May. 11, 2007 - 09:27 MDT

PROFILES

Who is a Senior Citizen ? What is one ? ? ? ?

A Senior Citizen is one who was here before the pill and the population explosion. We were here before television, penicillin, polio shots, antibiotics and frisbees (the lid off of a coffee can was the forerunner of frisbees). Before frozen food, nylon, dacron, lycra, Xerox, Kinsey, radar, flourescent lights, credit cards and ball point pens. For us time-sharing meant togetherness with family and not computers or living in some weird place for a bit; a chip meant a piece of wood, hardware meant tools and stuff bought at a hardware store or just plain old sweaty hard wear and softwear wasn't even a word. We were before pantyhose, and drip-dry clothes, before ice makers and dishwashers, clothes dryers, freezers, and electric blankets. Before Hawaii and Alaska became states. Before men wore long hair and earrings and women wore tuxedos.

We were before Leonard Bernstein, yogurt, Ann Landers, plastic, the 40-hour-workweek and the minimum wage. We got married first and then lived together. How quaint could folks be ? ? ?

Closets were for clothes, not for coming out of, bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagons. We were before Grandma Moses and Frank Sinatra and cup sizing bras. Girls wore Peter Pan collars and thought cleavage was something butchers did. We were before Batman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Snoopy. Before DDT, vitamin pills, disposable diapers, Jeeps, pizza, Cheerios, instant coffee, decaffeinated anything and McDonald's was an animal farm. We were before Boy George, J. D. Salinger and Chiquita Banana (Back then they were United Fruit). Before FM radios, tape recorders, electric typewriters, word processors, MUZAK , electronic music, disco-dancing -- and that's not all bad !

In our day cigarette smoking was fashionable. Grass was for mowing, Coke was a refreshing drink and Pot was something you cooked in. If we'd been asked to explain CIA, Ms., NATO, UFO, NFL, JFK, ERA, or IUD we'd have said "Alphabet soup."

We were before coin vending machines (except those globe shaped penny gum machines), jet planes, helicopters and interstate highways. In the early 40s "made in Japan" meant junk; and the term "making out" referred to how you did on an exam. In our time there were five and 10 cent stores where you could make a phone call, buy a Coke, or buy enough stamps to mail one letter and two post cards if you had a nickel. You could buy a Chevy coupe for $695, but who could afford that ? Nobody. A pity, too, becuse gas was 11 cents a gallon.

We are today's SENIOR CITIZENS, a hardy bunch when you think of how OUR world has changed and of the adjustments WE have had to make !

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The above was taken from a publication of a county senior center. - - - with a few additions of my own.

I remember Piggly Wiggly had wooden boxes of salt cod (yuch), candy came in sacks not un-openable plastic envelopes. Our corner drugstore was where cures for most ailments came from and only when that failed was a doctor seen. The dry cleaners across our alley where a pipe stuck out the side and puffs of steam would come out when the mangle was used inside. Rails the main form of transportation in our town. Either rail roads or tram cars on city streets. Bread and milk companies ran carriages with a team of two horses and the clop-clop of hooves was a familiar sound. Our ice man had a truck though, and we would kipe slivers of ice from it when he was delivering ice to a house. Our ice boxes would keep food for a time, but how I hated to have to empty the ice pan under the box. Especially if I had fogotten, walked through the runover in barefeet at night and have to turn on the light, empty the pan and mop the ice water off the floor. Women then would be in hospital at least ten days after the delivery of their child, that was if there were no complications, and an appendectomy was about a two week stay in hospital, no climbing stairs after discharge and at least six months before lifting ANYTHING. And we survived the Great Depression as well.

These are Seniors PROFILES . . . . . . . . . .

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