Great interview(s). Simon & Garfunkel were the soundtrack of my senior year of college (1969-70).
Turned 64 this year. I don’t really feel old, but after being out of commission for 2.5 months this summer due to foot surgery to remove a melanoma, I definitely feel the clock ticking.
Seems every year a celeb that was in their prime of their lives and on top of the world when I was younger dies, usually at “rightful” age. And I am older than they were at their prime. That’s when I feel old.
Well, people don’t tend to define their homes by one event the way they do other places. Also, people don’t tend to talk about events that far in the past without some sort of lead up or specification. I wouldn’t say “It’s terrible what happened in Manhattan” to someone and expect them to know about 9/11. Or have my mind immediately go to the Birmingham campaign if Birmingham police were mentioned. If you mentioned the year of the event, it’s a bit different.
Well, there’s more than one thing that happen(ed) in OKC. The Thunder losing in the NBA Finals? etc.
Asking what is good on the menu, and the waitperson suggests the half-sandwich and a cup of soup,
says “You can find it on the Senior Menu on the back page” then asks if I want the AARP discount.
College students didn’t need to work, except maybe a summer job. Backpacking around Europe was a thing. There were lots of good jobs which required few skills. People retired on defined benefit pensions. Renting a one br apartment on a minimum wage job was possible. Hitchhiking, at least for white people, was possible. Cops didn’t look like they were members of a SWAT team. There WERE no SWAT teams. Public transportation was reliable and cheap. Gas was cheap. The pot was awful and mostly seeds. There was no good beer. Or bread. Flying was easy; buy a ticket with cash and get on the plane. No ID required. Cars didn’t last long. Getting 100,000 miles was extraordinary. Bodies rusted. No power steering or brakes. Women did not drive SUV sized vehicles. You needed to be a Teamster to crank the wheel. Employers were not abusive; they didn’t want the union on their ass. And so on.
“Bodies rusted.” Sadly, that’s my main problem these days…
I was talking to some of my relatives who are Post-Millennials (born 2000 or later) and none of them knew what cassettes were–either audio or VHS.
I’m sure they have no idea about rotary phones or payphones or typewriters or black and white television. One of them was surprised I still use a CRT television; he had never seen a working one before.
Also my brother-in-law took one of them for a ride in his old truck and they had no idea to use a window crank to put down a car window.
Speaking of payphones, I don’t think I’ve even seen one in over ten years. (Granted I wasn’t actually looking.) Are there places that still have them?
When I was born there weren’t even 50 states yet. Hell, when my kid sister was born there weren’t 50 states. She turned 60 on Christmas Eve.
I remember watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
I remember hearing the Mario Lanza Drink Drink song on the radio. I’m 69 (and a half.)
I have money to a street person today and she said “Bless you Uncle.”. SIGH
I remember when I used to call old people “Uncle”. Double SIGH
LOL. I tell my brothers and sisters I was the only one born in the STATE of Hawaii! 
There’s another one for me – there were only 48 states when I was born.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Not quite there yet, phew.
I was thinking recently of my first year of University and realized that it was 26 years ago. OK, no real surprise here, just add 1 with every year that passes. But I started thinking : I was 18 then. I’m 44 now. When the same amount of time elapses, I’ll be 70 :eek:.
Also, while looking at some almost-30-year-old pictures, I realized that not only I remembered that particular day very well but, more disturbingly, my father was younger then than I am now. In my mind, he is still in his 40s. In reality, he turned 72 last month and, to be honest, his age is starting to show.
They were all over my county till very recently. There’s a large Amish community here, but apparently no longer large enough to make pay phones worth the expense.
But if you watch old episodes of Rockford Files, you’ll see Jim using them all the time!
Around here, some pay phones have stickers on them that say “THIS PHONE WORKS.”
Let me see.
I remember
Hot Rods, before muscle cars.
Bun boards,
Milk being picked up from the farms in Milk cans.
Listening to radio shows
Watching Walt Disney on TV when they were building Disneyland
USING SLIDE RULES
The phone had a 6 volt battery and you cranked the handle to get the operator
Oh and I remember a time when if I fell I bounced. Now I just go thud with no bounce.
I some times think about the old training ship, TS Golden Bear, when I was attending the Maritime Academy. It has been replaced twice and they are now in need of replacing the Third Golden Bear.
That’s what rattles me. I’m “only” in my mid-50s and though I’m healthy now, I’m surmising that by the time I hit 75 I’ll be on borrowed time…some 20-something years from now…and the last 20 years was like a blur to me. It’s just like you say: it may as well be the day before yesterday.
On the plus side, my parents were/are the first in my family to live past their mid-60s. Still doing pretty good in their late 70s. Maybe the sliding scale of healthier living will favor my generation of family even more.