Upon reflection, the things I was mistaken about were all personal, to do with things like the importance of “maximizing my potential” and hanging out with extremely interesting creative people. Those turned out to be far less important than I’d thought.
The outer things I thought were important then, which included sustainable farming practices, the curbing of fossil fuel emissions and the other ecological disasters I could see happening, turned out to be just as dire as I’d always thought. Or more so.
Yeah. And it wasn’t all hard work for me. There was some luck involved. I happened to have the experience (drafting/mapping/cartography) to be a perfect fit for a brand new technology that you could not get a degree in at the time. This was around 1988. The tech is GIS. Never looked back. It’s still what I do although my responsibilities have changed immensely. It’s the same technology in the way both a Model T and a Tesla are cars.
I heard that the reason we can get away with eating raw eggs (e.g. in cake batter) AND also live in a time where we have more salmonella to contend with, is that the salmonella is on the outside of the egg. If the person cracking the egg is careful and cleans their hands afterwards, the batter might be safe(er) than you’d imagine.
The problem is that it’s no longer safe, if it ever was, to assume that the salmonella’s on the outside of the egg. That was indeed the assumption when I was a child; but eventually salmonella in the oviducts became endemic in large chicken operations, with the result that it can also be inside the eggs.
This. By the time I relocated from NYC in the mid-90s, almost everyone I knew was dead. There were times I had to attend three memorial services at the same time.
When I was a kid I watched a lot of reruns of old TV shows from the 1950s and 60s. A common trope in those old shows was where a man and a woman were on a date, and some bully type would come over and try to hit on the woman, or otherwise harass her in some way. It pretty much always plays out with the man saying something like “Hey, leave the lady alone”, to which the bully replies “Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it?”, at which point the man punches the bully and the woman is like “Oh, my hero!” That scenario even happened in Back to the Future, which was made in the 1980s (but mostly set in the 1950s).
So I seriously though that this would be a common occurrence when I got older and started dating. And I was worried that as a shy, nerdy, not exactly athletic guy I wouldn’t ever be able to impress my date by defending her from such bullies.
When I entered the workforce in the 80s, I understood the importance of doing a good job at work. And I did tend to get my assignments done well and on time. 15-20 years later, I discover that’s really not quite enough. Prospective employers suddenly wanted to know the extent to which I helped my company grow, and they wanted numbers to demonstrate it. Had I appreciated that earlier, my focus would have shifted somewhat, and I’d have been careful to document it.
Root canal. It’s supposed to be one of the most hellish experiences on earth…well, I’ve had 4 or was it 5, and the worst thing besides the long time it took for each one was the price. $$$…they give you novocaine, you know, or put you out with gas. They don’t hack your jaw open and yank out teeth with rusty pliers.
Getting sued. As a child I understood this to mean somebody files some lawsuit and a court ends up taking literally everything you own and afterwards are left naked and destitute. This was the only outcome possible from such an action.
Yeah, the tornado one really depends on where you live. When I lived in St. Louis, the tornado siren could go off three times in a week during tornado season. Just the fact that the city needed tornado sirens all over town that were tested on a monthly basis indicates how serious of a problem it was.
Then I moved to the east coast and thought I was now safe from tornadoes, but just last year I had to get a new roof and siding on my house because it was damaged when a tornado hit it.
In my personal experience, I thought a tornado was far less important when I was younger than it ended up being.
Interesting. My parents told me that when their respective fathers were teaching them to drive in the mid 1950s, that their fathers were nervous wrecks in the car with them, with constant chiding and panicky warnings about stuff like “Be careful! They might cross the street!. Watch that car!!!” etc, always telling them that if they cause an accident, that “We’ll be sued and we’ll lose the house!” were common admonitions.
This. Growing up with Midwestern modesty, I didn’t get that at all. We were supposed to downplay our accomplishments, not be better than anybody else because, deep down, we aren’t. It was very hard to learn how to brag on myself and I’m still not terribly good at it. But it also taught me to not reach for the brass ring because what if I fell off the horse when reaching and everybody laughed? I thought being modest was important and my natural abilities would shine regardless. Nope. Being a braying ass has taken some of my acquaintances quite far.
Yeah, not only have none of my last FtF jobs asked for a tie except maybe on a special occasion, I know work remotely in sweats and a T,
My beautiful collection of ties sits , gathering dust.
Telephone books. Map Books of all the local streets.
Home land line.
A daily newspaper.
“Duck and cover” thank god.
Yep.
Undercooked pork.
Well, they don’t jump at you, but the young ones do not have much of a rattle, and the often lay on a trail to get sun. They look a LOT like a small branch. Stepping on one will not be good, and often deadly for a dog.
Bicycle licenses! Every year in elementary school a police officer would come and tell us about bike safety. One thing he always preached was that we should all have a bike license in case our bike was stolen. It was a sticker that went on the bike post that you would have to get yearly. My dad would never get us bike licenses and I would worry about it all the time. I was sure a policeman would stop me someday when I was riding my bike checking to see if I had one. I don’t know if I thought I’d be arrested or fined or what. I wonder if they’re even a thing anymore.
I collect the rural phone directories from Ohio counties. The directories are 1950-70ish. I find them essential to my history hobbies in the past few years. I have like 50 of them.
