We showed the kids the original Superman movie with Christopher Reeves. Back to the superhero basics, right?
X wanted to know why the bad guy went all over the city just to find out the news from a newspaper. We had to explain that in a time before smartphones or cellphones, tablets or computers, you had to physically walk all over to pick up a newspaper. And it was only updated once or twice a day.
Then we got to the view of the Daily Planet newsroom.
They had never seen a typewriter before. Connor didn't recognize a telephone.
And the joke where Clark Kent wanted to change into his costume, but it wasn't a full phone booth, only a half booth? They didn't even recognize what that was.
They did think the outfits people wore were funny, though.
Culture shock on so many levels. :)
Oh my. I feel like my grandmother must have when the airplane was invented! If man was meant to fly, God would have given him wings! I do remember when my own mother, your Savta, brought home the first microwave oven. It can cook a whole chicken in just 20 minutes?! And a baked potato in 6 minutes?! (They normally would take an hour, Michal) So she cooked a chicken. And sure enough, 20 minutes later a full, raw chicken was cooked. Funny thing though....it was cooked but the color didn't change. It was still white. Kinda freaky.
ReplyDeleteAnother story I'll share if I may about the changing times. Once my mother arrived home from work and exclaimed, "Get in the car, everybody! We're going out to dinner!" And we were all excited and got into the car. A few minutes later she drives into a driveway and up to this silly looking clown box sticking out of the ground. She roles down her window down, we all hear a voice, and we order our burgers. We're confused. She tells us, "By the time we drive up to that building just in front of us, our order will be ready!" My sister, brother, and I were convinced she was nuts and that that was impossible! But she drove forward, paid for dinner, and handed us our order. We were stunned. We had just gone to the first Jack in the Box! Savta loved trying new things. One day I'll tell you about Steak-O-Rama! Sweet memories. Yup. Your boys live in their world. We lived in ours. Can't even imagine what they are growing up with that will be completely foreign to their children.
Oh Janet, you bring back memories that I'd quite forgotten about. It delights me to recall them now. Thank you!
DeleteWhat awesome stories! I never actually thought of life before drive-thrus. God I love the modern era.
DeleteAt my 92 years of age, and having lived through several generations growing up, I can understand how the amazing Christopher Reeves Superman seems like a Stone Age creature to your children. It was totally futuristic to me in my present.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it jar me to hear that they don't recognize typewriters and pre-cellphone telephones? Their past was my exciting future. Right now, their present is incomprehensible to me, I can't figure it out. What's all this megabytes and gigabytes stuff that they're so comfortable with? I've managed to use a computer, but truth be told, I'm much more comfortable and agile with a typewriter!
Talk about the factual generation gap.....it truly leaves me agape!
I love how you phrase things, Savta. And as for the generation gap - when you think that you and C are literally 90 years apart, it makes sense. That's not just one generation difference!
DeleteDo you remember, Michal, when we were in the Lucky Supermarket parking lot and I gasped when I saw a new station wagon? I hadn't seen one in years. You asked what a station wagon was and I pointed it out to you....a car that was extra long with a space in back to lug things around. Then I told you, "We had station wagons before vans were invented." And you looked at me like I was crazy and mockingly asked, "Before vans were invented?!" hahaha Yes! They didn't always exist!
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