As I have mentioned before my mom is 92. She was born at home in rural Illinois. In her lifetime she has seen changes ranging from the horse and buggy her mom used to drive to the village to trade in her eggs for merchandise at the general store to vehicles going to the moon. My grandma cooked on a cook stove heated with corn cobs and that is the stove on which my mom learned to cook. My mom didn't have electricity or indoor plumbing at home until after she left for college. It makes my head spin to think of the changes she has lived through sometimes.
But, then I think of the changes I have seen. I go to visit Mom and in order to dial up to the rooms, I have to use a rotary dial phone. Some young people don't know how to call the rooms using a rotary dial. When I was in high school calculators were huge and not owned by ordinary people. I used a slide rule in high school math. I watched a black and white television all the time I was at home and changed the channels with a dial that turned. (That is why they say, "Don't touch that dial.")
In college I got to learn to keypunch cards to "talk" to the university computer which was a whole building, just that one computer. I played blackjack with the computer as I recall. I watched the Man From UNCLE and admired the communicators the agents used to call headquarters, but I never thought I would own such a thing. I got a record player for one of my birthdays and listened to 45s. When I was in college my brothers got an 8 track player. I remember that they would put a John Denver 8 track in the player and it would play those songs all day.
As I reflect on all those changes I find myself wondering what experiences I have had that the young people of today will marvel over as I do my mom's early life in the horse and buggy one room school days. Perhaps the thought that not one single kid that I grew up with had divorced parents would seem strange. Or that most of the moms didn't work and most families had one car, ate dinner together and went to church every Sunday.
But, then I think of the changes I have seen. I go to visit Mom and in order to dial up to the rooms, I have to use a rotary dial phone. Some young people don't know how to call the rooms using a rotary dial. When I was in high school calculators were huge and not owned by ordinary people. I used a slide rule in high school math. I watched a black and white television all the time I was at home and changed the channels with a dial that turned. (That is why they say, "Don't touch that dial.")
In college I got to learn to keypunch cards to "talk" to the university computer which was a whole building, just that one computer. I played blackjack with the computer as I recall. I watched the Man From UNCLE and admired the communicators the agents used to call headquarters, but I never thought I would own such a thing. I got a record player for one of my birthdays and listened to 45s. When I was in college my brothers got an 8 track player. I remember that they would put a John Denver 8 track in the player and it would play those songs all day.
As I reflect on all those changes I find myself wondering what experiences I have had that the young people of today will marvel over as I do my mom's early life in the horse and buggy one room school days. Perhaps the thought that not one single kid that I grew up with had divorced parents would seem strange. Or that most of the moms didn't work and most families had one car, ate dinner together and went to church every Sunday.