As one gets older...

[DiO'Bolic]

Here's Dio's school class photo

Yup... Front row, fourth from the left. Sitting next to Mary and Laura Ingalls.

Actually, 1st and 2nd grades were in the same classroom... as were 5th and 6th, and 7th and 8th. 3rd and 4th grades were separate, probably because Sister Gracia, who was 103 years old, couldn't handle double duty.

 

[DiO'Bolic]

48 states, no zip codes, party lines on telephones if you lived in more rural areas, you had to pay extra to have phone extension lines, teachers told us we would soon have to be learning the metric system as the country would be converting to metric--and probably more I'm not thinking of at the moment back in the day when I was growing up.

 

[Moderator]

That's you at the desk, isn't it? I'm pretty sure I see a grammatical error in the making.

 

[Kurben]

Puerto Rico is a US commonwealth. In June of this year, Puerto Ricans voted to become the 51st state but that will also require approval from Congress before attaining statehood.

Sorry if i'm confused but how does that work in elections? Don't you have to belong to a state to vote for a governor or senator or whatever? Or does it mean they belong even though they cant make their votes heard? Sorry if its a silly question!

 

[DiO'Bolic]

That's you at the desk, isn't it? I'm pretty sure I see a grammatical error in the making.

Bazinga!

And that's you in the upper right... stroking out over it?

 

[Moderator]

Sorry if i'm confused but how does that work in elections? Don't you have to belong to a state to vote for a governor or senator or whatever? Or does it mean they belong even though they cant make their votes heard? Sorry if its a silly question!

Not a silly question at all. I had to look some of this up myself. This article explains a little more about Puerto Rico's current rights and how they would become a state. There is a clause in the US Constitution that directs how new states can be admitted to the Union.

 

[Moderator]

Bazinga!

And that's you in the upper right... stroking out over it?

Looks like that was taken right after I'd been banging my head against the wall.

 

[Grandpa]

Cant they make Puerto Rico its own state? Which state does it belong to now?

Ms. Mod is correct. And in fact, I remember later on in grade school back in the '60s a lot of talk about Puerto Rico becoming a state. Apparently, that program got delayed.

 

[DiO'Bolic]

Looks like that was taken right after I'd been banging my head against the wall.

I guess there are things even time can't change.

 

[Kurben]

Not a silly question at all. I had to look some of this up myself. This article explains a little more about Puerto Rico's current rights and how they would become a state. There is a clause in the US Constitution that directs how new states can be admitted to the Union.

Thank you! sounds a bit confused the whole situation but thanks for the info. Citizens but not really citizens.

 

[Tilly]

I turned 55 this year. There are a lot of restaurants that have a '55+' menu. I have yet to take advantage of this but am excited I have the option. I will use it when I go for supper at 3:30 in the afternoon!

I turned 55 this year. There are a lot of restaurants that have a '55+' menu. I have yet to take advantage of this but am excited I have the option. I will use it when I go for supper at 3:30 in the afternoon!

I just had a birthday and turned 56. Last year (55), I realized it is exactly in the middle of 40 and 70. For me getting a 5 in my tens place, was a time to take stock. That took about a week and now 6 more years have went by. So this years birthday song is CCR. Keep on Chooglin. Im going with a Bruce Willis interview. Every decade of his life, he thought well I've got this figured out, now. When he turned 50, he said he starts every sentence out with I DON'T KNOW, but it's been my experience. ....... I try to do that, too.

 

[kingricefan]

48 states, no zip codes, party lines on telephones if you lived in more rural areas, you had to pay extra to have phone extension lines, teachers told us we would soon have to be learning the metric system as the country would be converting to metric--and probably more I'm not thinking of at the moment back in the day when I was growing up.

Don't forget how we used to find our friends when we were looking for them (before cell phones): you'd look for their bikes laying on the lawn in front of whoever's house they were playing with.

 

[kingricefan]

Thank you! sounds a bit confused the whole situation but thanks for the info. Citizens but not really citizens.

I think it's the same way with Guam- US territory but not a state and no voting rights.

 

[Moderator]

Don't forget how we used to find our friends when we were looking for them (before cell phones): you'd look for their bikes laying on the lawn in front of whoever's house they were playing with.

And you knew when it was time to go home by how dark it was getting.

 

[kingricefan]

And you knew when it was time to go home by how dark it was getting.

Or your Mom stepped out on the front stoop and yelled your name real LOUD!

 

[Spideyman]

Don't forget how we used to find our friends when we were looking for them (before cell phones): you'd look for their bikes laying on the lawn in front of whoever's house they were playing with.

Bikes and walking were the main means of transport. Neighbors were watchful of the children as they played. You walked freely with little or no fear of your surroundings. School was a safe place. Teachers were creative in their methods of teaching- not teaching solely for "the Test". You learned Geography, had music and art classes (and supplies were provided by the public school system/ Catholic school required tuition).

 

[arista]

When I was child, we did not worry about being taken by a stranger. We played gasp outside. We drank water from a hose and even rode bikes without helmets. We rode around in cars without seat belts. There were clearly winners and losers in game. We played dodge ball in school and had some welts to prove it. Was a different time for sure

 

[ghost19]

There were only 48 states in the US when I was born.

HAH! That’s nothing there were only 25 states in the union when GNT was born!

 

[DiO'Bolic]

Bikes and walking were the main means of transport. Neighbors were watchful of the children as they played. You walked freely with little or no fear of your surroundings. School was a safe place. Teachers were creative in their methods of teaching- not teaching solely for "the Test". You learned Geography, had music and art classes (and supplies were provided by the public school system/ Catholic school required tuition).

Everyone was taught how to write in cursive. Families ate and talked at the dinner table. Everyone had to agree on what to watch on TV because there was only one TV in the house and only 12 channels to pick from. If you lived less than 2 miles away from school you walked. You got kool-aid at whatever house you were playing at. And Ms Mod was already beating up her classmates who used bad grammar.

 

[Mr Nobody]

I've recently become invisible to women under 35. I'm not sure whether that's good or not. On one hand, it means I can talk to them without becoming massively self-conscious; on the other it means they won't want to talk to me in the first place. Hm...

But if we're moving onto more serious stuff:
1) Losing in school never damaged me; it made me more determined to improve and do better next time...and if I found I'd hit a wall, I either quit or learnt to accept defeat there, which was easy because I knew I won in others. Conversely, winning in school never made me big-headed, because I knew there were other areas where I lost.
2) Friends were called for in person. It was part of how we learnt to communicate across generations, rather than limiting our interactions strictly to our own generation. As a result, we knew the older generations better. We may not necessarily have liked them at times, or they us, but we generally found a way to get on.
3) Roads were quieter, so cycling was easier and safer - even if we often only went as far as the local shop and back to whoever's house.
4) Boredom was a constant danger, especially over the summer break, but we had umpteen ways to stave it off and, often, all the kids in the street as well as the next one over would be involved. There was tension, there were disagreements and fights, but it never went too far and we didn't immediately go for 'massive over-reaction' as a first response (or even a second).
5) Round our way, the strangers were scared of us.