The oldest person alive right now was born in 1907 and is 117. Depending on how well her memory has held up, she might be able to remember a time that nobody else in the whole world can.
My grandfather was born in 1910. He was a bombardier in WWII for the US Army Air Corps, since the US Air Force didn’t exist yet. He’s no longer with us, but his life was so very different than mine. He grew up on a farm with a horse and carriage. I grew up in an apartment playing Atari.
Imagine being born before World War I and still being alive. You’ve seen more change in the world than anyone ever has, more deeply transforming events and previously unimaginable things become real. Even teens complain about changes in the world and many work so hard to stop them, I can only imagine experiencing so much makes those things seem so childish and ignorant.
And you know, in a way it goes even deeper, because for her parents, at least half of their life and frame of reference took place in the 1800’s. When she was born, 10 year olds would have their earliest memories be of the late 1890s. And the adults around her would be able to vividly remember and discuss events they were present for way back in to the 1850s or even earlier, depending on how much contact she had with old people.
Also, I’m in my late 20s now, and I recently had the startling realization that the old people I remember from my childhood don’t really exist anymore. When I was a kid, old people used to be prim and proper. They dressed a certain way, much more formal and traditional. They weren’t all uptight, but they had an idea of what’s proper or not, and wouldn’t be afraid to tell you. They were typically more quiet and less outspoken. All the women knew how to cook and sew, and all the men knew how to do woodwork and make leather shoes shine forever.
I had this realization the other day walking through my city, when I suddenly noticed how all the old people don’t seem that old anymore. They’re all relaxed and casual, dressing up in colors. They actually smile at you on the street and seem to have a sense of humor. And then it hit me: they’re not even the same generation. Old people are the kids of the old people I remember. They grew up with the early prototype of modern rock and pop. They were hippies and greasers. I think the end of WWII and the invention of modern pop culture reaching out beyond the cities really made a cut down between those two generations, the current old people and their parents.
This comment ran longer than expected. Thanks for coming to my ted Talk.
I had a client years ago who was in his late 80’s. He grew up on a farm in Indiana and I remember him telling me a story about threshing grain. He was just a kid in the 1920’s, shoveling coal into the firebox on a big Case steam engine that they took from farm to farm. He said they would try to stay near a creek whenever they could so they had a water source for the engine. It was hard, hot work. He said there was a “big German fella” who worked on their crew who never drank anything but hot black coffee, something which fascinated him as kid.
It was an interesting story to listen to. Such a mundane activity but the fact that it’s no longer a thing and only existed in the memory of someone who remembered doing it made it kind of fascinating
The internet is incredible. This post is full of insight and wonder and I feel like I’ve already read it many times before and didn’t bother with finishing reading it. I’m completely ignoring the reply to it by gooslife too.
The oldest person alive right now was born in 1907 and is 117. Depending on how well her memory has held up, she might be able to remember a time that nobody else in the whole world can.
My grandfather was born in 1910. He was a bombardier in WWII for the US Army Air Corps, since the US Air Force didn’t exist yet. He’s no longer with us, but his life was so very different than mine. He grew up on a farm with a horse and carriage. I grew up in an apartment playing Atari.
Imagine being born before World War I and still being alive. You’ve seen more change in the world than anyone ever has, more deeply transforming events and previously unimaginable things become real. Even teens complain about changes in the world and many work so hard to stop them, I can only imagine experiencing so much makes those things seem so childish and ignorant.
And you know, in a way it goes even deeper, because for her parents, at least half of their life and frame of reference took place in the 1800’s. When she was born, 10 year olds would have their earliest memories be of the late 1890s. And the adults around her would be able to vividly remember and discuss events they were present for way back in to the 1850s or even earlier, depending on how much contact she had with old people.
Also, I’m in my late 20s now, and I recently had the startling realization that the old people I remember from my childhood don’t really exist anymore. When I was a kid, old people used to be prim and proper. They dressed a certain way, much more formal and traditional. They weren’t all uptight, but they had an idea of what’s proper or not, and wouldn’t be afraid to tell you. They were typically more quiet and less outspoken. All the women knew how to cook and sew, and all the men knew how to do woodwork and make leather shoes shine forever.
I had this realization the other day walking through my city, when I suddenly noticed how all the old people don’t seem that old anymore. They’re all relaxed and casual, dressing up in colors. They actually smile at you on the street and seem to have a sense of humor. And then it hit me: they’re not even the same generation. Old people are the kids of the old people I remember. They grew up with the early prototype of modern rock and pop. They were hippies and greasers. I think the end of WWII and the invention of modern pop culture reaching out beyond the cities really made a cut down between those two generations, the current old people and their parents.
This comment ran longer than expected. Thanks for coming to my ted Talk.
I had a client years ago who was in his late 80’s. He grew up on a farm in Indiana and I remember him telling me a story about threshing grain. He was just a kid in the 1920’s, shoveling coal into the firebox on a big Case steam engine that they took from farm to farm. He said they would try to stay near a creek whenever they could so they had a water source for the engine. It was hard, hot work. He said there was a “big German fella” who worked on their crew who never drank anything but hot black coffee, something which fascinated him as kid.
It was an interesting story to listen to. Such a mundane activity but the fact that it’s no longer a thing and only existed in the memory of someone who remembered doing it made it kind of fascinating
The internet is incredible. This post is full of insight and wonder and I feel like I’ve already read it many times before and didn’t bother with finishing reading it. I’m completely ignoring the reply to it by gooslife too.
She deserves a free xbox
She’s eligible for AARP, which gets her 10% off at Bonefish Grill.