Friday, November 16, 2012

Feeling the *Old* Divide


I think there is this divide between between being young and being old, or older, that starts to show up in strange and interesting ways.

While driving to school, I was listening to a younger woman on a radio talk show analyze the electorate, and she happened to repeat herself on a point she'd made earlier.

She then said, "Sorry to sound like a broken record. . . . player."

I realized then that she had no idea what she was talking about, that this cliche had lost meaning for her because in her mind, it was a broken record player that would cause a song -- or a bit of a song -- to be played over and over, not the broken record.  I figured she was about the age of my children, so records and record players would still be something she would know about.

She would not be like my grandson, who was completely stymied when I showed him a record and told him that it had songs on it.  And who was even more flummoxed when I told him we played it on a record player.  "What's a record player?" he asked.

I felt really old that day.

4 comments:

Judy said...

Ah, but unlike many of the *old* generation, you are on top of new technology. I would say you have a foot in both eras. No wonder you feel so fragmented, right?

Krista Schneider said...

aww. kids today! hehe.
Jonathan's working on restoring an old zenith console stereo. Eventually, it will sit in our living room and play his vinyl collection. so we're so bad, right? ;P

Krista Schneider said...

i meant "not so bad" lol.

Sherri said...

I'm glad I know what records and record players are...even if it means I am on the other side of the "divide." It makes me wonder how much I could have learned from my grandparents if I had just been willing to listen more when I was young!