Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Things My Kids Have Never Seen . . . Or, Wow! I'm REALLY Old!

Eight-Track Tapes and/or Eight-Track Players
I remember the intense envy I felt when a high schooler on the bus showed off her portable 8-track player to us lowly junior highers. I don't think my girls would be impressed.

45 Records
If my children ever set eye on a 45, they simply would presume it to be a freakishly large CD; they have seen LPs, because my husband has kept his, insisting that they are valuable, that they are "collectibles," that they are worth a small fortune . . . despite the fact that you can walk into any goodwill store and buy a long-ton case of LPs for approximately one quarter.

Rotary-Dial Phone
Not only did I grow up using these phones, I can remember party lines! Heck, my grandparents had one of those really old phones that hung on the wall with the "horn" that you spoke into as well as the horn receiver that you held up to your ear. Now that would impress my girls.

Black and White TV
I actually owned a small black-and-white set during my college days. I think I sold it during a garage sale a couple years after I was married. I wish now I had kept it.

Polaroid Camera
From what I understand they've discontinued manufacturing them altogether . . . sniff.

Reel-to-Reel Projector
My kids will never know the torture of sitting through Mrs. Jones' English class, watching one of those horrible clackety films about the life of Charles Dickens.

Photographic Slides and/or Slideshow
Oh, the agony of sitting on the floor shifting from side to side, pinching myself, trying not to fall asleep as our neighbor proudly showed us slides from his trip to Africa . . . not dissimilar to the agony my kids must feel when we force them to sit on the floor, face the HDTV, and look at Mommy and Daddy's digital pictures from their Hawaii trip.

Drive-In Movies
The last time I recall going was with my family when I was 13. Movies at the drive-in were cheaper than at the theaters and a lot more fun for us kids bouncing around in the back seat. I wonder if there are any drive-ins left anywhere in the U.S?



I thought of a couple more, but by the time I stepped out of the shower I had already forgotten what they were. Help a sister out . . . what things did you grow up with that your kids have never even heard of?

By the way, if at any time while reading this list you said to yourself, "Black and white TV? What is she talking about?" then leave this blog immediately. You're depressing me and making me feel like Grandma Kim. Get out of my failing eyesight, you . . . you . . . whippersnappers! Go tweet your friends or get a Brazilian wax or whatever it is you youngsters do for fun nowadays . . . 



Dinner last night: pizza

5 comments:

twinmamabee said...

Hey Kim! Wow, it is funny all these things you mentioned. I do remember them all. I have to tell you that we do have a drive in nearby us that is still going. Our friends just took their kids who watched the first movie and then snoozed through the second one allowing the parents to have 2 hours of blissful quiet time. They are priceless!

Helene said...

What a hilarious post!! I totally remember all that stuff!! God, that makes me feel SO old. The comment about the film projector had me in stitches!

Remember when all we had were VCR's (no DVD players) and you either had Beta or VHS? Or the Atari games? I used to play Frogger for hours! And Donkey Kong! Remember when roller skates had metal wheels instead of plastic ones (and no stopper!!)

Very funny post!

Kim said...

Twinmama, I'm glad to hear drive-in theaters still exist! That would be too sad if they'd gone extinct.

Helene, I'd completely forgotten about Beta vs VHS! That was a big deal in our tiny little town because the one video rental store was all Beta.

glitzen said...

Hi Kim, you crack me up! I don't remember all of these, but the 8 tracks I sure do. My folks had Johnny Cash Folsom Prison Blues and I knew every word. I remember my first drive in movie too.
Remember those pink rollers you had to sleep on? I hated those things. Pink foamie torture. We also had CB radios instead of cell phones.

Kim said...

CB radios! Of course! Those were so much fun. I remember my friend's handle was "Hot Pink Mama," which I thought was such a cool name (we were all of 12 years old!)