adult kids

Murray and Carol's adult 'kids' in 2008, for whose benefit we hope to age wisely and well.

Aging

One of the challenges of aging is feeling understood.

While everyone needs to feel understood the challenge of older people is that much of their world has disappeared with time. Since older people are rooted in a world which no longer exists it becomes increasingly difficult to feel or be understood.

The following gives a sense of what it feels like to be "unrooted" in a world which has moved on...

cid:7E3A4007DED047968CC511788914A427@RGNetbook

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
'   penicillin
'   polio shots
'   frozen foods
'   Xerox
'   contact lenses
'   Frisbees, and
'   the pill didn't exist.
There w
ere no:
'   transistor radios

'   credit cards
'   laser beams or
'   ball-point pens
No one had 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

cid:146EAB935D974B81ADBACC5BD87ECEF4@RGNetbook


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 special rights for everyone who wanted them, 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 take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege.
We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. 
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. 
Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. 
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends.


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We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. 
We listened to the 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 and 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.
cid:EA56ED26DF524604A5FAC0765A822334@RGNetbook

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?
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This man would be (in 2013) 62 years old :-)