Blast From The Past

Recently I ran across a story slide show written by Barrie Davenport entitled 12 Things Boomers Learned In School That Are Totally Irrelevant Today.  Of course I was intrigued. He offered wonderful descriptions, but I will just offer you the basics as I am certain that you have your own memories of every item on the list.  I will put my own thoughts/memories in parentheses next to each item. Please feel free to share yours if you are so inclined.  Would love to hear from you.

1. Cursive (Use your whole arm, not just your fingers.  Make those ovals -- round, and round. I can hear the teacher's voice in my head.)
2. How to use a slide rule (I cried more over math issues than I did about boys when I was in school.  Still cannot do anything with 9's. Failed slide rule. The mere thought of one still gives me the heebie-jeebies.)
3. Typing on a Typewriter (Wish computers were available when I was in school or a young teacher -- although -- it helps develop patience when one has to retype an entire page to get rid of one error.)
4. Diagramming sentences (no comment, but I think I still know how to do this. I know someone who actually likes/liked doing diagramming. We are friends in spite of this.)
5. Home Economics (no comment - other than I also know a person who still uses individual envelopes for budgeting -- not the same person who likes diagramming sentences.)
6. Memorizing State Capitals (I still try to recall them once in a while. I cannot, but my grandkids area able to fill in the blanks.)
7. Balancing a checkbook (I am still compulsive about doing this.  Not sure I understand why.)
8. Spelling Bee (I was always impressed with people who could spell.  Still am. I am not a good speller, but am a whiz with spell check.)
9. Dewey Decimal System (I loved the little wooden card holding drawers.)
10. Reciting poetry by heart. (I can still recite most of "Little Orphant Annie" that I learned in 5th grade.  I used to recite it to my grandkids when they were wee ones.)
11. Mastering penmanship (Never did learn that.)
12. Preparing for nuclear war drills (I never did understand how crawling under a desk or crouching in a hallway with a book over your head would do the trick.)

Shared memories for sure.  

Back to the drawing board...

I noticed again the other day that some things are inevitable ... like the situation when the instructions you need to understand the most are the most poorly written.  Then again sometimes once you figure out instructions  -- after painful and tedious trial and error, you realize what they meant and wonder why you found them so difficult. Other times -- they are written in a language you once studied, but have now forgotten or in a language that you wonder how anyone can learn ever.  (Don't you "love" instructions that come in several languages and the English version seems to have been overlooked somehow?) Then ... the ultimate insult -- there are actually times when no instructions are included... not even an inaccurate drawing with arrows or numbers in little circles. The directions are simply nonexistent ... as in missing - no matter how many times you look in the shipping box. It is as annoying as when you are trying to put together something and the holes don't line up. Not all of today's ways are an improvement over the old. That is for sure.  Sometimes we are on our own. Then again...  human beings are resourceful and ingenious....

Personally I am thankful for all those total strangers who have posted "How To" videos on YouTube.  When I remember that this option is readily available, I have, without exception, found the help I needed. Again -- huge Thanks to anonymous people out there somewhere who share their knowledge so generously. Much appreciated. Technology can be a very good thing ... sometimes. When confronted with things that are difficult to sort out, we used to say, "Back to the drawing board"; now it is "Go to YouTube". It can be a good thing really - especially for those of us who find seeing the "how to do" helps us learn the "how to do".

I am always a little surprised to find that totally techno-resistant people still inhabit the planet and do so happily -- finding their way somehow pretty much like every generation before them . Maybe they are better off than those of us who at least try to keep up if only with a bit of the available technology. Trying  though can be exhausting. Sometimes it is like attempting to explain the Dewey Decimal System or the purpose of a card catalog to a Google protégé or to one who prefers an e-reader to an actual book  -- you know a real book -- the kind where the reader can flip pages easily --  backwards or forwards.  Once again... #old fart.