In contrast to age....

To counter the idea I am getting old, I would like to put in my 2¢ worth. * I was born in 61, but remember every horrifying detail my Great Uncle told me about the Marines landing on Okinawa. * I was very little but remember laying on my Grandmothers living room carpet and watching the big black and white console TV, showing the parade of solders and one wagon with a coffin. I remember being perplexed that there was a horse that had boots, which were backwards in the stirrups. * I could see feel the worry in my Mom's voice when the twin towers went down and she reminded me how close it sounded and felt to her when she heard the broadcasts of Pearl Harbor when she was young, * I remember albums and how great they sounded when you put them on the turntable and how disappointed I was when they dismantled the huge wall of 8 track tapes and conveyor at Swallens on Red Bank. * I still use Jiffy-pop when ever I can (and when I can find it) * I remember the "Heroes" of my day. The Apollo landings, the Men on the moon, and that Apollo 13 is not just a movie (and Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton are not astronauts, they are actors). The members were James A. Lovell, Jr.; Thomas K. Mattingly III, and Fred W. Haise. I still have my Apollo "The Astronauts" lunch box from Elementary. It even has Snoopy stickers inside it I put there in 1970. * I can recall my Grandfather telling me of him and his friends trip to visit Yellowstone in a Model-A Ford. Also, that they worked their way across the country for gas for food. And that it took them months to get there and back, (not hours). Matter of fact, it took about 3 days for him to tell that story and that it was one of the best adventures he ever had. I heard that one while sitting out on the front porch "glider" one summer. We were there till about 3 in the morning and until my Grandmother was so mad you could just about see the steam coming out of her ears. The funny part was she made us come inside so "she could go to bed". By the way, does anyone ever have an "adventure" anymore? * I know the story why my last name is not "Von Wuerdeman". It was changed during WWI to Wuerdeman. I also know my Great Grandfather fought for the Kaiser in WWI but immigrated here right after the war. (Can't answer why at the moment, researching that one) * I still have a 13 channel TV. I also have several B&W ones but not one of both. * The kids can't understand why the big wooden Motorola radio we have only makes music after about a minute after you turn it on, but I do! * I have a clock radio. The radio part only has AM and a 5 pound , 76 volt battery "set" that is about the size of a tennis ball can. Plus the clock is one you have to wind every 12 hours. It worked last time I tried it. * I now know why my parents were so upset when I left for the Navy and how proud they were when I came home for leave in my dress Blues. My Great Grandparents, Grandparents, and even my Parents never said they felt old, just that they were "happy to see the day when......". It's not how old you feel, but how you see the times in which you lived.