Your Most Disturbing Realizations

[Trenchfriend]

At the moment, I'm curiously more on classic brand-groceries than storebrand. It's astonishing, what differences are on some groceries.

The oatflakes, for example. The storebrand-oatflakes are still tasting nearly neutral, sticky, but the classic brand ones taste really more fresh and even fruity. And on Bananas, the premium storebrand isn't "scam". These Bananas taste very yummy, fruity, exotic and does spoil slower. But, the cheaper storebrand Bananas are still watery, more starchy and with much less taste, like always.

I'm really astionished about such differences and the additional price isn't much.

And now I finally know, how real Bananas should taste.

 

[MisterCairo]

My daughters were born some twenty years after the Falkland Islands war.

I was born some twenty years after the Second World War.

The difference twenty years can make...

 

[Fading Fast]

My daughters were born some twenty years after the Falkland Islands war.

I was born some twenty years after the Second World War.

The difference twenty years can make...

WWII started just over twenty years after WWI ended.

I was born in '64 and grew up during the Vietnam War and its aftermath and now there are twenty five year olds who see the Gulf War as history, not something they experienced in anyway. Vietnam means to them less than WWII meant to me.

You are so right, so much can change in twenty years - makes me wonder what, where, when, how the world will look, be, etc. in twenty years from now. The only two things I feel strong about saying is that most predictions today will be wrong and the world will definitely be greatly changed.

 

[Trenchfriend]

OMG, I never thought, that Roxette could sound so good and crunchy!

I inserted their 1995s Greatest Hits in my little Sony music-system, which is one of the last series with the S-Master Digital Amplifier. And Roxette sounds so unexpected "rocky"! The electric guitars are much more present than usual and that sounds fantastic!

Of course, I got additional my own sound-setting at this system. Bass -4 and treble +3.

But, the Sony CMT-CPZ3 sounded great from the first day on.

 

[LizzieMaine]

WWII started just over twenty years after WWI ended.

I was born in '64 and grew up during the Vietnam War and its aftermath and now there are twenty five year olds who see the Gulf War as history, not something they experienced in anyway. Vietnam means to them less than WWII meant to me.

You are so right, so much can change in twenty years - makes me wonder what, where, when, how the world will look, be, etc. in twenty years from now. The only two things I feel strong about saying is that most predictions today will be wrong and the world will definitely be greatly changed.

I was talking to one of the kids the other day about my grandmother, and showed a picture of her riding on a horse as a child. "This picture was taken in 1913," I said, and my young person's eyes grew wide. "Wait, you actually knew somebody who was alive more than a hundred years ago? Whoa!"

Whoa indeed. But consider this. My grandmother, as a youngster, could have interacted without much difficulty with people born during the presidency of Andrew Jackson.

 

[Fading Fast]

I was talking to one of the kids the other day about my grandmother, and showed a picture of her riding on a horse as a child. "This picture was taken in 1913," I said, and my young person's eyes grew wide. "Wait, you actually knew somebody who was alive more than a hundred years ago? Whoa!"

Whoa indeed. But consider this. My grandmother, as a youngster, could have interacted without much difficulty with people born during the presidency of Andrew Jackson.

I had only two living grandparents when I was born, but also, two living great grandparents. My maternal grandfather died in '72 at (what we believe was) the age of 106. Absolutely crazy to think about the world he was born into compared to the one I was. And, as you note, the theoretical connect to historical figures is crazy.

 

[Harp]

WWII started just over twenty years after WWI ended.

I was born in '64 and grew up during the Vietnam War and its aftermath and now there are twenty five year olds who see the Gulf War as history, not something they experienced in anyway. Vietnam means to them less than WWII meant to me.

When I was in the service many WWII, Korea vets were still active duty.
One man told me that as a child he had shaken the hand of a man whom had shaken the hand of a Revolutionary War vet.

 

[ChrisB]

My grandmother's life overlapped that of her great grandfather, who was born in 1803. She could recall stories from the early 1800s in the 1990s.

President John Tyler, born in 1790, has two grandsons living today!

 

[tonyb]

I was talking to one of the kids the other day about my grandmother, and showed a picture of her riding on a horse as a child. "This picture was taken in 1913," I said, and my young person's eyes grew wide. "Wait, you actually knew somebody who was alive more than a hundred years ago? Whoa!"

Whoa indeed. But consider this. My grandmother, as a youngster, could have interacted without much difficulty with people born during the presidency of Andrew Jackson.

I believe I've mentioned before that I spent part of the summer of 1968 living under the same roof as a man born in 1870.

Wish I could say he told fascinating stories, but the truth is that he had lost most of his marbles by the time I knew him. Other relatives say he had been pretty sharp up until a couple years prior to that, but even then he was hardly a noteworthy raconteur. A decent fellow who led a life extraordinary only in its longevity.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's always kind of depressing when you read the obituary of someone over 100, and it's only a couple of paragraphs long. "Grandma Lillian enjoyed her home and family, and loved to listen to the Red Sox games." Well, yeah, but what else did she do? What did she feel, think, experience? Did she ever tell anybody? Did anybody ever ask?

 

[2jakes]

My grandmother's life overlapped that of her great grandfather, who was born in 1803. She could recall stories from the early 1800s in the 1990s.

President John Tyler, born in 1790, has two grandsons living today!

My father told us of the time when he met General Patton and Carthaginian
General Hannibal.
At least that's what my dad would tell us about the man and the times during
WW2.

After several repeatings of the story, I once asked him what type of Chianti
did Hannibal prefer with the fava beans.
It took a second but he got it!

 

[tonyb]

It's always kind of depressing when you read the obituary of someone over 100, and it's only a couple of paragraphs long. "Grandma Lillian enjoyed her home and family, and loved to listen to the Red Sox games." Well, yeah, but what else did she do? What did she feel, think, experience? Did she ever tell anybody? Did anybody ever ask?

The fee for placing those paid notices is calculated by the word count. At least that's how it was with every publishing company I ever worked for. In the big city dailies a couple-three or four hundred word notice might set you back a few hundred bucks. And if you wish to include a photo, well ...

Unlike most newspaper writers, I actually enjoyed writing "real" obits. You're right, Ms. Maine, everybody's life is, if not quite a novel, at least deserving of several hundred reasonably well crafted words. The writing is never easy, but the survivors of the recently deceased often give exquisite quote, and if you can't work with that, better to find another line of work.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think it's an excellent writing exercise and good sound planning to write your own obituary and make sure your family/heirs know where to find it when the time comes. The least you can do for yourself is ensure that you have the last word.

 

[tonyb]

I think it's an excellent writing exercise and good sound planning to write your own obituary and make sure your family/heirs know where to find it when the time comes. The least you can do for yourself is ensure that you have the last word.

Speaking of same, this is well worth your while ...

http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2017/01/wisconsin-doctor-was-worth-two-obits/

 

[Stearmen]

It's always kind of depressing when you read the obituary of someone over 100, and it's only a couple of paragraphs long. "Grandma Lillian enjoyed her home and family, and loved to listen to the Red Sox games." Well, yeah, but what else did she do? What did she feel, think, experience? Did she ever tell anybody? Did anybody ever ask?

Even sadder, is when it says, she out lived all her kids and a couple of grandchildren!

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Not to get too political here, but I'm always amused when I see people lamenting:"This is not the America I grew up in!" As if it should be. The fact is, no middle-aged American has ever lived in the America they grew up in. If you were born in 1800, the America of 1850 was unimaginable. If you were born in 1850, what did 1900 look like? The contrast between 1900 and 1950 was perhaps worse. The fact is, "normal" is the way things were when we were children. Any change is a perversion of normality. I was born in 1947. This world is so different it might as well be another planet. The yearning for an unchanging world is a pathology.

 

[2jakes]

Not to get too political here, but I'm always amused when I see people lamenting:"This is not the America I grew up in!" As if it should be. The fact is, no middle-aged American has ever lived in the America they grew up in. If you were born in 1800, the America of 1850 was unimaginable. If you were born in 1850, what did 1900 look like? The contrast between 1900 and 1950 was perhaps worse. The fact is, "normal" is the way things were when we were children. Any change is a perversion of normality. I was born in 1947. This world is so different it might as well be another planet. The yearning for an unchanging world is a pathology.

Mostly when I visit the town where I was born do I feel these changes.
The people and places that I remember only exist in my memories.
Everything has changed.
This also happened to my folks and will happen to the next generation
as well.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Brother Wolfe was right. You Can't Go Home Again, and you really shouldn't even try.

I think there tend to be two points in life where people tend to fixate -- the period from seven to eleven years old, and the early twenties. The first is the age where you're first beginning to understand that there is, in fact, a world out there in which you are not the center, and you have to start forming your relationships to the greater society. And the second is the period when you think you cease to be an adolescent -- although in terms of brain development you're an adolescent into your late twenties -- and you start thinking of yourself as an adult taking your place in the adult world. In both cases, what you see when you first start looking around tends to be what marks you for the rest of your life.

I suggest this is a big part of the reason that grade school, college, and military experiences tend to be so definitive in the lives of people who went thru them -- they occur at specifically the points in psychological development where one is defining exactly who they are.

 

[2jakes]

Brother Wolfe was right. You Can't Go Home Again, and you really shouldn't even try.

I think there tend to be two points in life where people tend to fixate -- the period from seven to eleven years old, and the early twenties. The first is the age where you're first beginning to understand that there is, in fact, a world out there in which you are not the center, and you have to start forming your relationships to the greater society. And the second is the period when you think you cease to be an adolescent -- although in terms of brain development you're an adolescent into your late twenties -- and you start thinking of yourself as an adult taking your place in the adult world. In both cases, what you see when you first start looking around tends to be what marks you for the rest of your life.

I suggest this is a big part of the reason that grade school, college, and military experiences tend to be so definitive in the lives of people who went thru them -- they occur at specifically the points in psychological development where one is defining exactly who they are.

I've thrown the dice.
Have passed Go & collected $200.
Not looking back.
It's been grand.
It's spring, I've got my health
and making the most of it!

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Brother Wolfe was right. You Can't Go Home Again, and you really shouldn't even try.

I think there tend to be two points in life where people tend to fixate -- the period from seven to eleven years old, and the early twenties. The first is the age where you're first beginning to understand that there is, in fact, a world out there in which you are not the center, and you have to start forming your relationships to the greater society. And the second is the period when you think you cease to be an adolescent -- although in terms of brain development you're an adolescent into your late twenties -- and you start thinking of yourself as an adult taking your place in the adult world. In both cases, what you see when you first start looking around tends to be what marks you for the rest of your life.

I suggest this is a big part of the reason that grade school, college, and military experiences tend to be so definitive in the lives of people who went thru them -- they occur at specifically the points in psychological development where one is defining exactly who they are.

From 1954 to 1960 (ages 7-13) I spent my summers in Pasadena, CA with my aunt's family. The time I spent there, my experiences and friends, marked me for life. In 1961 my aunt moved to a beach house in Santa Barbara and that is where I spent my teenaged summers and I visited often later, even living in SB for a couple of years. My family was involved with Santa Barbara for more than 50 years, yet those seven summers in '50s Pasadena seem more significant in my memory.
I think this is why Stephen King sets so many of his books in those pre-adolescent years, which are usually the most significant of our lives.