Seniors: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
To all seniors – do you know how special and wonderful you are? Not just because of longevity, as that is decided by God, but you must have lived most of your life well or you would not have lived this long. Think about the warehouse of knowledge stored in your brain; the warehouse of love stored in your heart! You have the ability to begin each day with joyful curiosity.
When we were young, the telephone was in its infancy. Placing a phone call was pleasant and exciting. When you picked up the receiver, a lovely voice would say. “Number, Please” and she would connect you to that number! I treasure the true story about the little boy who was lonely and called the Information Operator and was comforted. It is too long to retell but she was his invisible friend to adulthood! It wasn’t until I was a pre-teen that phones appeared in homes. Now, many homes have several, and it seems that almost everyone has a cell phone.
Years ago, we received news and entertainment via the radio. We were fortunate to have a beautiful cabinet radio in our living room. I remember waking after midnight and sneaking downstairs to lie on the carpet in front of the radio in the dark and listen to the pilots talking with the air controllers!! That old Philco was ahead of its time! My grandfather insisted on complete silence as he listened to Gabriel Heater who began each of his news broadcasts with “There’s good news tonight”. As a child, I loved to listen to Tom Armstrong, The All American boy, As an adult, I got hooked on soap operas – it always pleased me in recent years to recognize the voice of Mason Adams selling Smuckers on TV – he was Pepper Young on one of the soap operas. TV added pictures and glorious color to the sounds! The young people of today find it hard to imagine a world without TVs, radios, and telephones.
In our lifetimes, we have seen the automobile change from a vehicle used primarily by the “breadwinner” to commute to work; shopping on Saturday, and church and rides to the country on Sunday to several per some families. There was a derogatory term “Sunday driver” which classified them as not driving very often or well. My grandmothers and my mother never learned to drive, and while not everyone drives today, many of us do. After seeing a horrifying movie when I was young, I was determined never to drive. My husband insisted as soon as we married that I learn. We lived in Cleveland but came out to Bedford where there was “less traffic” for Wes to give me lessons. One warm summer afternoon when traffic was especially heavy, I crossed the bridge on Northfield Road and drove up a small incline to a traffic light at Union Street. This was when most cars were stick shift (and the clutch not all that smooth). I stalled the car when the light turned green; put on the emergency brake, started the clutch-accelerator procedure and stalled the car again. This went on through four light changes while traffic piled up behind us clear across the bridge and angry drivers began to blow their horns!! To my dismay, my loving husband who had only whispered sweet nothings in my ears up until then, shouted, “How can you be so dumb!” Amid tears, I finally managed to get through that intersection. Thanks to switching to lessons from the AAA, our marriage survived and being able to drive opened a whole new world to me. I eventually added to the family budget by driving a school bus for nine years! I was the first woman school bus driver in the Aurora public school system, and now it seems that the majority of school bus drivers are women.
Air travel today is taken for granted, but the first trans Atlantic flight was by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 – the year before I was born. As I was in my infancy, so was flight! The concept of travel to the moon could only be found in fantasy books such as “Dr. Doolittle Goes to the Moon.” We have seen it happen!
Although they can be challenging and frustrating for seniors, computers offer a wealth of information plus the ability to communicate globally. Not only can I communicate with my children and grandchildren daily via computer, I keep in touch with family and friends in Alaska, Maui, and China!
Many seniors have lived full and interesting lives and continue to do so. I salute you for a lifetime of living, loving, doing and giving. I encourage you to look at all of the marvelous changes that have occurred during our lifetimes, and look forward with faith and hope to an even better world. One in which each day we ask ourselves how we can contribute to making ours a more loving, peaceful society.
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These articles are published in the Spirit of Bainbridge every three weeks, and mailed to every home and business in Auburn and Bainbridge Townships (zip code 44023).
Additional copies are distributed locally at Arabica, Bainbridge Library, Lowe’s Greenhouse, Sirna’s Market & Deli and other locations in Auburn, Aurora, Bainbridge, Chagrin Falls, Chesterland, Solon and South Russell.
Approximately 7,300 copies of Spirit of Bainbridge are circulated.