The people who are starting college this fall across the
nation were born in 1980.
They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era,
and do not know he had ever been shot.
They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was
waged.
Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great
Depression.
There has only been one Pope. They can only really
remember one president.
They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and do
not remember the Cold War.
CCCP is just a bunch of letters to them. (Souz
Sovetskich Socialisticheskich Respublic, if anyone
cares. - LadyHawke)
They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After"
is a pill to them, not a movie.
They have only known one Germany.
They are too young to remember the Space shuttle
blowing up, and Tienamin Square means nothing to
them.
They do not know who Moamar Qadafi is.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
They never had a Polio shot, and likely, do not know
what it is.
Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but
have always been plastic.
They have no idea what a pull top can looks like.
Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl albums.
The expression "you sound like a broken record"
means nothing to them.
They have never owned a record Player.
They have likely never played Pac Man, and have
never heard of Pong.
"Star Wars" looks very fake and the special effects
are pathetic.
There have always been Red M&M's, and Blue ones
are not new.
"What do you mean, there used to be beige ones?"
They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are
they probably have never actually seen or heard one.
The Compact Disc was introduced when they were
one year old.
As far as they know, stamps have always cost about
32 cents.
Zip codes have always had a dash in them.
They have always had an answering machine.
Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels,
nor have they seen a black and white TV.
They have always had cable.
There have always been VCR's, but they have no idea
what Beta is.
They can not fathom not having a remote control.
They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced
by Sony.
Roller skating has always meant inline for them.
They have never heard of King Cola, Burger Chef, The
Globe Democrat, Pan AM or Ozark Airlines.
The Tonight Show has always been with Jay Leno.
They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were
cool.
Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave.
McDonalds never came in Styrofoam containers.
They have never seen and remember a game that
included the St. Louis Football Cardinals, the Baltimore
Colts, the Minnesota North Stars, the Kansas City Kings,
the New Orleans Jazz, The Minnesota Lakers, The
Atlanta Flames, or the Denver Rockies (NHL Hockey,
that is)
They do not consider the Colorado Rockies, the Florida
Marlins, The Florida Panthers, The Ottawa Senators, the
San Jose Sharks, or the Tampa Bay Lightning
"expansion teams."
They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar is a Football player.
They cannot remember the Cardinals ever winning a
World Series, or even being in one.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI,
WWII or even the Civil War.
They have no idea that Americans were ever held
hostage in Iran.
They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard the terms, "Where's the beef?", "I'd
Walk a mile for a Camel", or "de plane, de plane!"
They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who
J.R. is.
The Cosby Show, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, The
Love Boat, Miami Vice, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Taxi are
shows they have likely never seen.
The Titanic was found? I thought we always knew where
it was.
Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are
places, not musical groups.
Do you feel old now? Remember, the people who don't
know these things will be in college this year. Perhaps,
they'll learn?