How old is this Expat?
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One morning a very bright go-go boy asked the man who took him off the night before about how things were changing so fast in Thailand. The Expat replied, “Well, let me tell you about things that have changed in my life.”
There were no credit cards, laser beams, or ball-point pens.
Man had not invented: Pantyhose, Air conditioners, Dishwashers, or Clothes dryers, and man hadn’t yet walked on the moon.
This was before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends, not partial ownership of a condominium.
When I was your age, I had never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
I listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President’s speeches on the radio.
If you saw anything with ‘Made in Japan’ on it, it was junk.
Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and instant coffee were unheard of.
You could buy a new car for US$600, and gasoline was 11 cents a gallon.
In my day: “grass” was mowed, “coke” was a cold drink, “pot” was something your mother cooked in, “rock music” was your mother’s lullaby, “Aids” were helpers in the office, “chip” meant a piece of wood, “hardware” was found in a hardware store and “software” wasn’t even a word.
No wonder people call people my age “old and confused,” and say there is a generation gap…and how old do you think I am?