07/29/05
One of my all-time favorite comedians has always been Albert Einstein. Seriously, Albert really was a funny dude with a quick wit and sharp sense of humor. Granted, he was no Adam Sandler, but why would he want to be? For that matter, why would anyone? So, when my son, Jason, sent me an email the other day that he finished off with some quotes from famous folks of days past, I especially got a kick out of the one from Albert Einstein. The quote was this,
"The most aggravating thing about the younger generation is that I no longer belong to it." Albert Einstein
Upon reading that, I of course had a chuckle at Albert’s assessment of something which all of us who are getting a bit older have probably thought at one time or another. But, then I got to thinking about it and came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t really want to be part of the younger generation these days. For one thing I don’t think I’d be comfortable wearing my pants like that, but the main reason is that I would not have experienced any of the amazing things I have seen in my lifetime.
So, if you all want to dig out your old copy of The Who doing “Talkin Bout My Generation”, just put it on, turn it up and read on.
Thinking back on what I have seen and what has occurred in the 50+ years I have been around makes me very glad I am part of “My Generation”. I was just a kid during the early experimental days of television, and had I waited to come into this world until just recently I would have missed out on the glory of black and white TV. I also would have missed out on Sid Caesar, Milton “Uncle Miltie” Berle, Jack Benny, George and Gracie, and Red Skelton. If you are so young you do not know those names, I am sorry for the laughs you missed.
The kids nowadays have never known anything but color TV. They will have no idea how magical it was when our favorite programs suddenly turned from the dull shades of Kansas gray to the wonderfully bright colors of the land of Oz.
I got to see Elvis, The Beatles AND Senor Wences on Ed Sullivan.
Although they would, no doubt, be considered politically incorrect now, we had heroes to emulate like Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid and my all-time favorite cowboy, Hopalong Cassidy. The kids of today have Barney, The Teletubbies and Spongebob Squarepants, all of whom have, at one time or another, been accused of being gay. I cannot imagine anyone having the nerve to even consider Roy or Cisco or Hoppy being anything but real men, although now that I think about it the Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, did spend a lot of time alone on the prairie. We also had Sky King, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon and Ramar of the Jungle (he was everyone’s bwana).
I got to hear the music of The Beatles before it was used for TV commercials. The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and my boys, Paul Revere and the Raiders were all a big part of my adolescent years. The kids nowadays have some guy named M&M’s and the latest “winner” (?) from American Idol to listen to.
The so-called comedy shows today’s kids watch are incredibly boring when compared to the likes of “I Love Lucy” and “Laugh-In”.
In my lifetime I saw Presidents who were assassinated, forced to resign (even though he said he wasn’t a crook), and impeached for getting a blowjob in the oval office.
I can remember the paranoid hysteria when Russia managed to put the first satellite (Sputnik) into orbit around the earth. We just knew it contained “Atom Bombs” and because of that the only safe place was under our desks at school. I can also personally compare the feelings of sheer joy at seeing Alan Shepherd take man’s first steps on the moon with the utter disbelief when “Challenger” exploded on national television.
I was around to see “The Tonight Show” passed from Steve Allen to Jack Paar to Johnny Carson. After that I lost interest. I’m sorry Jay and David (and all the rest), you are little more than Johnny Carson wannabes, and none of you will ever come close to Johnny’s humor or class.
I was fascinated by the battle for supremacy between “enemies” Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, and later between “good friends” Magic and Bird. But, I consider it to have been a privilege to witness the unbelievable feats of Michael Jordan.
I saw the strength of Mickey Mantle, the speed of Lou Brock and the intensity of Bob Gibson. I never considered adding an asterisk when I saw Roger Maris brake Babe Ruth’s home run record, and I still admire the class of a guy named McGwire when he broke Maris’ record.
I saw Unitas’ flat-top haircut and high top shoes. I actually had a Lou “The Toe” Groza football when I was a kid. And I can still hear Howard telling Dandy Don about how great Broadway Joe was on Monday Night Football.
I remember sitting in a bar in Collinsville Illinois watching TV when the Blues Brothers first took the stage “Live From New York” one Saturday night. And I was sickened when “Jake” was taken from us.
I am grateful I got to see the building of the Berlin Wall because it made the tearing down of that monstrosity all the more meaningful. I was amazed to see a single brave man stare down a Chinese tank in front of the whole world. And I have heard that a peace treaty had been reached in the Middle East……dozens of times.
I was born in the late 1940’s, shortly after the end of World War II. In the 50’s, when I was a small boy I can remember hearing the grown ups talk about the war in Korea, and I went to grade school with a guy whose father had been killed in that war. I didn’t really know what that meant at the time. Then came the 60’s and Vietnam carried on into the 70’s as well. I remember Lebanon and Granada in the 80’s. In the 90’s it was a place called Kosovo and the first Gulf War, although we didn’t call it that because we didn’t expect there would be another. Even this early in the new millennium I already have Afghanistan and Iraq to count in the long line of wars in my lifetime. In thinking about all the differences between my generation and the kids of today I, sadly, realized there is one thing that we will probably have in common. In my entire lifetime, there have not been but relatively short periods of time between wars. The way things are looking, I am afraid today’s generation has the same thing to endure in their future.
Thinking back on all the wonderfully memorable things which I have witnessed and experienced in my lifetime, I got to thinking about what might be considered the one, single most important and meaningful event. It didn’t take long to put things into perspective, and I came to the undeniable conclusion that the moment I first saw my newborn son had to be the ultimate moment in my life. I can still vividly remember that night 28 years ago when my life instantly changed. And I have been grateful ever since that I was fortunate enough to have been his father. Besides, if he hadn’t been born he never would have sent me the email which was what got me to thinking and caused this Friday Ramble to be written in the first place. So, if you didn’t particularly enjoy this week’s Ramble you can just blame my son, Jason.
I have mentioned many things which had meaning in my life, and I am sure you all realize there were many more. I also know I haven’t touched on some which might have held meaning for some of you out there, so take a few minutes this weekend and think back. Not of the bad, but of the good things which made your life special and enjoyable, and savor their memory. And when you do, please realize those moments will never happen again and never be as special as they were back then. Fond memories are good, if for nothing else than to remind us of how good we really have had it. I hope all of you have just as many good memories as I have, and I hope the youngsters of today can someday look back on these trying times with the fondness I have for my past.