For All Those Born Before 1945

WE ARE SURVIVORS!!! . . CONSIDER THE CHANGES WE HAVE WITNESSED! 

We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio 
shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and 
the PILL. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser 
beams and ballpoint pens. Before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes 
dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes ...
and before man walked on the moon. 

We got married first and then lived together. How quaint can you be? 
In our time, closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of". 
Bunnies were small rabbits, and rabbits were not Volkswagens. 
Designer Jeans were scheming girls names Jean, and having a 
meaningful relationship meant getting along with our cousins. 

We thought fast food was what you ate during lent, and Outer Space 
was the back of the Riviera Theater. We were before house husbands, 
gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and commuter marriages. 
We were before day-care centers, group therapy and nursing homes. 
We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electronic typewriters, 
artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt and guys wearing earrings. 
For us, time-sharing meant togetherness ... not computers or 
condominiums. A chip meant a piece of wood. Hardware meant hardware, 
and software wasn't even a word. 

Back then, "Made in Japan" meant junk and the term "making out" 
referred to how you did on your exam. Pizzas, McDonalds and instant 
coffees were unheard of. We hit the scene where there were 5 and 
10 cent stores, where you bought things for five and ten cents. 
Sanders or Wilsons sold ice cream cones for a nickel or a dime. For 
one nickel you could ride a street car, make a phone call, buy a 
Pepsi or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. You 
could buy a new Chevy coupe for $600 ... but who could afford one? 
A pity too, because gas was 11 cents a gallon! 

In our day, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was 
something you cooked in. ROCK MUSIC was a Grandma's lullaby and 
AIDS were helpers in the Principal's office. We were certainly not 
before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were 
surely before the sex change. We made do with what we had. And we 
were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed 
a husband to have a baby. 

No wonder we are so confused and there is such a generation gap today.