Banana Stew


Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Oh God, I'm old

What some of you youngsters (e.g. teenagers) out there may not realize is that those of us older than you (30s, 40s, etc.) still mostly think of ourselves as just out of the teenage years. Sure, we realize that it was a long time ago. We know that we are now productive members of society. We don't long to go back to the time of weekly history tests and overwhelming social pressures. We look down on today's crop of teens as woefully young and naive.

But somewhere in the back of our minds lurks that teenager who refuses to grow old. Want proof? Just pull out one of our yearbooks and watch us be transported back. We may not be able to remember what you told us yesterday, but you'll be amazed at the trivial facts we recall from the mid 1980s. Members Only jackets and "The Breakfast Club" and Bono with a last name.

And it's not just us Gen-X types. My mother assures me that in the back of her mind it's still the 1940s and she still vividly remembers poodle skirts and soda fountains.

Then, every once in a while, someone or something comes along to blast us our of our reverie and bring home the fact that - to today's teens - we are old fogeys. Case in point, the article posted here, titled Ick, old married guys on Facebook that includes the following statement emphasized in a sidebar:



Three guesses as to which year I graduated from High School.

I'm going to go buy some sansabelt slacks and take a nap now. Wake me when it's time for my stories.

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3 Comments:

  • Same graduating class as you (don't need to guess), but *i* get creeped out at the thought of someone graduating in '86 -- and i'd question '96 -- initiating a facebook friend link with a high school senior (who wasn't, say in the same organization 4H or church group or scouts or whatever).

    Righto, i've turned into my mother.

    By Blogger Judielaine, at 12:31 PM  

  • Just to be clear, I'm certainly not planning to initiate a Facebook link - or any other kind of link - with any high school seniors. What are you trying to do J? Wrangle me a guest appearance on To Catch A Predator?

    And any creepy old dude 20 years older than my daughter trying to contact her on the year-2020 version of whatever comes after Facebook will be dealt with violently and messily.

    I've turned into my dad, crossed with Clint Eastwood (ca. "A Fistful of Dollars"), but without the serape (or charisma).

    By Blogger Scott, at 2:03 PM  

  • I didn't think you were. I suppose i experience effective reminders of how young i am as my colleagues address changes in our work place with, "Well, if i really don't like it, i'll just retire." (Two already have.)

    By Blogger Judielaine, at 3:31 PM  

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