How Old Is Grandma???

[Dee Bee]

How old is Grandma???

Stay with this -- the answer is at the end.  

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandma replied, "Well, let me think a minute. I was born before

'       television

'       penicillin

'       polio shots

'       frozen foods

'       Xerox

'       contact lenses

'       Frisbees and

'       the pill

There was no

'       radar

'       credit cards

'       laser beams or

'       ball-point pens

People had not invented

'       pantyhose

'       air conditioners

'       dishwashers

'       clothes dryers

'       and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and

'      man hadn't yet walked on the moon


Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, "Sir". And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir."

We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.  

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.  

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.  

Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.  

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends, not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.  

We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.  

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.  

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.  

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.  

Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel.

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, but who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.  

In my day

'      "grass" was mowed,

'      "coke" was a cold drink,

'      "pot" was something your mother cooked in and

'      "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.  

'      "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,  

'      " chip" meant a piece of wood,

'      "hardware" was found in a hardware store and

'     "software" wasn't even a word.

No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap.

How old do you think I am?"

Now, I'll bet you have a fairly elderly age in mind, but you're in for a shock!


This woman would be only 58 years old!   

[wxmann_91]

How much we have changed over the last 60 years... yeesh.

[kevin]

She would have to be at least 60 years old, because penicilin was used during WWII. So 2005 - 1945 = 60.

[LAwxrgal]

I am often amazed when my 63 year old mom talks about how she grew up. She grew up as the second-youngest of 10 children on a farm in rural southeast Louisiana, where being around cows, chickens, and horses were a way of life. She grew up growing most of her own vegetables to eat. Nowadays I don't see any of those animals until I pass near a farm, and that's not often these days either.

I'm amazed because I didn't grow up that way, amazed because I grew up entirely different from the way she did. When you think about how the world has changed even in the last twenty years, let alone sixty, it's astonishing.

Sorry if that's slightly off the subject.

[WindRunner]

And TV was invented in the mid 20s, with color TVs first entering the US around 1940 and color broadcasting by 1941 (before the public had access to color TVs, oddly enough). That's why I was thinking she was born in the 191~s. Other than that, though, it's really astounding.

[Skywatch_NC]

And TV was invented in the mid 20s, with color TVs first entering the US around 1940 and color broadcasting by 1941 (before the public had access to color TVs, oddly enough). That's why I was thinking she was born in the 191~s. Other than that, though, it's really astounding.

I thought the advent of TV...started in the states at least...sometime during the mid 1940s. But that most peeps didn't really start buying them up until around the early 1950s.

[artist]

lol - got to tell you the first air conditioner was made in 1902.

[Persepone]

She would have to be at least 60 years old, because penicilin was used during WWII. So 2005 - 1945 = 60.

It was used in a very limited fashion in WWII--toward the end. It was not widely available in 1945 although it did exist. You had to wait until about 1950 if you were a civilian &/or not in a major medical center hospital.

But yes, you have to be about 65 for the penicillin to truly be "non-existent."

What is scarier, however, is that I do remember the stuff on that list--including the need for penicillin--and I had kids in my class who had rheumatic fever and spent a year in the hospital because of the lack of penicillin!!! Today, you get a strep throat, you get penicillin and it's no big deal. No year in the hospital and a seriously weakened heart for the rest of your "shortened" live.

And for those memories you don't have to be 65--only 60! Those of us who do remember find this list interesting--but I, for one,don't want to go back to the old days that were not, in the end, "good old days" (except possibly for the gas prices).

[petal*pusher]

Hmmm.....I'm 58 this year.....the list seems acurate to me! Ah, the memories I posess! It's great to recall the past with my students....things are changing so fast for even their short lives! They love my reminiscing.....or at least pretend to do so if they want a good grade!.....p

[arkess7]

WowDee Bee that was great!!! Its just so amazing how kids grow up so fast now a days!!! That just really touched me that you posted this.......because we went to visit my 95 year old great-grandmother......(my dad's grandma and my daughter's great-great grandma)!!!!!!!! It''s just so amazing!!!!!she not doing so great right now though but she is just as funny and "tell you like it is" to this day!!!!.......I can just imagine all the stuff she has seen!!!!!!!