Why, in MY day...
This week's LJ Idol topic, "Uphill, both ways, barefoot" inspires thoughts of old folks saying when THEY were tots that's how they had to walk the seven or ten miles to school, usually with snow involved. My dad actually told me once he had to walk seven miles to school every day ("uphill" was not a factor in Nebraska). My aunt later told me they did walk, but it wasn't really that far.
Oh the stories I could tell that the young-uns today wouldn't believe. TV with four channels? The telephone was big, wired and stuck in one place in the house. In my childhood only the very rich had car phones. There were even party lines still around when I was a kid. There were no ATMs -- if you ran out of cash you had travel to a bank (which didn't have as many branches everywhere) or people had to take your check (and in my small-town upbringing, most people would; mom-and-pop stores would keep accounts for regular customers on their word to pay at the end of the month, without massive credit-card fees). I remember when a simple pocket calculator was the latest thing. And when I was little a laser was huge and expensive, the cutting edge of technology -- now every kid has one (in his CD player) and doesn't give it a second thought.
Oh, I could go on, but I'm not competing in LJ Idol anyway. A number of my friends are, though, and you can read and vote for their entries here. Thanks for your support. =)
Big busy weekend, Halloween and all, so this post will have to do for a couple of days. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to jgreeneiii ! Everyone be safe, and a good Samhain to those who honor it.
Oh the stories I could tell that the young-uns today wouldn't believe. TV with four channels? The telephone was big, wired and stuck in one place in the house. In my childhood only the very rich had car phones. There were even party lines still around when I was a kid. There were no ATMs -- if you ran out of cash you had travel to a bank (which didn't have as many branches everywhere) or people had to take your check (and in my small-town upbringing, most people would; mom-and-pop stores would keep accounts for regular customers on their word to pay at the end of the month, without massive credit-card fees). I remember when a simple pocket calculator was the latest thing. And when I was little a laser was huge and expensive, the cutting edge of technology -- now every kid has one (in his CD player) and doesn't give it a second thought.
Oh, I could go on, but I'm not competing in LJ Idol anyway. A number of my friends are, though, and you can read and vote for their entries here. Thanks for your support. =)
Big busy weekend, Halloween and all, so this post will have to do for a couple of days. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to jgreeneiii ! Everyone be safe, and a good Samhain to those who honor it.