The world is changing right before our eyes! When I was growing up our boxy TV offered only a handful of channels that we needed to manually change ourselves by getting off the couch and actually adjusting the dial! Pong was the fanciest video game available, and we considered ourselves lucky to have gotten an Atari set for Hanukkah.
We had to tape songs directly from the radio and play them back on cassettes a hundred times to jot down the lyrics. (That’s how I learned the words to “We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel, and damn, that was work.) We went to a store to buy something– none of this Amazon same day delivery was available back then. And certainly no, “other shoppers also bought this,” which I absolutely love. And that handy auto refill option? Ha! If you wanted more, you stuffed more into your trunk.
Matty has grown up with hundreds of channels shown in HD on a completely flat screen mounted to the wall for his viewing pleasure. He plays realistic video games against other kids worldwide in real time, and he can google just about any lyric for any song ever written in seconds. He walks around hands free, wireless and Bluetooth connected and thinks nothing of it. When he was little and playing Club Penguin on our home computer he asked me what my screen name was when I was growing up. I said, “Honey, we didn’t have a computer in the house back then!” So he asked, “Well then Mom, how did you get online?” Kids! Change can indeed be good.
Sometimes what’s old is new again. Apparently the 90s are back with a vengeance, and flare leg pants, scrunchies, silk scarves, animal prints, varsity jackets, gladiator sandals, and bike shorts are all the rage. From this list, I’d have to say that I’ve never stopped wearing scarves or bike shorts but the flare pants and scrunchies can stay in the last millennium as far as I’m concerned. Some recycling is apparently not so favorable.
“Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind (oh), But I come back stronger than a 90’s trend.”
Taylor Swift lyrics for her new single, Willow.
Denzel Washington recently said, “With so many things coming back in style, I can’t wait until morals, respect and intelligence become a trend again.” Now wouldn’t that be something to look forward to?!
Regarding hair minus the scrunchie, mine has miraculously migrated from a mousy brown to a warmer honey blonde shade. (I wish this change were permanent and not renewable every eight weeks.) Suitcases now have wheels– which seems like a no-brainer but I remember carrying heavy ones up a flight of stairs and down a long hallway when I moved into my freshman dorm. I thought Blockbuster Video was genius (but hated having to rewind the video or pay the fee), until I could watch thousands of movies on demand from my living room from various streaming services. The rearview camera visible from the dash, smart alerts in the car, and a gas gage that tells you exactly how many more miles you can drive before you’re on empty? Thank you, car gurus!
Invisalign finally replaced both stick on and wrap around the tooth braces and what a difference not to have a metal mouth– I had both the wrap as a kid and then Invisalign as an adult and Invis were one thousand percent better. Caller ID on a cellphone certainly beats the heck out of good ol’ Snoopy with the push buttons. Couple that with unlimited long-distance calling, and it’s hard to believe we waited until after 9pm to make phone calls or called collect from “Ima Here” so that the other person could just hang up knowing we were safe. Microwave popcorn completely changed my life and I’m sure yours too, although the Invisalign/popcorn combo is not advisable, trust me.
The thermos of yesteryear has been replaced by Swell and Yeti and I’m on board with this change, too. I use my Swell bottle almost every day for cold water at my desk and the Yeti tumbler is perfect for keeping hot chocolate hot. Makers of prepared salads decided to separate the dry toppings from the already wet ingredients in the plastic bowl– mind-blowingly fresh idea. Tide Pods, pourable brown sugar, the Spatty, camera phones… how lucky are we to enjoy these fantastic product upgrades? Gone are the days of heavy liquid detergent bottles, clumpy sugar bombs that invaded our whole kitchen, and Vivitar 300 phones that took crappy pictures on rolls of film that had only 24 exposures— who new innovation was right around the corner?
Not all change is good. The toothpaste tubes are getting smaller and smaller. Do the manufacturers think that we don’t notice? The availability of email, while convenient and certainly faster than snail mail, gives people access to us all the time, which definitely blurs the line between work and leisure. And the legroom on airlines couldn’t possibly get any more compact!
Some changes I’d like to see might include free healthcare, a four-day work week, kindness in the world, and more people helping more people. (“What’s so funny ’bout peace, love and understanding?” Elvis Costello) What about the concept of Morgan Freeman narrating absolutely everything? (Doesn’t he just have the best voiceover voice?) I think if Morgan were telling people to do it, no matter what the “it” was, they would listen– buckle up, mask on, sit down, be quiet, pay attention, recycle. I think the world would be a better place if we were collectively thoughtful about global health issues and climate change. (Photo courtesy of Turner Classic Movies.)
Although we don’t have total control about what’s happening in the world, we do get to adopt certain personal preferences and stick with them. And even though I only use cash on rare occasions, like for ice cream or getting a pedicure (10% discount, baby!) I’m happy to over tip for good service so I always tell them to keep the change.
jenslittleblackbook.com 