The Times They Are A-Changin'

When I was 17, it was hard to imagine that I would have a phone that fits in my pocket, or be able to write a blog post on a computer. I have lived through almost six decades and have seen the evolution of communication.

In my opinion, growing up in the 60's and 70's,was much more simple than today. To get directions, you had to stop at a gas station and get a map. To stay up to date on the news, newspapers would print a morning, midday and final edition of the paper every day. To call out of the country you had to call your local operator, who would connect you to your overseas operator, who would then connect you to the person you were trying to call. If their lines were busy, you would have to call back. I went to Europe in 1978 and calling my parents back home was not an easy task. I would call the operator just for him to tell me that he couldn't make contact and to try again later.

Television has changed drastically since I was ten year olds. I remember watching my cartoons on Saturday mornings in black and white! I'm sure any millennials reading this are falling out of their seats in disbelief, but the baby boomers know what I'm talking about. We actually had to get up to change the channel. I didn't get a color T.V. in my house until 1973. Today that sounds barbaric, but back then having a color T.V. was exciting and "groovy." No one says phrases like far out or groovy anymore, but in the 60's and 70's that was part of my everyday vocabulary.

My parents always kept the doors in my house unlocked. My friends and I used to ride our bikes everywhere, ride the bus to the beach and spend our days exploring our neighborhood. The only rule was to be home by dark. There wasn't a fear around being on your own or traveling to new places.

One thing I don't miss are the hours I spent writing school papers or letters on a typewriter. Today, if you make a mistake you can just click the back space button on your computer. But when I was growing up, if you misspelled a word, you had to white it out and try again.

The way we listen to music is very different today. When James Taylor or The Beatles came out with a new record, I had to wait in line at my nearby record store to get the latest vinyl and then come home and play the vinyl on my record player. I had to listen to the entire album. There wasn't a shuffle button. Today, there's no excitement or adrenalized anticipation when an artist comes out with a new song, because you can just download the album onto your phone and listen to it right away.

Transistor radios are also a thing of the past. They could fit in your pocket and you could listen to the radio while you were walking into town or driving to work. My grandpa always had his transistor radio with him so he could listen to the Dodgers game. Today, you can see the stats of a game just by looking them up on google. You don't even have to turn on your T.V.

I think that the world is a much more stressful place today. The world of technology is moving at a rapid pace. New models of phones, computers and T.V.'s are coming out every couple of months. New models are always faster and better. We have become an impatient society who is obsessed with social media.

I do believe that the world is coming around full circle. Back in the 60's and 70's people who wanted to protect our earth and save our environment were known as hippies. Hippies have a negative connotation attached to them because the news highlighted them as drug addicts, but hippies were not just drug driven or focused on being free spirited. They wanted to make a change in the world. Nonconformists wanted to emulate peace and nonviolence. They were driven by love and unity. Today, I think there is a new generation of hippies and nonconformists. The new generation of kids are creating their own businesses and networks. Many are not going to college and taking a different path than their parents. Millennials are passionate about helping the environment. Do these traits sound familiar?

As I've gotten older, I've realized that my childhood was during a time of revolutionary changes in America. The hippie movement, the civil rights movement, the environmental movement and the women's rights movement were going on while I was watching cartoons or playing catch with my friends. When you're submerged in the time, you don't realize the shifts that are happening in society. As I look back on my life, I've recognized that I was lucky enough to live through a time of great change.