Do you feel OLD yet?

D

Dennis Olson

New member
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things.

Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of that year's incoming freshmen. Here is this year's list:

The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1980.

They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did not know he had ever been shot.

They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.

Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.

There has been only one Pope.

They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.

They have never feared a nuclear war.

They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Tienanmen Square means nothing to them.

Their lifetime has always included AIDS.

Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.

Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.

The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.

They have never owned a record player.

They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.

They may have never heard of an 8-track.

The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.

As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents.

They have always had an answering machine.

Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black-and-white TV.

They have always had cable.

There has always been VCR's, but they have no idea what BETA is.

They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony.

Roller-skating has always meant inline for them.

Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

They have never seen Larry Bird play.

They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII and the Civil War.

They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.

They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", or "de plane, de plane!"

They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.

The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew where it was.

Michael Jackson has always been white.

Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not groups.

McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.

There has always been MTV.

They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

----------------------------------------

All funnies aside, THESE are the people with whom the future of our RKBA rests. How much (and what kind) gun knowledge and information do THESE PEOPLE have?

Got Alka-Seltzer?


[This message has been edited by Dennis Olson (edited March 06, 2000).]
 
Good stuff! I have to tell you about two experiences I had. The first: yep came from MTV. A friend asked “who is this George Harrison guy”. The second from my own son. He asked “why do they say (don’t change that dial) on TV”.
 
Dennis Olson:
I was born the same year FDR was elected President. But there is a plus side to being
older (tongue placed firmly in cheek). ;)

SOME GOOD THINGS ABOUT GETTING OLDER

* Finally you can eat dinner at 4:00

* Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

* Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

* It's harder and harder for sexual harassment charges to stick.

* If you've never smoked, you can start now and it won't have time to hurt you.

* People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

*Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

*Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.

* Your eyes won't get much worse.

* Adult diapers are actually kind of convenient.

* Things you buy now won't wear out.

* No one expects you to run into a burning building.

* There's nothing left to learn the hard way.

* Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.

* In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.


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"Lead, follow or get the HELL out of the way."
 
Dennis, you can add the slide rule to your list. I teach part time at a community college, and I brought one to my computer class to show students how we used to do formulas and equations. Two times two is always about four. Needless to say only one or two had ever seen one, let alone used one! I guess DorGunR is an old fart, then--another good list! Gotta have fun with it, because getting old sucks, and I refuse to get old! sundog

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safety first
 
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between mature wisdom and tired blood...

Given the memory and history capabilities of the average 18-year old, I guess they think Clinton has ALWAYS been President. For the rest of us, it just SEEMS that way.

:), Art

[This message has been edited by Art Eatman (edited March 06, 2000).]
 
Tried and true test for if you are old:

"Do high school girls call you sir?"

Or worse- "Do they not even notice you at all?"

This happens somewhere in the mid to late twenties for most...

I heard this on a movie a couple of years back. Oh, so true.
 
Quote:
"I guess DorGunR is an old fart"

Yeah sundog, I'm an old fart, but being an old fart I can have a "second childhood" and this time around my toys are:

A LOT more expensive
and make a LOT more noise. :D

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"Lead, follow or get the HELL out of the way."
 
Three " Old TFL'rs" are commiserating on the problems of aging:

50 yr old member: "It's hell gettin' old. Can't take a good whizz anymore. Gotta pee so bad, but it's only a dribble..."

60 yr old senior member: "That's nothing. I just can't have a healthy movement. I'm either constipated or loose as a goose..."

70 yr old Administrator: " Oh you young whippersnappers. Every morning about 7:00, I take a good whizz. Then, about 8:00, a good healthy dump. (Sigh)...I just wish I could wake up before 10.
 
Thanks Dave, for reminding me (us) what to look out for... ;)

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...defend the 2nd., it protects us all.
No fate but what we make...
 
Do I feel old? Well, I thought I might be getting along in years. But after reading this thread I can feel myself getting more ancient and decrepit by the minute! :eek:
 
http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/releases/mindsetlist.html

COLLEGE RELEASES THE CLASS OF 2003 MINDSET LIST

Beloit, Wis.—Each generation has its particular set of cultural icons and touchstones that are critical to its identity. Today, however, the gap in understanding between generations
increases dramatically as television, films, vocabulary, and technology adjust the way we perceive and express ideas at an increasingly rapid rate.

Beloit College has once again assembled a list of ways in which entering first-year students differ in their frame of reference, not only from their teachers and advisors, but from those
just a few years older than themselves.

This year's first-year students, members of the Class of 2003, were mostly born in 1981, the year that USA Today hit the newsstand and CNN provided us with a revolution in the way
we look at the world's events. They have had Sony Walkmen, PCs, NutraSweet, and AIDS around them all their lives.

"This is not meant to be serious research," notes Beloit College institutional researcher Richard Miller. "The list is collected from suggestions, contributions from faculty and staff,
student contributions and questions, and reading old newspapers."

Public Affairs director Ron Nief, who, along with Mr. Miller, assembled the document, notes that reaction to the list in the past has been split between the 19- to 20-year-olds, and their
parents and mentors. "The older crowd thinks it fascinating that people don't know what is part of their cultural understanding. First-year students have occasionally expressed surprise
and annoyance at some of the suggestions in the list ... the availability of cable television and their access to the Internet make more information available to them."

This year's list contains 43 items—the same number as last year. In addition, this year's list includes a collection of things only kids growing up in the '80s know. "The '80s list was sent
to us numerous times in recent months, occasionally by those who were unhappy with last year's mindset list, so we decided to include it so that neither side got too cocky," Nief said.

The following "Mindset of First-Year Students in the Class of 2003" list has been shared with faculty and staff at the 153-year-old liberal arts college as they prepare to welcome the new
class.

1. Most of this year's students entering college were born in 1981.
2. They are the first generation to be born into Luvs, Huggies, and Pampers.
3. John Lennon and John Belushi have always been dead.
4. There has always been a woman on the Supreme Court, and women have always been traveling into space.
5. They have never needed a prescription to buy ibuprofen.
6. They never realized that for one brief moment, Gen. Alexander Haig was "in charge."
7. They never heard Walter Cronkite suggest that "That's the way it is."
8. They were born and grew up with Microsoft, IBM PCs, in-line skates, NutraSweet, fax machines, film on disks, and unregulated quantities of commercial interruptions on television.
9. Somebody named Dole has always been running for something.
10. Cats has been on Broadway all their lives.
11. While they all know her children, they have no idea who "Ma Bell" was.
12. They never heard anyone say, "Book ‘em, Dano," "Good night, John-boy," or "Kiss my grits," in prime time.
13. They never knew Madonna when she was like a virgin.
14. Mike Myers is the "Spy Who Shagged Me," not the first congressman expelled from that body in a century for his role in "Abscam."
15. They have never had to worry about the packaging of Tylenol.
16. Yugoslavia has never existed.
17. They have never seen Bob Marley perform reggae live.
18. Jesse Jackson has always been getting someone out of trouble someplace.
19. Strikes by highly paid athletes have been a routine part of professional athletics.
20. The moonwalk is a Michael Jackson dance step, not a Neil Armstrong giant step.
21. John Cougar has always been John Cougar Mellencamp, or vice versa.
22. Travel to space has always been accomplished in reusable spacecraft.
23. The term "adult" has increasingly come to mean "dirty."
24. The year they were born, reports condemned violence on television and in Hollywood films for producing the likes of John Hinckley.
25. They have always been able to get their news from USA Today and CNN.
26. They have spent more than half their lives with Bart Simpson.
27. They don't understand why Solidarity is spelled with a capital "S."
28. They don't think there is anything terribly futuristic about 2001, and were never concerned about the year 1984.
29. They have no idea how big a breadbox is.
30. Camelot refers to King Arthur's seat of government, not John Kennedy's.
31. President Kennedy's assassination is as significant to them as that of Lincoln or Garfield.
32. They have probably never dialed a phone or opened an icebox.
33. The only thing a "churchkey" has ever opened for them is a church.
34. They have never seen white smoke over the Vatican and do not know its significance.
35. They cannot identify the last United States President to throw-up on a Japanese prime minister.
36. Ketchup has always been a vegetable.
37. Susan B. Anthony has always been on the dollar but probably never bought them anything.
38. They cannot imagine waiting a generation to get the dirt on the U.S. President.
39. They felt pretty special when their elementary school had top-of-the-line Commodore 64s.
40. ET, Gremlins, and The Hulk provided their Halloween costumes and lunch box themes.
41. They were introduced to Kramer on the TV show Friday's.
42. They remember when Saturday Night Live was still funny.
43. They have never seen a BankAmericard.

In all fairness to this latest generation of entering college students, we this year add a list of items that only a child of the '80s can explain...don't ask us!

1. They owned and operated a "trapper keeper."
2. They can explain the "cha-ching" thing.
3. They know what a "burnout" is.
4. They know what "psych" means.
5. During time in the arcade, they actually lined up quarters on the top panel of the game to "reserve" a spot.
6. They know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off."
7. They know that another name for a keyboard is a "synthesizer."
8. They can name at least half of the members of the elite "Brat Pack."
9. They know who Tina Yothers is.
10. They felt ashamed when Rob Lowe got in trouble for sex with minors and videotaped it, because they liked him.
11. They know who Max Headroom is.
12. They could breakdance, or wished they could.
13. Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SOOO far away.
14. They thought that "transformers" were more than meets the eye.
15. They can, right now, hum the theme to "Inspector Gadget."
16. They wanted to be on "Star Search."
17. They can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off.
18. They wore banana clips at some point during their youth, or knew someone who did.
19. They owned a doll with "Xavier Roberts" signed on its rear, or knew someone who did.
20. They knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."
21. They HAD to have their MTV.
22. They hold a special place in their hearts for Back to the Future.
23. They thought Molly Ringwald was REALLY cool.
24. They actually thought "Dirty Dancing" was a REALLY good movie.
25. They collected Garbage Pail Kids.
26. They actually saw Ted Danson as the MacDaddy he played "Sam" to be.
27. They remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
28. They own(ed) cassette singles.
29. They were led to believe that, in the year 2000, we'd all be living on the moon.
30. They owned pieces of the Care Bear Glass collection from Pizza Hut.
31. Poltergeist freaked them out.
32. They have occasionally pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
33. They know what a Doozer is.
34. They wore bike shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish, or knew someone who did..
35. They had Swatch Watches
36. They had WonderWoman or Superman underoos.
37. They know what a "Whammee" is.
 
I can remember when a surf board under 7 feet was very radical on the East coast. A very nice Corvette was around 6 grand and you and your Dad could go to the hardware store an get a Browning made in Belgiun A-5 for 130 bucks.
I don't feel old, I just feel that the younger generation isn't keeping up.
Hank
 
*OUCH*! This thread doesn't make me feel old... just depressed.

The year I was born, Harry Truman was still the Chief Executive.

The cars I rode in at a young age had a front bench seat and metal dashboard. Seat belts were unknown... let alone mandated.

When the skateboard craze started, I built my own. A narrow piece of scrap wood to which I nailed the separated halves of a metal shoe skate. No head, elbow or knee protection. I fell many times and was often scraped and bruised. I learned how to "roll."

My trusty one speed Schwinn and I would barrel hell bent for leather down dirt fire trails. "Mountain bikes" were unheard of and I still have my Schwinn.

Why does this depress me?

Ever diminishing freedom. Of choice. Of act. Of responsibility.

My son and daughter never had the opportunity to experience any of the above.

Our 15 month old granddaughter will have even less opportunity.

Damn. I'm only 48. Now I feel like 148.

Thanks, Dennis. :)

Cliff
 
You guys are being pretty harsh on us young folk. Give us a break! Just because we grew up knowing exactly what Willis was "talkin' 'bout" and never owned an LP doesn't mean we're any worse off than previous generations. You guys were young, too! :)

To suggest the younger generation is not keeping up is ridiculous! It's all relative!

-- Bezdelnik (born, Carter administration)
 
Look at the bright side: you might be old and tired of fighting, but you have great news tools for taking back your rights (the net) AND you got reinforcements coming all the way from Russia (yours truly). Every thought that escapees from the commieland would be on your side?

Then again: you can feel old when "Commieland" means California rather than USSR...
 
While you can still see the keyboard and the
sights,theres nothing to worry about.
At any rate,none of us is old enough yet to
be consiered a suitable age for appointment
to China's ruling elite.
Maybe some of us might get a job as junior
tea-boy there--but would need to learn much
and get many more years of experienc to go
further.
 
My Mom asks, "How many of these sixty year old kids remember, "The War to End All Wars"?
:D :D

Likewise, one beautiful young woman in my CPR class was smart, brilliant, and was born after I retired from the military. (She carries a Kahr!) ;)

Don't worry, Loafer, we know to whom we throw the torch.... :)

Davaj, vmeste!


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Either you believe in the Second Amendment or you don't.
Stick it to 'em! RKBA!
 
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