Quick…
name a holiday that a store isn’t open.
Did
you have to cheat? Did you have to resort to naming Christmas
or Thanksgiving? And if you did… are you absolutely sure you’re
right?
I
go back… barely… to the days when stores were closed on Sunday
because it was Sunday. I know that sounds silly. And in reality,
it was silly. But it’s true. Closed on Sundays.
Welcome
to my childhood. (Life was so much simpler then.)
My
parents used to bring the kids to McDonald’s when we were young.
The only real choice was hamburger or cheeseburger. We weren’t
offered a Quarter Pounder or a Big Mac. I can’t say I even recall
picking my drink… but on that, I always would have selected Coca-Cola,
so I can’t be certain of being denied an option or just had smart
parents that didn’t need to bother asking.
Hamburger
or cheeseburger. That was it.
It
was a part of my childhood where I didn’t have to question things.
There were certain things I just knew. Things have changed as
the years have passed.
…parking
meters were to be used only until 6pm and never on Sundays
…stores
were closed on Sundays
…hamburger
or cheeseburger
Oh
sure, there are other things. Most of them are best saved for
another time. But for now, you get the idea. The world moves on,
the world keeps changing, and often our decisions get more complex.
What we knew to be true as kids is never completely true by the
time we’re adults.
Douglas
Adams had a great quote that I’ve heard often, and seen reworded
on occasion. Goes like this in most cases: “I’ve come up with
a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1.
Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary
and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything
that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is
new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a
career in it. 3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is
against the natural order of things.” Works for me.
There’s
a lot of truth in what Adams is saying. Kids today consider cell
phones and the internet as if there has never in history been
a need for phone booths and library reference desks. For those
of us that remember some of the things from our youth, good luck
finding a pay phone.
I
listen to people talking about their finicky kids and I don’t
get it. Kids were never that picky when I was younger… or were
they? Of course, they probably were. At least on some level, and
with some activities. Which, in turn means that the more things
change the more they stay the same.
The
other day I was driving around with Justin and he told me that
I didn’t understand the world today. He said that the kids he
went to school with weren’t like the kids I went to school with.
In a way I understand what he means. The technology is different.
The structure and organization is different. But it’s really just
visual. An illusion. For my read on things, the kids are exactly
the same… and as long as they are trying to drive cars and figure
out how to get a beer (figurative examples), they always will
be the same.
As
a strange ending to this story, we found an amazing thing recently
in California. In-N-Out Burger. The basics are essentially all
they serve. Hamburger. Cheeseburger. Double-Double. Not too much
thinking involved there. Biggest decisions might involve getting
a shake.
Hamburger
or cheeseburger.
The
more things change…
~ ~
~ ~ ~
In
the early days of the In My Backpack web site, I was
trying several different ways to present material.
My
journal entries were referred to as “A Momentary Lapse…” for
a period of time, which eventually transitioned to “Are you
chewing gum?” for a bit. After a few restarts, modifications,
and relaunches, the Now Playing area took over.
One
of occasional segments—appearing perhaps ten times a year or
so—was called Random Thoughts, which I described as…
Too
long for “A Momentary Lapse…”… Not enough for a full article…
Need to get them off my “ideas to work on” list…
This
essay was originally created and presented as a Random Thoughts
entry. I’m bringing it back as a From the Backpack offering
because I’m curious about the content and the effort. But, worth
noting, it may still seem a bit incomplete, needing more development,
and may or may not have gone through some additional edits and
re-writes beyond my usual finds when searching the archives.