It Ain't What It Used To Be

There is one thing certain in life, and that is change.

I was visiting an old friend in the hospital yesterday. His daughter was there and she had on what appeared to be a brand new pair of jeans, but the knees were busted out.  I asked her if she bought them that way?  She said, yes, that's the new style!  What???

When cable tv came out, I remember my Pops saying he would never pay for that, you can only watch one channel at a time.  The antenna and four stations was enough for him.  That man now has one of the fastest remote control fingers I've ever seen.

When bottle water showed up in stores, my Pops said he would never pay for drinking water, that's what the sink tap was for.  Now we have smart water!

Growing up, if you wanted to put pine straw in your landscape, you went to the trees and raked it and filled your pickup.  Then they started baling it.  Now, Home Depot has it self contained in bags so your SUV won't get trashed.  So, you are paying more,  for less???

Tailgating changed forever with the arrival of the popup canopy.  It Used to be a frenzy to "claim your spot!"  Eventually you started paying college students a few dollars to do it for you.  Now you spend thousands for a company to do all the work.

Gasoline now has at least 10% ethanol in it, which messes up small engines.  You now have to pay considerably more for "ethanol free" gas!

I remember buying my first washer and dryer, with all the fancy electronics.  Barely a year later, the circuit boards were fried.  My repair buddy said, "Bill, you're a smart guy.  You know electronics and lint & water don't mix!"  Been buying them with switches ever since!

You buy your kids these smart phones so you can reach them when you need them.  Who answers a phone call now???  First, it was text messages, and now it's Snappy Chat!

Holidays, for the most part, are meant for family gatherings and catching up on life events.  Now, everybody is in the same room, but they all are on their smart phones using social media.  We even have secret hand signals or text messages suggesting it's time to go!

Used to, as you got older, your body parts would begin to fail.  You and your crew would sit around complaining about all the aches and pains.  Eventually you would end up in a wheel chair, or worse.  Now you go to an orthopedic doctor and get replacement joints.  My spousal unit has two new hips and a knee.  She's good for at least another 100,000 miles!

We used to have to look outside at a thermometer for the temp.  Then we got the weather channel mobile app.  Now, I just ask Alexa!

This list could go on and on!  But then, something in this list would change.  Slow down world!