Thanksgiving, a day late

[amurderofcows]

On a Wednesday afternoon in 1924, President Coolidge's two sons-John, 17, and Calvin, 16-played a game of tennis on the south lawn of the White House. Wearing shoes without socks was something of a fashion among teenage boys of the era, a fashion trend that has come and gone repeatedly in the decades since, probably because it dovetails neatly

Comments

[tko_ak]

Deep.

It is amazing what a few years (relatively speaking) can do tot he sum of human knowledge. On the other hand, despite our progress, we still seem to know how to be destructive and kill people (and the planet).

As a recent college graduate, I can't even imagine how my parents coped in college, what with no internet or computers. It's so uncivilized.

[amurderofcows]

I was on the internet during most of my college years, via a 1200 baud dialup modem, but I was an extremely early adopter. Most of my classmates, except for the computer science people, were unaware of what the internet was.

It's hard for me to compare since I've never been a student with the internet, but I think the biggest changes are

[tko_ak]

My parents are in their mid 50s, so what you say they lived only magnified. They were both old enough to understand the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis but too young to fully grasp it. My Dad talks about being afraid the world could end at any moment for a week or two. As if hiding under a desk would accomplish anything.

I also heard stories about going to college in the 1970s and how they had to wait in line for hours to sign up for classes, work because there were no such thing as loans or financial aid, spend hours at the library studying and using typewriters and fixing mistakes. Too much work. My Mom said she didn't watch TV while in college, and couldn't believe how much free time I had in college.

[amurderofcows]

Berkeley made me wait in a lot of lines, but I signed up for classes by filling out a form with a #2 pencil indicating my choices and alternates for classes. A computer prioritized us, spat out a schedule, and if we didn't like it, we could try to talk profs into adding us to their classes

[tko_ak]

I only worked in the summer, but the summer between my junior and senior year, I took 9 credits (three classes) that were condensed from 15 weeks to 5 or 6 weeks, and it was hellish. It seemed like I'd get up at 5:45AM to be at work by 7AM, get home by 4PM and have time to check my e-mail and stuff, have dinner, and do homework until bedtime. That summer sucked, but it made my senior year easier (which was good because my fall semester a year ago was demanding).

I discovered in college that I'd go nuts without high speed internet and cable TV.

[amurderofcows]

I took summer classes occasionally, usually to meet a prerequisite for something I was taking the following academic year. I worked in the summer, but only at internships, so I could get a political job out of college.

I didn't watch TV much (at all?) when I was living in the dorms, but when I moved in with my partner, we usually watched something each night, either a show taped on the VCR or a rented movie.

[gingerdavid]

My parents are in their mid 50s, so what you say they lived only magnified. They were both old enough to understand the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis but too young to fully grasp it. My Dad talks about being afraid the world could end at any moment for a week or two.

I was born around nine months after the Cuban Missile Crisis. You can draw your own conclusions from that

[amurderofcows]

Wow. I shudder to think what might happen if the box just, you know, broke.

My connection to the nuclear threat wasn't as direct as that. I remember meeting a science fiction author who had studied the US extensively and concluded that the safest place in the continental US to survive a nuclear attack was Ashland, Oregon, so he moved there. At the time it seemed strange to me someone would make a major life decision like where to live based on that.

It was grim in the olden days

[gingerdavid]

As a recent college graduate, I can't even imagine how my parents coped in college, what with no internet or computers. It's so uncivilized.

I was in college in the early 1980s. Besides no Internet, we had no cellphones or iPods or DVDs or video games. It was all so very third world, darling. Quite ghastly.

Re: It was grim in the olden days

[tko_ak]

Indeed!

Although I left the video games at home, so I wouldn't have that distraction. GTA or homework? Not a tough decision.

Re: It was grim in the olden days

[amurderofcows]

My partner is the game addict in the family. If he'd gone to college, I'm sure it wouldn't have helped his GPA.

Re: It was grim in the olden days

[amurderofcows]

We had PC games. My discovery of Tetris didn't do anything to help my academic performance.