(For those born before 1940..)
We were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Zeerox, plastic, contact lenses, videos, frisbees and the pill. We are before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ball point pens: before dishwashers, tumble driers, 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?) We thought ‘fast food’ was what you ate in Lent; a ‘Big Mac” was an oversized raincoat and “crumpet’ we had for tea. We existed before house husbands, computer dating, dual careers and when ‘meaningful relationships” meant getting along with cousins and “ sheltered accommodation ’was where you waited for a bus.
We were before day-care centres, group homes and disposable nappies. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yoghurt and young men wearing earrings. For us ‘time sharing’ meant togetherness, a ‘chip’ was a piece of wood or fried potato. ‘Hardware’ meant nuts and bolts and ‘software” wasn’t a word.
Before 1940 ‘made in Japan’ meant junk, the term ‘making out’ referred to how you did your exams: ‘stud’ was something that fastened a collar to a shirt, and “going all the way” meant staying on a double-decker bus to the terminus. Pizzas, Mc Donalds and instant coffee were unheard of. In our days, cigarette smoking was ‘fashionable, ‘grass’ was mown, ‘coke’ was kept in the coal house; a ‘joint’ was a piece of meat you had on a Sunday, and ‘pot’ was something you cooked in. ‘Rock music’ was a grand mother’s lullaby and ‘Eldorado” was an ice cream.
We who were born before 1940 must be a hardy bunch when you think of the ways in which the world has changed and the adjustments we had to make. No wonder we are confused and there is a generation gap to day…. BUT by the grace of God we have survived! Alleluia!!
Caroline Kelly shared this piece with us on our trip to Strokestown Park.