The elderly

My thoughts for the boomers still going strong after all these years. 

You know, they call us “The Elderly” ' but I think we deserve a better title. How about 'The Time Travelers'? Born in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, we've lived through more decades than some people have lived through relationships. Yeah, I got my Canadian Association of Retired Persons, card in the mail, and suddenly people are looking at me like I might break a hip just from checking my email. It’s wild, right? So, apparently, we’re ancient! I’m just waiting for some kid to ask if I fought in the Civil War.

But let’s talk about it—we’ve been through eight decades, two centuries, and two millennia! You know, the good old days when 'social media' meant talking to your neighbour over the fence. And if you wanted to 'like' something, you actually had to say it out loud. We went from using rotary phones where you had to call the operator just to reach Grandma three states over, to Face Timing the grandkids while they send you dancing cat memes. I used to get excited when the phone rang because it was either a friend or someone selling encyclopedias. Now when the phone rings, I panic like it’s a bill collector or a scammer trying to steal my Social Security!

And remember vinyl records? Yeah, we had to physically walk over to a machine to hear music. And flip the thing over halfway through! Now my entire record collection fits in my pocket. I don’t even know what half the buttons on my phone do, but I can carry gigabytes of data! Back in the day, “byte” meant someone was stealing your sandwich!

And the fashion, don’t get me started. Shorts as kids, long trousers as adults, then there was those unfortunate flares phase. Oh, and shell suits—who else looked like a shiny burrito in the '80s? Now I’ve reached the point where if it’s got an elastic waistband, it’s my new favourite thing. Comfort first, style second! And you better believe I’m not giving up my jeans. I’ve been wearing denim since the '70s, and I’m going out wearing it, too.

And remember when we used to go to a video store? I’m talking about a place where you actually walked in, browsed the shelves, rented a VHS tape, and prayed the person before you rewound it. I used to be thrilled picking up the latest release for movie night. Now, with Netflix, I spend three hours scrolling and then just end up watching a rerun of something from the ‘90s. It’s like the modern version of staring into the fridge—endless options, but you’re still not sure what you want.

Remember those slide projectors and filmstrips? It was like watching a PowerPoint presentation but without the PowerPoint. And if you were lucky, you might even get to use a computer with punch cards. Yes, punch cards – the original “Ctrl+Alt+Delete'."

We were dating in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. The era of mixtapes and handwritten love letters. If you wanted to break up with someone, you had to do it in person or over the phone. No ghosting or blocking – just good old-fashioned heartbreak.

We stabilized in the 2000s and got wiser in the 2010s and by now we are practically gurus. We figured out how to use smartphones without accidentally calling the emergency services. However, I still remember my mom trying to Facetime me and ending up taking a selfie of her ear.

We've lived through eight different decades, two different centuries, and two different millennia. That's like being a character in a time-travel movie but without the DeLorean. 

Here’s the thing: We’ve adapted. We went from handwriting letters, licking stamps, and walking them to the mailbox to sending emojis and GIFs with a tap of the finger. We've gone from telephones with operators for long-distance calls to video calls anywhere in the world. From slides to YouTube, from vinyl records to online music, from handwritten letters to email and WhatsApp. And let's not forget the evolution of TV – from black and white to color, to 3D HD. It's like our eyes have been on a technological rollercoaster. We’re the generation that’s seen it all. And let’s be real; half of us still don’t know the difference between 4K and “what’s on cable,” but hey, we’re surviving!

"We've seen it all – from infantile paralysis, polio, meningitis, tuberculosis, swine flu to COVID-19. We dodged it all. And now, we're navigating the world of masks and vaccines. , I’m starting to feel like I’ve been playing dodgeball with diseases for the last 70 years. But you know what? We're still here, and that's something to celebrate. But what a great life we've had They could describe us as 'exennials' – people who had an analog childhood and a digital adulthood. We've kind of 'Seen-It-All! 

To all the members of this very special generation, here's to us – the Time Travelers, the Adaptation Champions, the Survivors of Shell Suits. Let's give ourselves a big round of applause for making it through all these decades and still managing to laugh about it."