What is something from your youth

[oggbashan]

When my grandfather was born, man had yet to fly.

By the time he died, we put a man on the moon.

One small step...,

Same for me, with one difference - When my FATHER was born...

My eldest aunt born in the 1890s, my father's oldest sister, lost two fiancées during the First World War. One was an infantry officer on the Western Front; the other was a Royal Flying Corps fighter pilot. The pilot died after three weeks war service; the infantry officer had lasted a whole seven weeks. My aunt never married. As she put it:

"I lost two good ones. After the war the ones that were left were either damaged or had never been good marriage prospects."

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

That reminds me...



All of the Pollack jokes are now 'blonde' jokes.

 

[KingOrfeo]

That was always iffy with me. A lot of folks just can't write by hand very well. I am one of them. No matter how hard I try I just have sloppy handwriting. I got bad grades for it and even as a kid felt it wasn't fair.

Me too, and I got some ribbing about it from the teachers, but penmanship was never graded. I did once take a remedial penmanship course but it didn't help much.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Same for me, with one difference - When my FATHER was born...

My eldest aunt born in the 1890s, my father's oldest sister, lost two fiancées during the First World War. One was an infantry officer on the Western Front; the other was a Royal Flying Corps fighter pilot. The pilot died after three weeks war service; the infantry officer had lasted a whole seven weeks. My aunt never married. As she put it:

"I lost two good ones. After the war the ones that were left were either damaged or had never been good marriage prospects."

That is perfectly logical for a completely illogical world event.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Same for me, with one difference - When my FATHER was born...

My eldest aunt born in the 1890s, my father's oldest sister, lost two fiancées during the First World War. One was an infantry officer on the Western Front; the other was a Royal Flying Corps fighter pilot. The pilot died after three weeks war service; the infantry officer had lasted a whole seven weeks. My aunt never married. As she put it:

"I lost two good ones. After the war the ones that were left were either damaged or had never been good marriage prospects."

I understand the British middle and gentry classes -- the classes that mostly provided the military officers -- were decimated by WWI, at least of males. The "Lost Generation" was a common theme of 1920s Britlit.

 

[oggbashan]

I think what most younger people would find unbelievable is that at school we expected at least one of our classmates to die every year. They died from diseases or accidents that would not be fatal today.

A child died. No pupil required or expected counselling or support. It might be a simple announcement at a school assembly, almost routine among the other announcements about school events.

We just accepted it. It happened. We were used to death. An earlier generation who had clearer memories of the 1940 Blitz on London knew that death was a possibility for anyone they knew - whether they were in the armed forces or civilians or even children.

 

[oggbashan]

I understand the British middle and gentry classes -- the classes that mostly provided the military officers -- were decimated by WWI, at least of males. The "Lost Generation" was a common theme of 1920s Britlit.

Noblesse Oblige - meant that those who led privileged lives in peacetime were expected to lead their men in wartime. The majority of them led from the front - Follow Me! - and were the first to die. There was no question of trying to avoid military service or seeking a safe post way behind the lines.

By 1915 middle-class ex-grammar school boys were being given Army Commissions. They too led infantrymen over the top into machine gun fire - and died for their leadership. Almost every secondary school in the UK had a long list of deceased former pupils of whatever rank.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I think what most younger people would find unbelievable is that at school we expected at least one of our classmates to die every year. They died from diseases or accidents that would not be fatal today.

A child died. No pupil required or expected counselling or support. It might be a simple announcement at a school assembly, almost routine among the other announcements about school events.

We just accepted it. It happened. We were used to death. An earlier generation who had clearer memories of the 1940 Blitz on London knew that death was a possibility for anyone they knew - whether they were in the armed forces or civilians or even children.

Interesting

We did not worry about that, but one of my earliest memories was of the JFK assassination.

We worried about Soviet nuclear attacks and learned how to bunker under our desks.

 

[oggbashan]

Interesting

We did not worry about that, but one of my earliest memories was of the JFK assassination.

We worried about Soviet nuclear attacks and learned how to bunker under our desks.

I was at work in a UK Defence Establisment during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was the most junior officer in my department - an officer, but too green to be much use to anyone.

The 'War Book' was consulted for who did what when war started. There was a role for the most junior officer - me.

I was to climb the tallest tower on the base and use the plotting table to mark where the nuclear bombs fell, using a protractor and distance tables to calculate the height of the mushroom cloud and therefore the number of megatons.

As green as I was, I knew my task was pointless. The first bomb in the area would be aimed at my head.

But there was another task I had to perform. When the shit really hit the fan I was to talk continuously on an open telephone line to my superiors in their hardened shelter deep underground. When I stopped talking they would assume that the nuclear bombs had hit.

I had a copy of the Bible, a complete Shakespeare, and to keep me amused while waiting for shit to happen, an unofficial briefcase full of 1950s glamour magazines acquired by a previous 'most junior' officer in case he had been stuck on that tower for days on end...

 

[Saint Peter]

What is something from your youth that your children , or grandkids will never understand or appreciate?

My dignity.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

We sat around the radio and listened to The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Amos & Andy, and other good shows.
Our first TV had a very small round screen.
Pantyhose had a seam up the back.
Cars had white wall tires, mud flaps, and running boards.
Burgers were really 15 cents and Coke a nickle.
We drank from the garden hose and shot real Roy Rogers cap guns at the neighbor kids.
We took switchblade knives to school to carve sticks and had metal lunch boxes.

 

[rocket_surgery]

I bought a full size stand up arcade game last year. One of those 60 in 1 sets that has PacMan, Donkey Kong, Galaga, etc. Figured I'd be the only to play it but the kids took it over and still play it today.
They did ask how kids could afford to play it all day like they do nowadays with the xbox and such. I told them you just had to get really good at it so you could spend all day on a few quarters.

 

[KingOrfeo]

I think what most younger people would find unbelievable is that at school we expected at least one of our classmates to die every year. They died from diseases or accidents that would not be fatal today.

A child died. No pupil required or expected counselling or support. It might be a simple announcement at a school assembly, almost routine among the other announcements about school events.

We just accepted it. It happened. We were used to death. An earlier generation who had clearer memories of the 1940 Blitz on London knew that death was a possibility for anyone they knew - whether they were in the armed forces or civilians or even children.

HEADMASTER IN MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE: Oh, and Jenkins, apparently your mother died this morning.

 

[rocket_surgery]

We sat around the radio and listened to The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Amos & Andy, and other good shows.
Our first TV had a very small round screen.
Pantyhose had a seam up the back.
Cars had white wall tires, mud flaps, and running boards.
Burgers were really 15 cents and Coke a nickle.
We drank from the garden hose and shot real Roy Rogers cap guns at the neighbor kids.
We took switchblade knives to school to carve sticks and had metal lunch boxes.

BB gun fights and leaving the house and only being told to be back before dark or maybe a little after.
Parents just didn't care back then.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

HEADMASTER IN MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE: Oh, and Jenkins, apparently your mother died this morning.

What is the meaning of life?

 

[Not Normal]

I remember a lot of things mentioned. The thing about vinyl and record players, is that, vinyl sales have increased for the last 6 years, but DC and paid downloads have decreased...

I'll add having a long distance relationship meant writing and receiving letters AND having a very expensive long distance phone bill.

 

[KingOrfeo]

Pong. The first coin-operated video game, as far as I know. When's the last time you saw a Pong machine?

 

[rocket_surgery]

What is the meaning of life?

A very funny movie. It's no Holy Grail but it's really good.

 

[rocket_surgery]

Pong. The first coin-operated video game, as far as I know. When's the last time you saw a Pong machine?

We owned one when I was a kid. Pre-Atari 2600. Probably cost my dad a hundred bucks which was a fortune back then.

 

[KingOrfeo]

What is the meaning of life?

"Master, what is the meaning of life?"

"Life is like a fountain."

"Master, how is life like a fountain?"

"OK, so life isn't like a fountain."

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

BB gun fights and leaving the house and only being told to be back before dark or maybe a little after.
Parents just didn't care back then.

Remember the plastic Dairy Queen spoons with the curly cone on top?
We'd take turns holding one up while someone else shot it with the Daisy BB gun.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

A very funny movie. It's no Holy Grail but it's really good.

The best part was when the fat man barfed.

But I want to know what's the meaning of life?

 

[rocket_surgery]

Remember the plastic Dairy Queen spoons with the curly cone on top?
We'd take turns holding one up while someone else shot it with the Daisy BB gun.

We were doing something similar when I shot the neighbor kid in the head. I thought I was gonna be in trouble until I got married and had my own kids but just got the bb gun taken from me for the rest of the day and a lecture on what not to shoot at.
Pretty lame lecture, too. Could tell they weren't really into it.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I was at work in a UK Defence Establisment during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was the most junior officer in my department - an officer, but too green to be much use to anyone.

The 'War Book' was consulted for who did what when war started. There was a role for the most junior officer - me.

I was to climb the tallest tower on the base and use the plotting table to mark where the nuclear bombs fell, using a protractor and distance tables to calculate the height of the mushroom cloud and therefore the number of megatons.

As green as I was, I knew my task was pointless. The first bomb in the area would be aimed at my head.

But there was another task I had to perform. When the shit really hit the fan I was to talk continuously on an open telephone line to my superiors in their hardened shelter deep underground. When I stopped talking they would assume that the nuclear bombs had hit.

I had a copy of the Bible, a complete Shakespeare, and to keep me amused while waiting for shit to happen, an unofficial briefcase full of 1950s glamour magazines acquired by a previous 'most junior' officer in case he had been stuck on that tower for days on end...

Okay, as a KANSAN, that reminds me of when the Marines sent me out to spot tornadoes during a hurricane.

 

[rocket_surgery]

The best part was when the fat man barfed.

But I want to know what's the meaning of life?

The meaning of life is a wafer thin mint. It's wafer thin.