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How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 1:59 pm
by Romulus111VADT
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 were no credit cards, laser beams or ballpoint pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man had yet to walk on the moon.

Your Grandfather and I got married first and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, "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, day-care centers, and group therapy. The Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense governed our lives

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. 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 one letter and two 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.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap.

And how old do you think grandma is?

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time. This is something to think about. How time has changed...







Grandma is 59
(born 1946)
How could so much go wrong in such a short time?

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:16 pm
by SilverFox441
The first television broadcasts were in the 1920's, with the first major broadcast occuring during the Berlin Olympics...in the 1930's.

Penicillin was used to treat the wounded on the Normandy beaches, maybe even saving great-Grandad's life. :)

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:23 pm
by Fozzer
When I think back to my life in the 1930's and 1940's its like being in a different world altogether...!
***************************************
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
***************************************
...unless there was a handsome, smooth-talking American Soldier nearby... ;)....!
...(The Baby Boom)... ;)...!

Everything is totally different today...for the best... ::)...?

Paul....1934.

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:36 pm
by Romulus111VADT
LMAO....Never said the old ladies memory was good (BTW, I say this being almost as old and having a lousy memory at times myself ).... ;D

It's quite obvious that I didn't check on the supposed facts that I didn't know..... ;D....oh well..... :P

;D

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:27 pm
by beaky
...unless there was a handsome, smooth-talking American Soldier nearby... ;)....!
...(The Baby Boom)... ;)...!

What was that saying: "Overpaid, oversexed- and Over Here"?
:D

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:33 pm
by Hagar
What was that saying: "Overpaid, oversexed- and Over Here"?
:D

That's about it. :D
I don't think the morals were any different from now, especially during the war. They lived for the moment & why not? They could be killed at any moment & many were.

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 3:51 pm
by Fozzer
That's about it. :D
I don't think the morals were any different from now, especially during the war. They lived for the moment & why not? They could be killed at any moment & many were.


I know of many wives who were entertained* by the American troops, Italian prisoner's of war, Polish airmen, etc, etc, while poor-old Hubby was emptying the water out of his boots in the trenches of Normandy... ::)....!
LOL...!

Cheers all...!

Paul.

* in the nicest possible way... ;)... ;)... ;D...!

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 6:48 pm
by Woodlouse2002
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt


Yogurt I believe was discovered by arabs sometime BC. Looks like granny is getting very old indeed. ;D

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 7:06 pm
by Smoke2much
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.


Penicillin:
The antibacterial effect of penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929. He noted that a fungal colony had grown as a contaminant on an agar plate streaked with the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and that the bacterial colonies around the fungus were transparent, because their cells were lysing. Fleming had devoted much of his career to finding methods for treating wound infections, and immediately recognised the importance of a fungal metabolite that might be used to control bacteria. The substance was named penicillin, because the fungal contaminant was identified as Penicillium notatum. Fleming found that it was effective against many Gram positive bacteria in laboratory conditions, and he even used locally applied, crude preparations of this substance, from culture filtrates, to control eye infections. However, he could not purify this compound because of its instability, and it was not until the period of the Second World War (1939-1945) that two other British scientists, Florey and Chain, working in the USA, managed to produce the antibiotic on an industrial scale for widespread use. All three scientists shared the Nobel Prize for this work, and rightly so - penicillin rapidly became the "wonder drug" which saved literally millions of lives. It is still a "front line" antibiotic, in common use for some bacterial infections although the development of penicillin-resistance in several pathogenic bacteria now limits its effectiveness.


TV:
John Logie Baird was born on August 13th, 1888, in Helensburgh, Dunbarton, Scotland and died on June 14th, 1946, in  Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, England. John Logie Baird received a diploma course in electrical engineering at the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College (now called Strathclyde University), and studied towards his Bachelor of Science Degree in electrical engineering from the University of Glasgow, interrupted by the outbreak of  W.W.I.

John Logie Baird is remembered as being an inventor of a mechanical television system. In the 1920's, John Logie Baird and American Clarence W. Hansell patented the idea of using arrays of transparent rods to transmit images for television and facsimiles respectively. Baird's 30 line images were the first demonstrations of  television by reflected light rather than back-lit silhouettes. John Logie Baird based his technology on Paul Nipkow's scanning disc idea and later developments in electronics.

The television pioneer created the first televised pictures of objects in motion (1924), the first televised human face (1925) and a year later he televised the first moving object image at the Royal Institution in London. His 1928 trans-atlantic transmission of the image of a human face was a broadcasting milestone. Color television (1928), stereoscopic television and television by infra-red light were all demonstrated by Baird before 1930. He successfully lobbied for broadcast time with the British Broadcasting Company, the BBC started broadcasting television on the Baird 30-line system in 1929. The first simultaneous sound and vision telecast was broadcast in 1930. In July 1930, the first British Television Play was transmitted, "The Man with the Flower in his Mouth."



There were no credit cards, laser beams or ballpoint pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man had yet to walk on the moon.


Pens:
[quote]The first great success for the ballpoint pen came on an October morning in 1945 when a crowd of over 5,000 people jammed the entrance of New York

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 7:15 pm
by Hagar
I clearly remember someone giving me a new-fangled plastic ballpoint pen on my 10th birthday. That would have been in 1953 if that's any help.

PS. Prior to that they were too expensive for us plebs.
In Britain the pen appeared in that year (1945)for the Christmas market from Miles-Martin Pen Company.

Miles in Miles-Martin was George Miles the well-known aircraft designer. Not a lot of people know that. 8)

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2005 8:56 pm
by Romulus111VADT
Well possibly what the old girl was saying about all of these things may be just that she didn't have them. Not everybody can afford every luxury that comes down the pike.

;D

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:48 am
by Hagar
Well possibly what the old girl was saying about all of these things may be just that she didn't have them. Not everybody can afford every luxury that comes down the pike.

;D

Maybe her memory is failing & she has her rose-coloured specs on. Us old fogeys are prone to these complaints. It gets worse as you get older.

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:15 am
by Romulus111VADT
Maybe her memory is failing & she has her rose-coloured specs on. Us old fogeys are prone to these complaints. It gets worse as you get older.


LMAO, Yep, I'm all to aware of the ills of old age as I suffer from many myself.... ;D

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:37 am
by Fozzer
Did Grandma remember that "Sex" involved some sort of vague fiddlin' around in a farmers field away from prying eyes... ::).... ;)..... ;D.....!
LOL...!

Paul....the days of confusion...?

Re: How old is Grandma?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:42 am
by Hagar
Did Grandma remember that "Sex" involved some sort of vague fiddlin' around in a farmers field away from prying eyes... ::).... ;)..... ;D.....!
LOL...!

Paul....the days of confusion...?

It was good fun finding out though Paul. ;)

Doug... still confused & enjoying it* ??? ::) :D

*PS. The confusion. I know what you were thinking. Filthy lot. >:( ;)