The Things We've Seen!
Time marches on by, whether we're paying attention or not. And with the passing of time, so comes change... sometimes change so radical it's difficult to believe we've actually witnessed it in our lifetimes.
Perhaps the "I remember when" game is just a side effect of aging... but sometimes I can't help but contemplate some of the things I once thought of as pretty normal... that the grandkids likely don't even know existed!
A few who read this might be of an age to remember "operator assisted phone calls." That's perhaps not such a big deal... but perhaps what is unusual is that when I'd call my auntie from our house in Copenhagen, I'd dial her local switchboard and then ask for number three.
When the house was built in the 1930s, my grandfather insisted on having a telephone line put in, mostly because the house was in a pretty remote location, and since many people would come to visit, he felt it was prudent to be able to telephone for a doctor, if the need should arise.
To this day, the phone number ends on 0003, as a remembrance of that distant past.
My dad traveled all over the place for business, and so we would go to the airport quite frequently. Back then, you could actually walk out onto the observation deck and watch the planes... no security check.
Essentially, the roofs of the long piers that had the gates were paved and you could walk out there and look around. It was one of my favorite things about going to the airport to meet my dad when he came home from somewhere exotic.
Unlike in the US where you could go out to the gate to meet someone, at the airport in Copenhagen you could not because it required that you had a passport and a plane ticket.
But it was still a fun thing for a kid!
I was watching a video podcast earlier today... from a Gen Z'er who was actually blaming much of today's lack of contentment on the fact that people no longer have hobbies.
Which, in turn, she was blaming on smartphones.
Can't say I disagree. There's nothing wrong with having these devices, but one of the unfortunate side effects they have brought us is the inability to stay focused on anything for more than a few seconds.
Most hobbies require you to sit still and focus on just one thing for a while.
The other nice thing about hobbies — at least for me — is that it was something I got to do entirely for fun. There was no money-making motive, and there was to motive to gain likes and followers for your Insta or Tiktok.
You just did it for yourself, for its own sake.
Certainly, it was a different world, in 1970. For one thing, a person could go to work at a "decent" job for 40 hours a week, and have enough money to pay the bills and have a bit left over to put into a hobby.
In today's climate, many would have to work 60 hours a week to have money for a hobby... and then they would have neither the time nor the energy to actually pursue that hobby.
A shame, I think.
The world has lost track of what actually matters in life, in pursuit of this tendency to endlessly monetize every second of our existence.
I'd frankly rather go outside and plant flowers than eternally wonder about how many followers I have!
I guess that makes me old...
Which isn't to say that life isn't good, in this technological age. I just wish we had a little more time to just slow down!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great rest of your week!
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Created at 2025.08.06 00:22 PST
1404/2668
Life isn't just changing. It's changing faster every year. I think it's related to the development of technology in the geometry of the progression
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True. The young folks wont even understand the very basis of this song!
The things we’ve seen, not just inventions or milestones, but the entire shift in how we live, connect and just be. It’s a quiet reminder that while the world may spin faster now, we can still choose to slow our own pace.🤗
I recently heard an economist discussing how times had changed by analyzing how long it would take soneone in France to save up to the median wealth level. I may have the stats and methodology off, but it would take something like 35 years, saving 10% of income, about 50 years ago, but that has doubled to 70 years for the same savings goal now. Similar problems have arisen everywhere else, with the same trend even if differing in degree of severity. Whatever the numbers were, it's a real sign of the struggle for millennials and zoomers.