My How Things Change!

    This morning I was working on our new farmers market sign.  I was tracing the letters on to the wood with a piece of carbon paper.  You do remember what that is, right?  Oh my...ok, in a nutshell, it's a real light piece of paper with some sort of black waxy stuff on one side.  You place the carbon paper in between two pieces of paper with the waxy stuff facing the bottom piece (or piece of wood in this instance) and then whatever you write on the top piece of paper will transfer to the bottom one.  I know, total old technology, but it can still be found if you look hard enough.  Anyways, I was tracing the yarn store name onto the wood with carbon paper and Eldest was amazed at what I was doing.  Of course, being a teenager, he will never admit it, but he was.  Had questions about what it is and what it does.  I gave him the gist of it along with my opinion on the mimeograph machines of old vs. copy machines because that came to mind being a former teacher and then kept on with the project.
    Here's the problem - when I get engrossed in a project my mind tends to wander to all sorts of stuff.  The sky's the limit.  While submerging myself in the project I got tired of doing scientific calcuations in my head (ok, so I'm yanking your chain) and started thinking of other things the kids have missed out on, but I've had the opportunity to experience.  I remember when we got our first computer.  It came without internet capabilities.  There was no internet for us regular folks.  That game of Lemmings sure was a hit, though.  Hon's first cell phone was a bag phone.  Not one of the nice fit in your pocket ones we have now.  It was a big rectangle box that had a receiver attached to it with a telephone cord and a strap to go over your shoulder to carry it.  I think the box was basically the battery.  The day cable television came to town was like Time Warner giving us the world at our finger tips.  MTV is not what it was years ago, either.  And thinking about television, I think many folks (not mine of course...Hi Dad) had children years ago so they could grow up to be human remotes.  At first it may have been a neat thing to be asked to get up and turn the channel, which there were all of 4 to select from, but after a while it became a fight between children who had to do it...and move the antena.  
    On the way home from Easter dinner with extended family we heard a remake of Simon & Garfunkles song "Sound of Silence."  It was great - too bad I can't remember who did the remake.  Took me back in time to Grandma & Grandpa's 8-track tape of Simon & Garfunkle's Greatest Hits.  Of course, the kids were clueless as to what an 8-track tape was.  Hon and I did, however, make sure to belt out the tune so the kids had no question in their mind we knew the song.  
    So, many things have changed in the 44 years since the glorious day I was born.  A lot more has changed since my folks were born, which today by the way is my Mom's birthday, the year I will not mention for fear of negative retrobution.  It is also my younger sister's birthday.  I also won't mention her age because I'm continuing to be the nice older sister that I am.  Happy birthday!  Smiling & Waving, Sharon