# When I'm 64, and other reminders that you are old **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788 "2018-12-27T15:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/101 "2018-12-30T16:49:07Z")
When I was young I took a walking stick with me to go hiking in the woods. Now I use it to get up and down the curb. Everyone thinks I’m so witty simply because I have a huge repertoire of corny old jokes they haven’t heard yet. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/102 "2018-12-30T20:05:43Z")
You remember: When software did what you told it to, not what it guessed you probably really wanted given what you just told it to do. And you could hit “Reveal codes” and figure out precisely what was going wrong with your word processing document. Dear Og how I miss that! When you could take the phone off the hook and be blamelessly unreachable for hours at a time. When coconut oil was the stuff of the devil and could destroy your heart at ten paces. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/103 "2018-12-30T20:58:11Z")
I’m 69 now. When I was in high school, we learned typing on manual (that’s non-electric) typewriters. Correction paper existed then, and we had an electric typewriter at home, but in class we had to erase our mistakes. I saw it as having to punish myself for my own errors. Computers made all that much easier, but that was years later. My older brother took calculus in HS, and he had slide rules. He later went to Purdue to learn ninjaneering. When Dad’s doctor told him about cholesterol, we switched from butter to margarine. That was before we knew trans fats in margarine were deadlier than butter. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/104 "2018-12-30T21:24:52Z")
This thread reminds of the internet before the World Wide Web – bulletin boards, Usenet, etc. Using dial-up of course and the infamous screeching sound of the modem dialing. Here’s a clip of the sound for anyone nostalgic for it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0) Also how many people under 30 know how to use a computer without GUI; you know through text inputs like MS-DOS. ---
**Author:** ![notthatagain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@notthatagain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notthatagain)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/105 "2018-12-30T21:53:54Z")
When ‘three on the tree’ far outnumbered ‘four on the floor’. Vent windows. P.F. Flyers and Red Ball Jets. “Colored” was the respectful way to describe “Negros” in Detroit. Calling your friend out to play meant singing a two syllable version of their name (Deb-ee, Deb-ee) at the back door. We played ‘Stretch’ (a version of [Mumblety-peg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumblety-peg)) which required the throwing a knife near the foot of your opponent. Repeatedly. We played football and other group games in the street. When we saw an approaching vehicle somebody hollered “Car” and we stepped to the curb. Gave Darwin a fair shot. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/106 "2018-12-31T01:08:08Z")
You also can’t call and check to see if the guy (or person-of-interest) is married. Oh, the stuff you could find out before caller i.d. [/QUOTE] But on the other hand, the internet makes it easier to find lots of information about people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/107 "2018-12-31T03:15:45Z")
> [@Newtosite](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > You also can’t call and check to see if the guy (or person-of-interest) is married. Oh, the stuff you could find out before caller i.d. > > But on the other hand, the internet makes it easier to find lots of information about people. 🙂 Too twoo. You can find out lots of background, but not _if s/he’s home right now_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/108 "2018-12-31T06:44:34Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > You remember a gallon of gas costing only $2.10. Hell, I remember vowing I would never pay 50 cents for a gallon of gas, because there were always places over in the bad part of town that had not raised it to that lofty price yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/109 "2018-12-31T07:08:30Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Hell, I remember vowing I would never pay 50 cents for a gallon of gas, because there were always places over in the bad part of town that had not raised it to that lofty price yet. I remember only buying 5 gallons at a gas station because I needed gas and they were charging $38.9 a gallon. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/110 "2018-12-31T07:45:54Z")
I remember the first electronic calculator I saw. It was a basic 4-function calculator, large and thick, that worked with AA batteries and had a green LED display. It was absolutely _amazing_. The answers came up _instantly!_ I also had a slide-rule that I loved. And later HP 21C and HP 25C calculators when they first came out. Now I have a fancy RPN calculator on my phone. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/111 "2018-12-31T07:53:54Z")
I remember my dad trying to quit smoking his menthol kools because they went up to a dollar in the early 80s…he was not successful… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/112 "2018-12-31T14:23:18Z")
Yesterday the thought occurred to me that many people alive today will ring in the year 2100. My jaw just dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/113 "2018-12-31T14:34:19Z")
My favorite one of these is… The interval between the release of The Beatle’s Let it Be and Nirvana’s Nevermind - 21 years - is significantly less than that between the release of Nevermind and now - 27 years. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/114 "2018-12-31T15:12:27Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > You remember where you were on 9/11. > > You remember when you only had to charge your cell phone every four days. > > You remember texting your friends by pushing the number buttons multiple times to get each letter. > > You traded pogs with your friends when the teacher couldn’t see. > > You remember a gallon of gas costing only $2.10. > > You could only get the movie times on your cell phone by calling the theater. > > Your school only one computer per classroom, and you had to ask to use it. > > You couldn’t wait to get home from school so you could get on AOL Instant Messenger with your friends. We found the 30 year old! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/115 "2018-12-31T15:19:04Z")
You remember playing in an environment that no parent would allow today: We used to sled down a hill right by the Massachusetts Turnpike. The game was to see who could stop closest to the Pike. Any parent allowing their children to do that today would be arrested and have taken away. And we sled on pieces of cardboard. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/116 "2018-12-31T15:22:05Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Oh and I remember a time when if I fell I bounced. Now I just go thud with no bounce. Several years ago I was coming down a steep trail and the ACL in my knee partly snapped and I fell down. It’s still not completely right. I thought to myself, it used to be that I fell down and something broke. Now something breaks and I fall down. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/117 "2019-01-01T01:47:50Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > We found the 30 year old! 1. **Chessic Sense** posted a series of things that make a **Millennial** feel old. Do you think he is being sincere in his post? Why or why not? 2. **CS** begins by mentioning 9/11. Why might this event have enough importance to be mentioned **first**? 3. What do you think is the significance of **CS’s** multiple references to antiquated **technology**? Discuss. 4. What does **Chessic Sense** ’s post say about the \*\*relativism \*\*of age and aging? Write a 5-paragraph essay about this. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/118 "2019-01-01T01:51:42Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > My favorite one of these is… > > The interval between the release of The Beatle’s Let it Be and Nirvana’s Nevermind - 21 years - is significantly less than that between the release of Nevermind and now - 27 years. The interval between the Challenger shuttle explosion and the 9/11 attack is 15 years; the interval between the 9/11 attack and now is 17 years. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/119 "2019-01-03T02:33:08Z")
People born in the year 2000 are now eligible for the Death Pool. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788/120 "2019-01-03T03:08:47Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. **Chessic Sense** posted a series of things that make a **Millennial** feel old. Do you think he is being sincere in his post? Why or why not? He’s probably sincere. It doesn’t matter. Millennials are not old. I’ve explained this to my son many times. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. **CS** begins by mentioning 9/11. Why might this event have enough importance to be mentioned **first**? Because it’s an extremely memorable event which is far enough in the past to seem like a long time ago to a Millennial. But it isn’t. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. What do you think is the significance of **CS’s** multiple references to antiquated **technology**? Discuss. Modern technology changes so fast that even a kid like a Millennial can remember technology from just a few years ago that is now obsolete. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > 1. What does **Chessic Sense** ’s post say about the \*\*relativism \*\*of age and aging? Write a 5-paragraph essay about this. No. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-im-64-and-other-reminders-that-you-are-old/826788.md?page=7)