# I'm Old. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739 "2002-12-14T16:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/21 "2002-12-15T07:04:57Z")
A few weeks ago, I ate lunch at a local restaurant. Afterward, I went up to the cashier to pay. When I recieved my change, I handed 2 bucks back to her, pointed to the waiter who had served me and said, “Could you give this to the young man over there?” Young man? Young man?? Only an old person would say, “Young man!” Oh Lord, what is happening to me? I’m too young to be old! \*Tikki–reduced to sobbing into a hankie and looking for her smelling salts. \* ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/22 "2002-12-15T12:53:43Z")
–beaming-- I’m not alone !!! **The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down**. Hmm. Wasn’t that a hit song by Vicki Lawrence?? 😛😛😛😛 \<----cackles evilly, reaches under desk for autographed copy of **The Partridge Family Album**. Now, to be fair to the kids, we were watching some movie recently and a song by my fave band of all time, space and eternity- **YES** -was used as background music in a scene. BOTH kids burst out in the theatre in song, with > [@](#): > > I’ve seen all good people turn their heads each day, so satisfied I’m on my way Gosh, I was proud. My wife was HORRIFIED, but a few fellow gray-hairs in the theatre shot me looks of great approval. Those kids. They’ve got potential… 🙂 An update on their mission to form the Band Band. The **Fem-Bot** has been leaning towards the name **Don’t Look** , whereas the **Man-Cub** and his pal Sean the Drummer are still pulling for \*\* Poor Babies\*\*. I’ll keep you posted, of course. **NinetyWT** , I got tears from yours. I too call it the Record Store. It IS a record store ! ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/23 "2002-12-15T13:14:09Z")
Hey, **'Toons** , a gazillion years ago when two friends and I were convinced we were destined to be the next Big Thing in the music world (despite the reality that I was the only one who played an instrument and I was none too accomplished at that) we had a great band name all picked out. I offer it to your kids:[ul] **Uniquely Exclusive** [/ul]We figured with a great name like that, how could we fail? We had publicity photos taken (by Denise’s little sister Faith, who had a hard time keeping us centered in the frame) and we discussed our stage costumes. We wrote some songs. We even tried to sing together once or twice. Jeanette was marginally tone deaf. Denise had no sense of rhythm. I’d only had my guitar for a few months, but I did ok in the key of C and G, sorta. And I could always fall back on the accordion, altho that was NOT done in rock bands in 1968. OK, it was pathetic, but I still think our name was cool. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/24 "2002-12-15T19:57:49Z")
I’m approaching 24 - fairly young, right? Well, the 16 year-olds whom I recently observed for a component of my education class made _me_ feel really old/possibly just uncool recently: Kid (explaining the poster his group created for a project): “…and this is supposed to be Eminem - those words are from one of his songs”. Me: Um, yeah, I know. _cringe_ Here’s another example: Last semester, I took a biology class - there was an 18 year-old girl in my lab group. The few times my age came up, she’d get this spaced-out look on her face and say, “Wow…” in an awed tone. Now _what_ am I supposed to do with _that_? Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/25 "2002-12-15T20:01:26Z")
Oh, BTW, I too have heard of The Band, and I remember when my family owned a TV that didn’t come with a remote. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/26 "2002-12-16T02:21:39Z")
A couple years ago, I wrote a series of short stories and posted them on the net. The series was set in 1986-7, and the first installment began with a seventeen-year-old guy styling his hair in hopes of impressing the girl he liked. “He squeezed out a glob of gel and mulled the possibilities. _Spike it, like one of those British rockers? Slick it back, like Mel Gibson? Maybe she likes Tom Cruise…_” I got feedback on the site’s message board, mostly from teenagers. “I like your story, but are you sure Tom Cruise was popular in the '80s?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![PinkBikini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@PinkBikini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PinkBikini)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/27 "2002-12-16T08:45:50Z")
\<— now singing “… I don’t have to speak, she defends me, a trucker’s dream if I ever did see one…” BWong- gee-gee bwong gee-gee BWong- gee-gee BWong- gee-gee “Ohwoahohwhoahwooooo…!” It’s stuck in my head, helllllpppp! How about the name Roadblock for the new band? ---
**Author:** ![iconoplast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3d9bf3/32.png) [@iconoplast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iconoplast)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/28 "2002-12-16T10:15:45Z")
I can’t believe no one’s mentioned the Animaniacs influences here… (from [here](http://fn2.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/~plato/animaniacs/tress/TRESS_59.txt) – you’ll have to scroll down a touch to see the start of this skit) > [@](#): > > \ > SLAPPY: Wait, let’s try this again. Do you see the band on stage? > SKIPPY: No I don’t see The Band, that’s a different group entirely. > SLAPPY: On stage, Skippy. Look, see the band? > SKIPPY: No I don’t. > SLAPPY: Get rid of those John Lennon glasses and look! There, there’s the > band! > SKIPPY: No, that’s not The Band. The Band is performing later on. Who’s > on stage. > SLAPPY: You tell me. > SKIPPY: Who. > SLAPPY: The name of the group on stage. > SKIPPY: Who. > SLAPPY: The name of the group! > SKIPPY: Who. > SLAPPY: The group on stage! > SKIPPY: Who. > SLAPPY: The band! > SKIPPY: No, The Band is performing later. Right now, we’re listening to > Who. > SLAPPY: That’s what I wanna know!! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/29 "2002-12-16T11:35:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PinkBikini \* > \*\*\<— now singing > > “… I don’t have to speak, she defends me, a trucker’s dream if I ever did see one…” \*\* :::ahem::: Actually, it’s “a **drunkard’s** dream…” :::tiptoe::: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/30 "2002-12-16T11:57:09Z")
Cartooniverse said: > [@](#): > > The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Hmm. Wasn’t that a hit song by Vicki Lawrence?? That’s right. And I think **Ain’t That A Shame** was by Pat Boone. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/31 "2002-12-16T18:32:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iconoplast \* > I can’t believe no one’s mentioned the Animaniacs influences here… Yeah, and they were cribbing off Abbott and Costello. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![iconoplast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3d9bf3/32.png) [@iconoplast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iconoplast)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/32 "2002-12-16T19:53:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RTFirefly \* > \*\*Yeah, and they were cribbing off Abbott and Costello. 🙂 \*\* Of course, but I don’t remember Abbott and Costello mentioning The Band anywhere…😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/33 "2002-12-16T20:02:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jane\_says \* > \*\*Next time you’re at the mall with them, start acting confused and belt out a few lines of “The Night the Drove Old Dixie Down”. They’ll never forget who The Band was again. \*\* Yeah, and cringing in utter embarrassment, they’ll inform you that never will they allow you to accompany them to the mall again either! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/34 "2002-12-16T20:15:07Z")
Does that make me old? I know who The Band is, although their hey-day was some time prior to my birth. Then again, I have fond memories of listening to 45’s of _I’m A Believer_ on my little orange monophonic turntable. I was playing with Star Wars figures at the time, but still. I also listened to _Hotel California_ and _Fly Like An Eagle_ on 8 track a lot, too. This was about the time that Reagan and the Pope were getting shot. I don’t think I’m all that old, but these kids today are so damn young! I don’t think kids were that young back in my day. They seemed a lot older then. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/35 "2002-12-16T20:26:20Z")
Actually, I remember seeing a bit on Eight is Enough about the modernization of the Abbot & Costello bit. Tom Poston and his youngest son were going to do the “Who’s on First” routine for a talent show, but his son couldn’t learn the lines, so they rewrote it with The Band, The Who, Who’s Next, etc. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/36 "2002-12-16T21:15:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PinkBikini \* > \*\*BWong- gee-gee bwong gee-gee BWong- gee-gee BWong- gee-gee \*\* Best sound-effect spelling ever. 😃 Imagine the surprise and chagrin experienced by my “pseudo-kid” when I broke the news to him that Michael Jackson and that kid singing lead for The Jackson Five were one and the same. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![rubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@rubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rubes)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/37 "2002-12-16T21:46:34Z")
I was my father’s remote for the TV. I had to change between channels 4,5 and 11. I was good at it, and could spin my wrist and stop right at the appropriate channel, though I was constantly scolded for trying to strip the knobs. ---
**Author:** ![Adridne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ccd318/32.png) [@Adridne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adridne)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/38 "2002-12-16T21:58:00Z")
Hmm… At the ripe old age of 22, I know who The Band is/were. And I \* own\* an eight-track player. It even works. My blue-haired (in the cobalt sense, not the little-old-lady sense) boyfriend and I were in Grand Central terminal, NYC a few months ago and a small punk child (maybe 14) came over and told him “It’s so cool to see an old guy with bright hair!” He’s all of 24. Had to spend a week telling him he wasn’t old. ---
**Author:** ![Fibonacci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Fibonacci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibonacci)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/39 "2002-12-16T22:00:52Z")
Not only do I remember The Band, I saw them in concert, oh… in '72. They were absolutely the tightest band I have ever seen. Just incredible. Later, in the early 80’s I got thrown out of a bar with Rick Danko when he was touring with Blondie Chaplin. (extra points if anyone remembers him.) As far as the Abbott & Costello take off, it’s closer to the 1974 Credibility Gap parody. They were Harry Shearer, David L. Lander, & Michael McKean. Their bit was about a promoter trying to place an ad for a concert he was promoting with 3 headliners, Who, Guess Who, & Yes. You can hear it on [Harry Shearer’s site](http://www.harryshearer.com/gap/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739/40 "2002-12-16T22:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cartooniverse \* > \*\*Feast your eyes on the brillaince that was [The Band](http://theband.hiof.no/). > \*\* Are those musicians or grizzled prospectors? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-old/142739.md?page=3)