I'm a 30-something, and havent experienced much more than the general membership here, I'm sure, but I get the most amazing "stop and think about this for a second...." moments when I consider how much our world has changed over the lives of us all.
For me - I've lived without a cell phone. I was in high school when people who had pagers were considered to be drug dealers. I grew up with Oregon Trail in my teens. Most people didn't have computers at home. The mountain I lived on didn't have cable TV, so we had only 3 channels. Our roads weren't paved, and Saturday afternoons were spent jumping into the river swinging off vines. Call waiting and caller ID were a really big deal, but we didn't get them because they cost more money.
My grandma tells me they didn't have wheelchairs. She was a nurse in her white cap and skirt and tights. She had an alcoholic, abusive husband at a time when that was shameful to even mention. My grandpa tells me no one on his street had a TV. It was a really big deal when someone got one, and everyone whispered about it.
My 90-something patient told me about how so much of healthcare took place at home because you really, really had to be messed up for mom to go get the horses and carriage ready to go to the doctor. She got in big trouble once when she broke her arm falling from a tree.
What have you lived through? What pieces of history stay with you?
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
What were Dancerella Dolls? Were those the dolls that had an elastic strap on their feet that you looped around your own feet, so that you had a dancing partner?
What were Dancerella Dolls? Were those the dolls that had an elastic strap on their feet that you looped around your own feet, so that you had a dancing partner?
No. They had a pump on their heads (disguised by a crown), and you pump it to make it dance.
We figured out the hard way that my friend from school who lived 20 minutes away was considered "local long distance" when my parents received a $200 landline bill... yikes... we got a phone card so I could talk to her after that! I called her collect once at music camp because I only brought $10 in quarters and I ran out. Yes, I paid her parents back. :)
Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.
Wasn't there some way to cheat the phone company out of their long-distance fees by making a person-to-person call? I seem to remember that.[/quote
I do remember that if you wanted to call someone and let them know you arrived (where-ever) safely. you could place a person-to-person collect call, and the person would refuse the call, but know you'd gotten where you were going safely and in one piece.
I also really enjoyed reading Judy Blume. I've probably read them all. Superfudge, Tiger Eyes and Are You There God? It's Me Margaret were some of my favourites.
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
I also really enjoyed reading Judy Blume. I've probably read them all. Superfudge, Tiger Eyes and Are You There God? It's Me Margaret were some of my favourites.
Me too! Judy Blume was my favorite author! I named my cabbage patch after her. Every title you listed, I read. Probably more than once.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I remember playdoh and silly putty. Do they still sell these?
Judging by the look of my parents' carpets (they provide free day care for my nieces and nephews), PlayDoh is indeed alive and well, and quite popular with the young ones these days.
No Stars In My Eyes
5,653 Posts
What were Dancerella Dolls? Were those the dolls that had an elastic strap on their feet that you looped around your own feet, so that you had a dancing partner?