world has changed and the adjustments we have had to make.
“No wonder we are so confused and there is a generation gap today ... but
“By the Grace of God . . . we have survived . . . Hallelujah.”
Yep, times have sure changed, but there was another aspect of life for those of us born before 1945 which was not so pleasant or funny. For many, like me, we didn’t have a dad for five or six years because of World War II and the post-war years were pretty tough for poorer families. But, as our unknown author said: We survived — and, honestly, most of us, I think, actually did much better than just survive!