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Some of these older participants were only twenty years older than I was, and I tended to identify more with the subjects than with my fellow students. Anyway, in an earlier post, I mentioned blackboards in school. Somebody commented about the progression to whiteboards, and now, to Powerpoint. So I was thinking about how things have changed since I was a kid, and how an interview between a young student and myself might go.
Student: So John, like, did they like have TV when you were a kid?
Me: Now just a minute, you little brat! I mean, of course we did. The picture was in black and white, and the box only had 12 working channels of which only half had programming on them that ended around midnight. But yup, we had TV when I was a kid! But, ah.. no remote, we had to get up to change the channel!
Student: :::gasp::: :::gulp::: So, ummm., like what kind of music did you listen to on your ipod?
Me: On my what? I did get a transister radio when I was in my teens! That was quite a revolution! It received an FM signal, and the music sounded really good. Well, maybe not that good, the bass wasn't very good, but it was protable music!
Student: What kind of video games did you have back then?
Me: Huh? We rode our bikes and played outside on nice days and watched Superman and Soupy Sales on TV when it rained.
Student: So how did you communicate with your friends before the Internet and cell phones?
Me: We used smoke signals.
Student: Ohhhhh... cool.....
I was one of the first residents of the town where I was living in the '80s to get a microwave oven. People laughed! What are you going to cook in that? Turns out it found its niche and most kitchens wouldn't be without one now, even if it's just for boiling water and heating leftovers.
When you think about it, most of us have managed to keep up with the useful technology of the times, and some have went beyond what I consider the point of reason. I don't need a huge TV (although I don't think Donna would mind) and I don't feel a pressing need for ipods or blackberries. But that could be because I haven't tried this stuff. Lets face it, I'm hip. I wear and earring!
