Thinking

[rgrugg]

When we're on the road as we are now, we mostly sit in companionable silence. (My wife sleeps a lot). I was thinking about all those people who are not old enough to have lived in an era of no tv, no cell phones, no video games, etc, and I sort of feel sorry for them. Obviously my wife & I are old enough to remember that time and are very appreciative of it. We also remember when you could take your water jug into a gas station and get ice cubes by the scoop to fill the jug without having to buy a bag.

[mary and bob]

When I was a kid we had TV, but it was black & white. It was a big deal when the pong video game came out. Now that we are used to all this technology, would we want to do without it. Now when we are looking for campgrounds one of the considerations is, does it have WiFi and cable TV!

[David Tilston]

When I was a kid, we belonged to a camping club called the Skeeder Feeders, (not sure on the spelling of Skeeder). We camped in a tent trailer that my father built and we did not have much in the way of toys, other then the Monopoly game for rainy days. I don't recall missing the TV.
Now when we travel, every kid has a portable console. But thankfully the only seem to use them while on the road.

[Ed Harris]

What makes you think that the old ways are any better than the new?
You feel sorry for them?!?

I guess it is a good thing that we each camp in our own style?
Just Thinking.

[rgrugg]

I'm not saying the old ways were better. I'm saying that perhaps having experienced the "old ways" makes us appreciate the modern more than we would if the modern is all we know.

[Francesca Knowles]

Hooray! Geezer talk!

Who will be the first to use the word "whippersnapper"?

Francesca

P.S.

Uphill both ways. In the snow. Barefoot.

[Dennis Clinton]

Uphill both ways, in the snow, barefoot, just to get to the bus stop!

But nothing better than taking the gallon jug down to A&W to get it filled(and you still can).

[rgrugg]

Not only is it uphill both ways, it's twice as far, and 50 pounds is way heavier than it used to be. On top of all that, it's fun to be a geezer. Except I kinda prefer "old fart."

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by rgrugg

When we're on the road as we are now, we mostly sit in companionable silence.

I find that interesting; Robert and I do that at home. Him in the bedroom on his laptop computer, me in the office on mine. It is about as far as we can get from one another and still be in the same house. We got a 40" flat TV last Christmas that hangs on the wall above the fireplace in the Living Room. We've turned it on less than a dozen times in the past year. I'm glad I didn't pay for it.

One of the things I look forward to on long trips that give us an excuse to hitch up the trailer, is that we actually will converse with each other in the car. We know there is nothing else to distract us on the road, and we don't have smart phones or Wifi in the car. The computers ride in the trailer.

[Francesca Knowles]

Sometimes I sets and thinks.

Sometimes I just sets.

Source: Some old geezer, somewhere.

Francesca

[Hazel in Sk]

I'm an old fart too - an invisible old woman over 60!

Actually I think I learned a lot from growing up in those 'olden day' times - things that my kids didn't seem to learn as well - and my grandkids barely learned at all.

My childhood home had no fridge, no tv, no carpet (or vacuum) and my parents never owned a car. We kids went camping with Scouts/Guides - in canvas tents that slept 8 (on waterproof ponchos on the bare ground). We dug our own latrines and figured out how to use them without falling in!!!

My adult kids and their kids just don't believe that we grew up without plastic bags, fast food outlets here, there and everywhere but with neighbours who disciplined any kid that offended regardless of whose kid it was.

We walked to school, the pool, the library, friends homes, church, any where within about three miles or so.

I enjoy my gadgets, my puter especially. Don't have a tv though, or a cell phone. Most places we camp don't have cell phone services anyway.

[glamourpets]

This whole discussion reminds me of the meditation retreat I attended a few years ago. To some extent, this experience was all about sensory deprivation. It was deprivation in a good way.

The world seemed so intense and overstimulating when the retreat ended and we returned to the real world.

Derek

[Weinel, Alan]

Interesting observations. re "old days" vs today... sometimes we see the past thru foggy lenses.... rember... If you got 15k from a set of tires you were doing good. AND when is the last time you had a flat tire? (When I overloaded the truck on a dump run a few years ago... my bad ) It is not necessarily Better or Worse, just different. Apples and Oranges. When we LIKE them, the technology is GREAT. When we get annoyed we dislike them.

Now, all that said, I agree that those dad-burned contraptions kids have today are the ruination of youngsters. Harumph!

[Jon Vermilye]

Well, if we are going to talk about the "Good Old Days" I have to post a photo of our family's first "Camper". This was from a 1950 trip across the country - more photos here.

[BAMA & Pachyderm Posse]

I like Fossil as a term for you old farts I guess I will get there some day ( almost 70 now ) I guess I'm a whippersnapper. SEE I DID IT Francesca

[Alf S.]

Hi: Jon Vermilye... You haven't changed a bit...but your pants got longer. I like that shot with your six shooter in hand. Must be on the lookout!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[brian m.]

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?sns=em&...Tyo%26sns%3Dem

I think the 4 wise old men from Monty Python said it best.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by BAMA & Pachyderm Posse

I like Fossil as a term for you old farts I guess I will get there some day ( almost 70 now ) I guess I'm a whippersnapper. SEE I DID IT Francesca

Hooray!

As a means of showing our appreciation, you may choose from an assortment of prizes:

1) Early Bird Special for Two at "Soft Foods R Us".
or
2) One (1) whole uninterrupted hour of explaining aches, pains, and "funny feelings" to the next person that crosses your path.
or
3) An entire afternoon telling a room full of forcibly-prevented-from-eye-rolling 16 year olds how lucky they are.

Let us know your selection...but Please Speak up.

Our hearing isn't what it once was!

Francesca

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Weinel, Alan

It is not necessarily Better or Worse, just different. Apples and Oranges. When we LIKE them, the technology is GREAT. When we get annoyed we dislike them.

I believe Alan is right, apples to oranges. And oh boy, rose-colored glasses really help! I love technology and feel my world has expanded exponentally. Knowledge abounds at my fingertips and at the speed of light (or as fast as I can type!) I no longer have to wait for someone to tell me the answer, I can quickly find answers myself, even for questions I didn't know I had. That's liberating and empowering. I believe technology and particularly the internet have leveled the playing field between the haves and the have-nots when it comes to education, knowledge and dreams. I think people get annoyed with technology... when they don't use it or understand it. The best part, is you can simply turn "it" off! I could go on and on, but don't want to bore y'all!

[Cyndi B.]

My parents use to take a milk jug to get beer at the Wilton Candy Kitchen.