For many years, I've said that my generation - those born in the 1950s and 1960s - is the luckiest in the history of mankind. We have the benefit of having lived before many of the modernizations that are so woven into the fabric of today's society that they may be taken for granted by those who were born after their development and who have no concept of life before them.
When I was born, and for some time thereafter, these didn't exist: cell phones, computers and the Internet, video games, DVDs and the microwave. For the most part, televisions used rabbit ears and you had four channels, if you were lucky. Music came on black vinyl discs. For entertainment, I played jacks, Chinese jump rope and solitaire and I hoola-hooped. And read. Always and forever I'll read books; printed pages of magic between covers. Remember those?
Taco Bell, Arby's, Wendy's, TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Subway and many other restaurants had yet to be created. Walt hadn't developed Disney World to date and no man had set foot on the moon until I was 9. Every where you went - including work, restaurants, movie theaters and doctor's offices - you were clouded in cigarette smoke. Do you recall a time when cars were made out of metal and weighed 4,000 pounds? I do.
Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp would be conceived years later, Meryl Streep was in elementary school and Morgan Freeman wouldn't start his early acting years in front of the Electric Company cameras until 1971. Justin Bieber's mother was born the year I graduated from high school. Most of today's musicians, singers, and song writers were just a glimmer in their parents' eyes.
As a young child of the 1960s and teen of the 1970s who grew up watching technology explode, the world was certainly filled with wonders. On-going improvements, upgrades and constant new "versions" became a part of culture during my late teens.
Having lived through the modernizations, I could argue that I appreciate our contemporary marvels more than those who were born into them and know of no other way of life. Don't get me wrong, my joy of the "new" has not led me to wish that I had been born in a later era.
I loved growing up in the country with views of fields, nature to explore, family to love and using my brain for entertainment. I enjoyed making simple furniture using adult tools, clothing for Barbie from scraps of left over material on a small child's sewing machine then graduating to McCalls patterns for myself on an adult machine and crocheting and knitting scarves, booties, and afghans.
Necessity may be the mother of invention, however, exploration is intriguing and character building. My formative years made me more appreciative and awestruck when major advances came along. Pong was like a gift from the gods to a teen. I am a product of my generation.
Because of my early years, and being a typical modern middle-aged American woman of today, I'm able to calmly and rationally fend for myself when technology temporarily goes down. No electricity, TV, radio or phone? No problem. It will all come back in due time. Much quicker than the days it sometimes took years ago.
Think where we'd be without the microwave. Long gone are the days of reheating food in the time-consuming manner of the stovetop or in a warm oven. Trying to contact someone while on the road meant finding a pay phone and trying to "catch" them on their land line.
If you missed a TV show or wanted to see it again, it meant waiting months with the hope that it would re-run. The concept of rewinding shows or movies would bring scoffs. The desire to learn about something meant researching books at the library instead of the instantaneous click of a mouse. We typed, didn't keyboard.
I take us down memory lane to remind us of not only how lucky we are to be living in 2013, but to also proclaim how fortunate we are to be living in America, the greatest country on the planet. Many of today's technological advances were the brainstorms of pioneering Americans. We're a nation founded on the belief that ". . . all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are . . . the pursuit of Happiness."
While you're celebrating Independence Day on Thursday, count your blessings that you're living in America during a time of the greatest advancements in the history of mankind. The next time you pick up your cell phone to send a text while microwaving popcorn on your way to watch the latest movie on DVD, take a moment to reflect on how amazing the United States is in 2013.
I often reflect and give thanks that I was born as a book ender - having seen the before, the establishment of and now as a beneficiary of, I get to witness how these wonders subsequently become routine and normal. I have one eye on the present and the other anticipates the future.
Chances are you won't celebrate our birthday by eating sushi or nuking left-over pasta, but will instead be firing up the time-honored grill for burgers and hot dogs with sides of potato salad, baked beans and chips. Some time-honored traditions are worth upholding.
Happy Birthday, America.
For information about volunteer opportunities, call Community Volunteers in Action at 628-1426, e-mail johnston@co,.schuylkill.pa.us or go to www.schuylkill.us/cvia. Check us out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/communityvolunteersinaction.