Thursday, April 27, 2006

How old is Grandma?

How old is Grandma???  Stay with this -- the answer is at the end.  It will blow you away. 

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

The Grandma replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:
television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill

There was no: radar, 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 Grandfather 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 gay-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 people who closed their front doors when 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 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 &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 lady 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. 

This woman would be only 58 years old!

Thanks Phyllis

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely wrong. at 58 grandma would be a baby boomer - born in 1948. she certainly grw-up watching TV. would have been in college in the middle of the Viet nam war & the free-love generation. she certainly would have had air conditioners and clothes dryers. I could go on with other errors -- there are too many to respond to.

Jonco said...

I beg to differ. I'm 57 and I can remember getting our first TV. The first TV station in St. Louis started broadcasting in 1948. I doubt many people ownwed TV sets at that time. I remember standing outside an appliance store and seeing a tv in the shop window and thinking how cool that was.
We had no air-conditioner either. I remember as a child seeing a sign on a bar or restaurant saying "It's cool inside", but I don't remember when it was first introduced.

Anonymous said...

If she was born before radar then she will be much older as the term radar was first used in 1941. Radar was used during WWII and was previously called RDF with the original patent for this type of technology going back to 1904 so granny could be very old indeed.

Anonymous said...

Indeed, too many errors. For instance,
penicillin was discovered officially in 1928, and was already in use during WWII - early 1940's.