Social media always has these things where people post photos of items from the 60's, 70's or 80's and suggest that someone like and share if he knows for what it was used. For example, someone might put up a picture of a record adaptor, a device that was used to play 45's on turntables, and ask whether anyone knew for what it was used. More often than not, I know what the item is, although I miss a couple now and then.
Then there are the ones that us old fogeys are constantly thumping on, like dial telephones, but there are other things younger people don't and can't possibly understand because they've never experienced them. Sure, they can pick up a dial telephone and look at it like a relic, but that's a museum piece now. The things to which I'm referring can't be replicated so easily and they won't be found in a museum. At best they're in history books.
For example, it used to be that gas was pumped for a person by a gas station attendant. What's more, the gas tank was located somewhere in the rear of the vehicle and gas was pumped into the tank behind the license plate. Who'd ever think of looking for the gas tank behind the license plate now? There may be a station or two that will have that available for drivers nowadays, but that's so retro that it's quaint. Most people pump their own gas now.
Another thing that was different was beverages at fast food restaurants. Now, once one's bought a drink at McDonald's or Burger King, there's a station where free refills can be obtained. Back in the day, if one wanted a refill one bought another drink. There were no refill stations. The decision was made to allow free refills by Taco Bell, which was owned by a soft drink company, in 1988. Before then, one had to buy another drink if one wanted a refill.
Regarding telephones, there didn't used to be call-waiting or caller ID, much less voice mails. If one called a person who was on the phone, one got a busy signal. There was no way to know anyone was calling, as there was no digital read-out nor was there voice mail. And for the person calling who received a busy signal, there was no way to know if the person was on another call or if the phone was simply off the hook.
Getting from one place to another, especially on long trips, was done with paper maps. There was no GPS, no Tom-Tom or Garmin, nothing. I still rely on maps to the exclusion, almost, of mechanical devices. Where the devices are useful is for back-ups, accidents or road work. Before the devices came along, there was no way of knowing about these things unless a radio station reported it. But one had to know which radio station to listen to to hear the report, and that was accomplished mostly by luck.
Likewise, television was limited, severely. Until cable television came along, people in most metropolitan areas got five or six stations, at most, with varying degrees of reception. The fact that I'm a Cubs' fan is attributable, in part, to the fact that the Cubs played on WGN, which was always visible, while the other team in Chicago played on WFLD, which more often than not was like watching baseball being played in a blizzard. Now, baseball fans can watch games in every city in which they're being played, in addition to old series on stations like TVLand.
Food has changed, too. Besides the health craze and similar fads (tofu???), there's been an explosion in taste, for lack of a better term. For example, when I was growing up, if one wanted potato chips, one ate potato chips, which tasted like potatoes that had been fried and sliced. Then there were BBQ potato chips. One big innovation was rippled potato chips, which affected the texture more than anything. The other day, I had Asiago-flavored potato chips. I saw Gouda-flavored potato chips. It's insane, but in a good way. Crackers now have different flavors as well.
Progress and innovation have improved our lives in many ways. Most of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's can easily point out the obvious ways -- computers, cellphones, etc. -- but the ways outlined above are often forgotten. Life is better and easier.
I just wonder what our Mother would think about all of this.
(c) 2016 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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