Consider the changes we’ve seen

Seeing the best of America 

We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, jet planes. frozen food , Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and the Pill.

We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens.

Before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes...

And long before men walked on the moon.

We got married first and then lived together.

In our time, closets were for clothes, not for “coming out.”

Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens.

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.

Fast food was what we ate during Lent, and outer space was the back of the Terminal Movie Theater. 

We were before house husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and computer marriages. We were before day care centers, group therapy and nursing homes.

We never heard of FM radio. tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt and most certainly guys wearing earrings,.

For us  time-sharing meant togetherness... Not condominiums.

A chip meant a piece of wood . Hardware meant hardware and software wasn’t even a word.

Back then “Made in Japan” meant junk and the term “making out” referred to how you did in an exam.

Pizza, McDonalds and instant coffee were unheard of.

We would shop at 5 and 10 cent stores, where you actually purchased things for 5 and 10 cents.

Walgreen’s sold ice-cream cones for a nickel or a dime.

For one nickel you could ride a streetcar, make a telephone call, buy a Pepsi or, for a nickel, you could buy a stamp to mail one letter and two post cards.

We could buy a new Chevy coupe for $600.00... but who could afford $600.00? A pity, too, because gas was eleven cents a gallon.

In our day grass was mowed. Coke was a cold drink and pot was something you cooked in.

Rock and music was a grandma’s lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the principle’s office.

We were certainly not born before the difference between the sexes were discovered, but we were certainly born long before sex change operations. .

We made do with what we had.

And we were the last generation that was so stupid as to think you needed a husband or a wife to have a baby.

No wonder we that were born before 1945 are so confused and there is such a huge generation gap.

I was born eleven years before 1945 and feel I’ve seen the best of America and, not minding my age, I feel so much stronger for living as and when I had.

Mark Lichterman (9/24/09)