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black bart
03-06-2011, 02:26 PM
How old is Grandpa?
















Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.


The Grandfather replied, `Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:


`


television


`


polio shots


`


frozen foods


`


Xerox


`


contact lenses


`


Frisbees and


`


the pill


There were no:


`


credit cards


`


laser beams or


`


ball-point pens


Man had not invented:


`


pantyhose


`


air conditioners


`


dishwashers


`


clothes dryers


`


and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and


`


man hadn`t yet walked on the moon



Your Grandmother and I got married first , and then lived together..


Every family had a father and a mother.


Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, `Sir`.
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, `Sir.`


We were before xxx-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.


Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.


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



Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.


We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.


Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.


Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.


Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.


We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.


We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President`s speeches on our radios..


And I don`t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.


If you saw anything with `Made in Japan ` on it, it was junk


The term `making out` referred to how you did on your school exam.


Pizza Hut, McDonald`s, and instant coffee were unheard of.


We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.


Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.


And if you didn`t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.


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


In my day:


`


`grass` was mowed,





``coke` was a cold drink


`


`pot` was something your mother cooked in and


`


`rock music` was your grandmother`s lullaby.


`


`Aids` were helpers in the Principal`s office,


`


` chip` meant a piece of wood,


`


`hardware` was found in a hardware store and


`


`software` wasn`t even a word.



And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
No wonder people call us `old and confused` and say there is a generation gap. and how old do you think I am?


I bet you have this old person in mind....you are in for a shock!


Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
Are you ready ?











This person would be only 62 years old.

Scott P
03-06-2011, 04:08 PM
So funny, yet so sad for those that long for those old days. Can it be considered irony that such a comment was made on the internet?

That list managed to leave out segregation, fear of nuclear holocaust, shorter life expectancies, cranking cars by hand, using pliers to pull teeth and leeches to cure people. But let`s only remember the good things. It`s funnier that way.

mrclean81
03-06-2011, 05:38 PM
Reminds me of my father who is 66.

RTexasF
03-06-2011, 06:47 PM
There was a frisbee but it was called the Wham-O Flying Saucer. I know because I had one as a young pup, I`ll be 62 next month.

daveinsweethome
03-10-2011, 10:52 AM
well i am exactly 62 i was polite but maybe that polite. interesting post none the less. i was drug into the 21 century and now love it. flex polishers and clay bars and microfiber rule; oh yea computers too.

daveinsweethome
03-10-2011, 10:53 AM
well i am exactly 62 i was polite but maybe that polite. interesting post none the less. i was drug into the 21 century and now love it. flex polishers and clay bars and microfiber rule; oh yea computers too. forgot to mention that foghorn leghorn totally rules the net.

Bunky
03-10-2011, 11:57 AM
It is kind of funny since there seems many who want to go back to the good old days.

The question is when is was the good old days.

No one born recently could live in the 50`s if they had lived today and suddenly transported back. It required too much sacrifice - less real pay, little or no benefits, cannot afford a house (more renting) or a good car, more expensive gas (adjusted for inflation), no instant communication, etc.

Net: A lower standard of living.

RTexasF
03-10-2011, 06:39 PM
It is kind of funny since there seems many who want to go back to the good old days.

The question is when is was the good old days.

No one born recently could live in the 50`s if they had lived today and suddenly transported back. It required too much sacrifice - less real pay, little or no benefits, cannot afford a house (more renting) or a good car, more expensive gas (adjusted for inflation), no instant communication, etc.

Net: A lower standard of living.

I don`t see it that way at all.

Less real pay? Well maybe but consider what things cost then. A house was $9,000, fuel was 15-18 cents a gallon, a $3,000 car was for the rich. $10 bought groceries for a family of four for at least a week.

Benefits were plentiful but it helped to work for the government in "civil Service" to get the best retirement, etc.

If you never heard of instant communication why would you miss it? I sure didn`t. We didn`t even have a telephone until I was seven and the first TV in the neighborhood came along when I was about 10.

I don`t want to jump back in time but I disagree with your evaluation of "back then". It wasn`t bad at all. Simpler times don`t necessarily mean a lower standard of living. Not arguing, just not the way I remember it.

black bart
03-10-2011, 07:25 PM
I don`t see it that way at all.

Less real pay? Well maybe but consider what things cost then. A house was $9,000, fuel was 15-18 cents a gallon, a $3,000 car was for the rich. $10 bought groceries for a family of four for at least a week.

Benefits were plentiful but it helped to work for the government in "civil Service" to get the best retirement, etc.

If you never heard of instant communication why would you miss it? I sure didn`t. We didn`t even have a telephone until I was seven and the first TV in the neighborhood came along when I was about 10.

I don`t want to jump back in time but I disagree with your evaluation of "back then". It wasn`t bad at all. Simpler times don`t necessarily mean a lower standard of living. Not arguing, just not the way I remember it.I agree not all was so bad I still don`t have most of what the younger generation thinks is must have items.

Not because I can`t afford them I just have no need for I pad I phone Cell phone all those things I survived nearly 80 years without and still have no need for them.
Cars are better but also waaay too complicated.
Time was when nearly anyone could repair their car not anymore.

JaredPointer
03-10-2011, 08:00 PM
I

Less real pay? Well maybe but consider what things cost then. A house was $9,000, fuel was 15-18 cents a gallon, a $3,000 car was for the rich. $10 bought groceries for a family of four for at least a week.



If I had to guess, I think he might have been adjusting for inflation (and possibly wage earning power). To do an honest comparison, one would really have to index the current day dollars to "good ole day" dollars both on the earnings and expenses areas.

RTexasF
03-10-2011, 08:15 PM
Perhaps but back then there was nothing to adjust for, you took your pay at face value. There were no credit cards either, if you couldn`t pay cash you didn`t buy whatever it was. Cars and houses were done via bank loans. You knew the fella loaning the money and he knew you. It`s difficult to explain if you weren`t there. I consider it the good old days but have no desire to snap my fingers and return there.

JaredPointer
03-10-2011, 08:25 PM
back then there was nothing to adjust for

I`m not sure if I am misunderstanding what you`re saying, but to compare money across different time periods you have to either mark one up at today`s currency value or mark the other down to. One dollar today is not the same as a dollar 50 years (or even days) ago and will not be the same as a dollar in the future.

black bart
03-10-2011, 08:39 PM
I`m not sure if I am misunderstanding what you`re saying, but to compare money across different time periods you have to either mark one up at today`s currency value or mark the other down to. One dollar today is not the same as a dollar 50 years (or even days) ago and will not be the same as a dollar in the future.JP using your way of comparing you have more buying power today than in the fifty`s but their are many ways to compare which was best and buying power is only one of them.
Standard of living is higher but I can no longer go to bed at night and leave the door unlocked and the car in the drive with the keys in the ignition.
Times have changed and not all the changes were for the better

Bunky
03-10-2011, 08:56 PM
It was a much simpler and more innocent time for many. If you lived in the urban areas, it was not so safe then or now.

But, from what I have now, I just do not think I could sit on the porch shelling beans like my grandparents did for work and entertainment, have one or two channels on the black and white TV that needed tubes every so often, live with luxuries like a party line phone where long distance calls were very expensive, stores closed on Sunday and Wednesday afternoons, dry (no alcohol sales) counties, and other social issues we saw then, etc. As for taxes, the rich paid the majority of the taxes because most of the people were fairly poor.

JaredPointer
03-10-2011, 09:17 PM
JP using your way of comparing you have more buying power today than in the fifty`s but their are many ways to compare which was best and buying power is only one of them.
Standard of living is higher but I can no longer go to bed at night and leave the door unlocked and the car in the drive with the keys in the ignition.
Times have changed and not all the changes were for the better



Speaking of leaving doors unlocked and keys in ignitions - back in the "good ole days" my grandfather came out of a bowling alley in the 50`s and someone had taken off in his car. Had it happen again at his house not long after that.