BIRTHDAYS-GADGETS

 TIME MARCHES ON

BY R. AUBREY LA FOY

The older I get the more behind I get.  The fact is that when I arise each morning I don’t have much to do but when I go to bed at night I am only half done.  I had a birthday last week and I need to take out my driver’s license to see how old I am. Birthdays have a way of bringing one back to reality about what has happened in your lifetime.

Several days ago I watched a program on the History Channel. The program was on the most important gadgets ever invented that have affected our lives and the world. A group of experts (?) had the gadgets listed as the most important and finally got to the top ten. What was so interesting was that four of the top ten were in place when I was born in 1925.  The top six arrived after that date.

Here is a little quiz for you. How old is Grandma? (E-mail) “One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the space programs, the computer age, music and just things in general...The Grandmother replied, “Well let me think a minute, I was born before: television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen food, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There were no credit cards, laser beams, ball point pens, pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn’t walked on the moon.

Your grandfather and I got married first and then lived together, every family had a father and mother, we called everyman over 25, “Sir” and there were no gay-right, politically correct stuff, daycare center, disposable diapers and group therapy. We abided by the Ten Commandments, just judgment and common sense. Serving our country was a privilege and living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was a quick lunch. Time-sharing meant the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums. We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, DC’s, yogurt or guys wearing earrings or tattoos. We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny and the President’s speeches on our radios. I don’t remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Harry James or Tommy Dorsey and everything wasn’t made in China.

Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam's were not around nor were Pizza Hut, McDonald’s but we had a 5 & 10 cent store and you could buy something for 5 cents. We still bent over to pick up a penny from the ground and ice-cream cones, Eskimo Pies, phone calls, riding a streetcar and buying a Coca-Cola cost a nickel or dime. A new Ford Coupe could be bought for $600 and a house for $10,000 but who could afford them.  “Grass” was mowed, “coke” was a cold drink, “pot” was something your mother cooked in and “rock music” was your grandmother’s lullaby, “chip” meant a piece of wood and “hardware” was found in a hardware store and “software” wasn’t even a word.

Grandma asked her grandson, “How old do you think I am?” You are probably thinking it must be someone near Aubrey’s age (86) but be prepared to be shocked. Are you ready??

The woman would be only 59 years old”.

I recall some of the “new” inventions and gadgets previously stated personally that, at the time, they appeared were really thrilling. The following are a few listed about gadgets that changed us. How about the TV remote control gadget? Many of us can recall getting most of our exercise getting up and down to change the channels and how about the TV station picture that stayed the same but we looked at it anyway. The camera I used in World War II was 116 Brownie Box Camera and it was a pain to get film and get it developed. The digital camera we have today is great and we still have many slides we took with our Argus C-3 back in the 1950s. When our three sons graduated from high school we gave them electric typewriters but today we give our grandchildren computers. It’s really funny though that the keyboard on the new and modern computers and laptops use the same keyboard from the very first typewriter keyboards.

One of the gadgets around when I was born that was in the top ten was the alarm clock. Prior to people working in factories and offices time didn’t mean much especially on farms. You got up with the chickens and went to bed after the cows were milked but with the advent of factories one had to be on time, hence the alarm clock. In my own case our family didn’t have an alarm clock and really only one clock in our kitchen.  I started delivering a morning newspapers while in the fifth grade and relied upon my Grandfather, Ed LaFoy, to call me on the telephone at 6:30 a. m. each morning because he had an alarm clock. Oh! How I hated to hear the telephone ring on those cold and blistering winter days. The phone would ring until I answered it. I don’t recall what I said to my Grandfather but I am sure it wasn’t a very pleasant response. Out secondary clock was on the St. Joseph Church tower. We could see it out of your bathroom window and viewed it quite often. I didn’t have a wrist watch until I got one for my graduation in 1943.

In August 1943 I passed through Phoenix, Arizona on a Union Pacific Railroad. The temperature was over 100 degrees and we had no air conditioning on the train. My one thought was as we passed through was, “Why would anybody want to live here?” Little did I know at that time that I would be spending my winters there when I retired but we now have air conditioning which makes the region tolerable in the summer months? Air conditioner was number six on the gadgets to change the world.

Number five was the personal computer and Connie and I can testify to that. We spend many hours using the computer and sometimes I wonder what we did before it showed up. Our first one was an Apple in 1988 and since that time, like cars, we have had many. Ten years ago I spent many hours in libraries doing research for my articles but today I use Google.

Number four was a surprise, but according to the experts they listed the hypodermic needle. The thing that always grabs me is that after somebody giving us a shot or extracting blood they throw the needle away. I worked as a lab technician for a time in World War II and we used needles and then placed them in a cooker to sterilize them. Naturally after much use they got kind of dull and any GI can testify to “dull” needles.

Number three gadget is TV. Any one my age can tell you that TV is both gratifying and also disappointing. Why is it that you have 100 stations and still can’t find anything that interests you? It has really changed our lived and many of us can recall that Vietnam was the first TV War. It brought the war into our living room and shook many people up to the realities. But there are many, many programs that are great but I still bemoan the loss of shows like Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and Jackie Gleason who were really comedians. What happened?

Number two was the radio. My father was into radio early and we had a wonderful Atwater-Kent upright radio. Our radio stations were few but what wonderful programs we listened to and as one as you listened you had to put the picture in your head. My personal opinion is that like reading a book you have to use your brain where as TV supplies it all. One of the few things that TV doesn’t do is smell which is probably great because pictures of some the areas of the world are better for leaving out the odors.

Now are you ready for Number One? According to the expert the gadget that has changed the world is the “smart or cell phone”. We can testify to that as it has really changed our communication with each other, friend and family. It still blows my mind to press a number, it rings two or three times and my son answers in Montana or wherever.  I recall several years ago calling to our son from Ireland and he called last year from Greece on their cell phone. Instant communication and it is funny because we can’t think of leaving the house without our cell phone. If you add the photo taking, it makes it difficult for anyone to hide occurrences regardless where they are. The only drawback to that is you must have a tower to relay your message or photo. That is the key to control of the cell phone, your ability to transmit a signal. We hiked in the mountains in Arizona several years ago and there were many places where we couldn’t get a signal. The same is true traveling between Iowa and Arizona-dead spots.

Wow! What a ride we have had in our lifetime but I recall that when Connie’s Mother was asked about what invention or gadget she thought was the most important she didn’t even hesitate, “Indoor plumbing.” She died at the age of 102 so she was an expert in new gadgets. Which one do you think has made the most impression on your life? Birthdays have a way of helping mark time and think about changes over a period of time.