Just the other day, while tackling some spring cleaning in our garage, I came across a folder overflowing with notes written some 25 years ago by my middle school friends. They were folded in that awesome middle-school-origami way. You know what I’m talking about…the folded tuck, the modified flying airplane, the four-pointed star, and the four-fingered diamond, just to name a few. Their form alone, without even opening them up and reading the going-steady drama within, was enough to make me smile and get all nostalgic about the way things used to be. I had to wonder whether the kids of today went to such lengths to covertly communicate with their friends behind the teacher’s back. With seemingly every kid having a cell phone nowadays, I would have to think that notes have been replaced by texts.
How sad!
Then I got to thinking…what else are the kids of today missing out on? I thought I’d share my list with you. I’m not saying everything on this list is missed; progress and improvement have been made in some areas. However, the disappearance of others is quite unfortunate and sad to me and maybe you, too….
- Creatively folding notes in school
- Using code names in case notes were intercepted or for phone conversations that were within earshot of parents
- Being stuck on a rotary phone attached to a wall within 5 feet of a parent
- Writing in cursive
- Arcades
- Unsafe (a.k.a. FUN) toys
- Music videos on MTV
- Planet Pluto
- Playing outside without having to wear a helmet
- Roller skating
- Meeting people at their gate in the airport
- Official kid-controlled TV every Saturday morning
- Alarm clocks
- Wearing a watch
- Rolling down the car window
- Curling up with an encyclopedia
- Paper maps
- Movie rental stores
- Books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs, paper classifieds
- Picking out cute stationary for your pen pal and receiving snail mail
- A toy in almost every cereal box
- Typing complete words (OMG!) or spelling without the help of AutoCorrect
- Libraries and the fabulous Dewey Decimal System
- Playing outside without the fear of being kidnapped
- Undivided attention from friends and family
- “Be kind, rewind.”
- Mixed tapes, records, walkmen
- Anonymous prank calls
- The awesomeness of seeing your published name in a phone book
- Not knowing who’s calling
- Printing photographs, using Poloroid film and disposable cameras
- Memorizing a phone number…or having to remember anything for that matter
- Getting creative during power outages as opposed to relying on charged devices
- PRIVACY
- Hand-made crafts/models/projects
- Bad songs by the artist you love because you had to buy the entire CD
- The anticipation of having to wait for your favorite TV show to come on and only having a few channels to chose from and probably only one TV in the house
- Using a travel agent to plan a vacation
- Having to get off the couch in order to change the channel, turn on the stereo, adjust the AC, etc.
- Looking for a pay phone
- Asking a live person for directions
This is a quick and short list I’ve been adding to as the day has gone on. Thanks to my Facebook friends, some of them authors of the 25-year-old notes in my garage, for their contributions. Children of the eighties and nineties unite! Add to this list in the comments section. The nostalgia is good for a smile 🙂
