Time

  I'm struck by the fact that I'm expecting the fourth generation in my lifetime. What I mean by that is a great grandchild. Now I knew my own great grandfather quite well so you could say I will know seven generations, just that three were born before me. That's quite a span of time. Great Grandfather Floyd was born in 1878. That's one hundred and forty six years ago. Today are my sons' birthdays. Yes, they are twins and are forty nine today. It is also the shortest day of the year, they get robbed every year. I remind them it is only the daylight that is shortest, the day itself is the same length as all the others. Knowing they are forty nine gives me pause, almost a half century! I began thinking about that when I realized if I had purchased a 2000 model year car, I can register it as classic next year. At least in Maryland you can, not sure what other states have to say about that.

  A lot sure has happened since 1878 when my great grandfather was born. But one thing hasn't changed, the Constitution of the United States of America. Yes, there have been amendments, but they aren't changes. The 19th amendment in 1920 gave women the right to vote. Then in 1933 the 21st amendment repealed the 18th allowing the sale of alcohol once again. The first commercial telephone exchange began in 1878. Did you know there was a Salem Witchcraft Trial in 1878. Well, there was. Ultimately the judge dismissed the case. My great grandfather operated a horse drawn taxi service. He also rented his horses out to the town for hauling logs or dragging the streets. Yes, the streets weren't paved back then and required leveling out every now and again. 

 Yes a lot has happened over that time. A lot has happened in the seventy one years I've been around. I'm hoping to be around to tell my great granddaughter all about it. Today we know the gender of the child and have reveal parties. Still, congress and the scientists can't seem to agree on exactly what gender is, confusing that with identity. I'll tell my great granddaughter how we used to tell about pregnancy when the rabbit died. The gender was determined by various methods involving wedding rings or by how high or low the baby was being carried. I'm certain she will get a laugh out of that, just as I laugh about the whole gender argument. 

  Another year is coming to an end. Soon it will be twenty five years after the turn of the century. My great granddaughter will marvel about that. Her grandparents were born in the last century. It wasn't anything I was aware of when I was growing up though. Never thought about my grandparents being born in another century, just that they were old. They were around before electric lights, indoor plumbing and television. Now that was old. I was born in 1953 and we didn't have home computers. I'm thinking that will be the most amazing thing to my great grandchildren. The official "birthday" of the internet is 1983. Personal computers became available around 1977. Everything else I can think of has just been an improvement on what we already had. Well, that's debatable I suppose, it being an improvement that is. Sometimes I wonder .

  You know it's a funny thing. I often sit and think about the good old days. Those were the days of my childhood and young adulthood, for the most part. I think that is the way it is for most of us anyway. The days that were relatively carefree and life seemed simple. Then we "grew up" and things got complicated. Relationships and money! Those are the two driving forces in our lives. We do our best to navigate all of that but often take a wrong turn. My parents would talk about the good old days. It was their childhood they were talking about. Even though they had to walk uphill, in the snow, barefoot to get to school, the times were much better. My grandmother told me the same. Memories are always better than the present. That is, if you allow them to be. Memories are like a fine wine, they have to age. They can be sweet or sour depending upon how they are treated. Each year is a vintage. What's your best year? 

                                                                            

                                            The past always looks better than it was. It is 

                                            only pleasant because it isn't here. (Finley Peter Dunne)