Is this party to whom I am speaking?

  

Sometimes I find myself thinking about all the amazing things my grandmothers observed in their lifetimes.  They went from horse and buggy to supersonic transport.  They went from outhouses to indoor plumbing, from washboards and clothes lines to automatic washers and dryers.  Impressive, right?  Oh, what would they think of today’s online shopping, take-out food and the availability of things in general? Almost forgot -- permanent press! The list could go on and on.

Then, for some unknown reason I skip over my parents’ generation to mine (they do overlap a bit after all) and realize that we, too, have made remarkable progress - lived through significant change.  Radio sort of evolved into those little round televisions able to get three staticky channels if you put enough aluminum foil on the rabbit ears and turned them the right way (my Uncle had one) … and our lives changed forever.  Technology went "feral" after that ... and we know where we are today -- caught within that blur. Also, let's not forget automobiles.... What happened to manual transmission, window vents and floor dimmer switches? Remember when we had rotary phones and dialed “0” for an Operator - a real person you could talk with? “One ringy-dingy... two ringy-dingy...." (Ernestine)  

Sometimes I feel that it is impossible to catch up with how fast the world is changing and so I don't even try and find myself using phrases like "phone photo" which makes total sense to a person who grew up with a Brownie in the family.  Kids these days would roll their eyes at that – actually I have seen some of them do that and have heard of other savvy young who have done that as well. (Love them anyway.)  “Why not just call it a photo, Nana?”  ("… because it is a phone photo; that’s why." There is a difference. Boomers understand this. Some day these kids will too when they are dealing with some "newfangled" invention.)

I guess each generation just has to deal with its own progress.  I wonder what it will be like for my grandchildren and on. I mean – what about the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence, vehicles that drive themselves or don't touch the ground... all sorts of “Meet George Jetson” things. Then there are the inventions that haven’t even been thought of yet. It's exhausting....  Each generation seems to be getting smarter and it is not just them who think so.

Actually, I am not going to give their future too much thought.  They will handle the changes.  Each generation has or has tired to ... or at least has managed to cope in some way.   Right now, I am just trying to figure out how to make a smooth transition from cable to streaming, from a skillet to an air-fryer, from a landline to a cell phone.  You know – from a pencil box to a keyboard.  Some days I do pretty well.  Other days?  Not so much. Plus – there is plenty of technology that I have decided to totally ignore.  I am okay with that … at least for now.  Come to think of it though -- I felt that way about microwave ovens, the Internet, online banking, and texting at one time and changed my mind about them, so… who knows? One thing I can say for certain -- you will not see me on a hoverboard. Call me chicken.  I will readily agree... no shame in that one. I fall well enough just using my own two feet. Did that yesterday as a matter of fact.  It was impressive -- especially the trying to get up gracefully part. Anyway -- call me old-fashioned... or maybe just plain getting old.  Either way -- both are okay with me.