WE ARE SURVIVORS! CONSIDER THE CHANGES WE HAVE WITNESSED We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees, and the PILL. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ball-point pens. Before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes . . . and before man walked on the moon. We got married first and then lived together. How quaint can you be? In our time, closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of." Bunnies were not Volkswagens. Designer Jeans were scheming girls named Jean, and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with our cousins. We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent, and Outer Space was back of the Riviera Theater. We were before house husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers, and commuter marriages. We were before day-care centers, group therapy, and nursing homes. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electronic typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt, and guys wearing earrings. For us, time-sharing meant togetherness . . . Not computers or condominiums. A chip meant a piece of wood. Hardware meant hardware, and software wasn't even a word. Back then "Made in Japan" meant junk, and the term "making out" referred to how you did on your exam. Pizzas. McDonalds, and instant coffees were unheard of. We hit the scene where there were 5 & 10 cent stores, where you bought things for five and ten cents. Sanders and Wilson's sold ice cream cones for a nickel or a dime. For one nickel you could ride a street car, make a phone call, buy a Soda or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy coupe for $600 . . . But who could afford one? A pity, too, because gas was 11 cents a gallon! In our day, grass was mowed, coke was a cold drink, and pot was something you cooked in. Rock Music was a Grandma's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal's office. We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were surely before the sex change. We made do with what we had. And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder we are confused, and there is such a generation gap! (Author unknown)