Change and progress

 Was getting ready to leave the house yesterday and I ask the wife, you taking your phone with you? She says, no. My response was, kinda old fashioned aren't you and a bit reckless. Going out with out a phone? I assured her I had mine though. Do you remember when you didn't carry your calculator, camera, telephone and "machine" with you? You are old if you know what the "machine" is. If I ask you, did you check your machine and you know exactly what I mean. Hey I once carried a beeper! My work required that and provided it. I remember when the only text I had sent to me was a periodical. Wonder if the kids today know what that is? I asked the grandkids where a stationary store was, thought there might be one in the mall, but they were confused about that. They figured all stores were stationary! LOL You know I had a hard time finding stationary for letter writing. I guess there isn't much of a demand for that anymore. There must be quite the demand for pens though, Walmart has a whole aisle filled with them. Makes me wonder, what are people writing? 

 Well it just made me think about all the stuff we used to do in the past, that was new at the time. Did you know that sliced bread wasn't "invented" as a thing until 1928. That was just the year before my Mother was born. Dad was born in 1924 and Mom would tease him about being older than sliced bread, that's why I know that bit of trivia. I remember when twist tops became a thing on soda bottles and when Tang was the drink of the astronauts. Orange juice from a frozen concentrate and the introduction of the microwave oven. Those ovens were going to replace that old fashioned stove/oven that took forever to cook anything and made the kitchen so hot. Dinner in twenty minutes! We just zap it! Buck Rogers used to Zap things too. I remember seeing those "touch" lamps. Just touch the base of the lamp and it turns on. Now, we just touch the screen without a thought. But back then, it was like magic.

 When was the last time you rode in a car that had the shifter on the steering column? Did it have vent windows? Where was the dimmer switch for the headlights? Did it have an ashtray and cigar lighter? I've owned cars that had ashtrays in the rear door panels and ashtrays in the back of the front seat. Owned cars without power steering or power windows. Air conditioning? I don't think so. But I always had an am/fm radio. Had a Pontiac once with a "tuning bar" on the radio. Just hold the bar down and the radio would tune itself to the next station, sorta, you did have to stop it by lifting your finger off the bar. Dad had a Cadilac that automatically dimmed the headlights for oncoming traffic, or stop signs, or any sign that reflected the light back at you. I don't know of any cars with that technology today. I've used a bumper jack multiple times. Heck I remember pushing one car with another car and neither car suffering any damage from that at all. Yes it was better if you had a piece of wood for the front bumper on your pick up truck for such situations, but if the bumpers lined up, you were good to go. 

 Yes I remember leaving home without taking my phone with me, the cord wasn't long enough. That's a joke I tell the grandkids. I remember when a dime got you a local phone call or a coke from the machine at the garage. That was were the majority of those soda machines would be found. And I remember going to New York City as a kid and seeing a bill changer. Put a dollar bill in there and out came change. Then we went to the Automat. It was an amazing thing to behold. If you looked through the opening after getting your purchase you could see the people working in the back. The last Horn & Hardart automat closed its' doors in 1991. I don't know for certain but I expect that evil clown Ronald McDonald was behind the whole deal. I'm old enough to remember when McDonalds wasn't a very popular place to go. When they were just not much more than a roadside stand selling greasy burgers and fries to motorists. Over one million sold! I remember when a million was a lot in burgers and dollars. Today, not so much. Lots of changes and more to come. Are we making progress? Of that, I'm just not so certain sometimes. I love the smell of fresh baked bread, the warmth of the kitchen and home cooked meals. Talking on the phone was once an exciting thing to do. Remember hearing, it's for you? Kinda made you feel special didn't it? Yeah it did.