This was originally posted and forwarded by others.  I've updated it as
best I could.
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ARE YOU FEELING OLD?

                        If not, consider the following:

Many people who are starting university next year and are becoming adults
this year were born in 1985.  These are things that these people have not
enjoyed that maybe you and I know of:

 They were conceived in 1984.  That year has no other meaning for them.

 The Iranian hostage crisis occurred before they were conceived, and probably
 before their parents were married.

 Cyndi Lauper, Boy George, the Pretenders, the Kinks, the Sex Pistols -
 are all old music they have heard of, if they have heard of it at all.
 "Punk" and "New Wave" is their PARENTS' musical
generation.  Metallica is an
 "old standard" to them.

 They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and never knew he
 was shot.  They won't know he was California's Governor, or that he was an
 actor, nor what he starred in.

 They were 6 years old when the Persian Gulf War was waged.

 Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as Black Friday 1929, the start
 of the Great Depression.

 Their world has _always_ included AIDS.

 Having not lived through the Disco Scare, they can romanticize the 1970s.

 They see "Family Ties" as something middle-aged ladies watch.

 They watched "Star Wars" years ago, when they were kids -- on video.

 Vinyl albums and cassette audiotapes predate them; Therefore the expression
 "You sound like a broken record," means nothing to them.  They have never
 owned a record player and may have never seen one.

 They may have never heard of an 8 track.  They were barely 3 when Walkmen
 were introduced by Sony.  The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 4
 years old, Digital Video Discs when they were ten or eleven.

 From their earliest years, a camera was something you used once and threw
 away.

 CB radios have always had 40 channels.  HAM confuses them.  Morse Code is a
 complete mystery.

 As far as they know, stamps have always cost 30 cents or more.

 The oil crisis is history of which they probably know nothing -- and
 why anyone WOULDN'T buy a Suburban (or other SUV) is beyond them.

 Most of them have probably never seen a real nun, even if they went to
 Catholic schools.

 They only know of "KISS" _without_ make up.

 There has been only one Pope.

 They were 5 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the
 Cold War.  They have never feared a nuclear war.

 The Cuban Missile Crisis happened 22 years before they were conceived.
 Kruschev, Brezhnev and Gorbechev will be only names, not people.  The same
 for the Kennedys, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter.  They'll wonder why anyone
 liked Ike.  Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray are dead; Sirhan Sirhan is
 an old man.  Mahondas Ghandi will mean as much as Margaret Thatcher or
 Winston Churchill.  They won't know why the US hated Khomeini.

 They don't know who Lech Walesca was or what he did, nor what Solidarity was.

 They are too young to remember the Challenger blowing up, nor do Mercury,
 Gemini or Apollo have any meaning, other than mythology.  The only Grissom
 they're aware of was a ship in ST:III.  They won't know the starship
 /Endeavour/ was named after the Shuttle.  /Enterprise/--carrier, Starship or
 Shuttle--predate them by 31, 21 and 6 years, respectively.

 Star Wars will just be a collection of movies, not a proposed space-based
 defensive system.  We have always had nuclear submarines, nuclear missiles,
 B-1s, B-2s and F-117s.  However, Area 51 will still intrigue them as it has
 everyone, provided it's still being used.

 Tienanmen Square means nothing to them.  They'll wonder why China and Korea
 aren't well thought of, and they won't know Nixon went to China in 1974.

 Soda bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic; beer bottle caps
 are still metal and some need bottle openers, but never soda.  Milk is always
 found at the store; it's /never/ been delivered to your house.

 They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
 Pinball machines have always had stereo, digitized sound.  The Nintendo
 Entertainment System was introduced before their birth.

 They have always had an answering machine, while Caller ID and other such
 telephonic services are only a few years old.  There have never been live
 operators, only recordings.

 Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor a black-and-white
 TV, nor one without stereo sound.  They have always had cable.  There have
 always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA is.  They cannot fathom not
 having a remote control.

 Roller-skating has always meant inline for them.  They have no idea when
 or why Jordache jeans were cool.

 Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.

 Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave, when you didn't get it at
 the movie theater.

 They have never seen Larry Bird or Julius Erving play.  O J Simpson is only
 known for killing his wife.

 They never took a swim and thought about /Jaws/.

 The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII and the Civil War.
 They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.  Korea is
 just a place, not a conflict to them.  "Remember the Maine" will mean
 nothing.  If they remember MacArthur, it'll be James (Hawaii 5-O), not
 Douglas.

 They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are, nor heavy, clunky glasses.

 McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.  Kentucky Fried Chicken has
 always been KFC.  Dave Thomas has always, until recently, been in Wendy's
 commercials. However, Checkers is still new.

 There has always been MTV and VH1.  Cable has always had commercials.  They
 don't know who Mork was or where he was from.  They've never heard:  "Where's
 the beef?," "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," (cigarette
commercials were banned
 in 1972) or "De plane, de plane!" They do not care who shot J.R.
and have no
 idea who J.R. was.

 The /Titanic/ was found? They thought we always knew where it was, and
 the /Lusitania/, /Andrea/ /Doria/, and /Stockholm/ are just names. The
 /Exxon/ /Valdez/ ran aground while they were in Secondary School.

 Michael Jackson has always been white, had only one face job, and he's
 always been eccentric.  Prince never had a real name.

 Eric Clapton has always been solo, as has Sting (The Police); Don Henley,
 Joe Walsh and Glen Frey (The Eagles); Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath); Chris
 Cornell (Soundgarden) and David Lee Roth (Van Halen).  Sammy Hagar
 /started/ with Van Halen.  Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama
 are places, not groups.  They'll wonder why there isn't a band with 411 or
 911 as a name.  There will have always been music lyrics warnings.

 They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.  Calculators have always
 existed.  They'll never know of simple spreadsheets, word processors or
 dedicated, one-use programs.  A BBS will be a dinosaur.  ENIAC and UNIVAC
 will mean as little (or nothing) to them as an 8088, 286, 386 or 486, as
 they've only heard of Pentiums. Macintosh is all Apple has ever produced.
 Commodore is a defunct Navy rank.

 Do you feel old yet?
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Well, do you?

Phil Osophy

... "Ho!  Ha!  Guard!  Turn!  Parry!  Dodge!  Spin!  Thrust!"  BOING!!!

--- Spot 1.3b Unregistered