The huge changes in lifestyles, since we were born.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I had moved away from Massachusetts, and going home was an eye opener. This was in the 60s, when my buddies and friends were getting married. I wasn't married. There was like this time warp. At gatherings, all the males were in the den watching TV, and drinking. All the females were in the kitchen.

Back in Pennsylvania, where I lived, if I told my ex that wanted a beer, she would have told me that I had two legs. But in Mass. it was still in the 1950s. Husbands would ask their wives for beer, and the wives dutifully got them. I couldn't have gotten away with being the boss, like my married buddies did. It always amazed me that their wives didn't complain.

OK, now, it's years later, a new Century. Now, you find both men & women in the kitchen, Women open their own car doors, etc. This is just a tiny thing, but it symbolizes the huge changes in life styles, since we were born. Have you noticed other changes? What do you think of them? Do you agree?
 

How about the term "baby daddy?" That's one change I don't agree with AT ALL. And most families now have two bread winners. Mixed emotions about that. More options for everyone in careers and educational opportunities -- that's a plus.
 

I was born in 1945. Back in the 50's there was more time. People worked longer hours,had less vacation time and housework was grueling without the modern conveniences of today and yet families gathered for a nice sit down dinner on Sunday, actually talked to each other,kids played outside all day and we wrote real letters that came and went in a mail box. I sure miss those days.
 
I was born in 1959, and my mother didn't work until my brother and myself were in high school. I just remember a more simpler life and kind of envy my parents in that they didn't have cell phone bills, Internet bills, cable bills, etc. etc. I'm lucky that my house was kind of like Leave it to Beaver.
 
I was born in 1960 and both my parents worked. While we were small my mom stayed home but then got right back working again as an accountant or pay roll clerk. My father was an Engineer.

Never did my father order my mother around.
My father has been the one to serve my mom and do the housework. My mom did the shopping and took care of the money.

There was no ‘little woman’ at our house growing up and certainly is none at this one either
 
Keesha said:
I was born in 1960 and both my parents worked. While we were small my mom stayed home but then got right back working again as an accountant or pay roll clerk. My father was an Engineer.

Never did my father order my mother around.
My father has been the one to serve my mom and do the housework. My mom did the shopping and took care of the money.

There was no ‘little woman’ at our house growing up and certainly is none at this one either
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same here keesha i was born 1955.........i'm one of 5, ( the youngest) and as soon as i went to nursery , mum worked , she was manageress in our local Woolworths store for 25 yrs, and dad was a maintenance Engineer...at Cadby Hall Hammersmith.......
we all pulled together, and dad did some cooking ( actually he was the better cook ) ...and housework...it was a well organised household ....... xx
 
I think its good to see young and older men cooking more - makes a change from women tied to the sink =old school views '
and women go out more now with friends after work ' wasn't heard of when I lived at home ' think changes mostly are for the better,
some women earn more than hubby too ………..
 
Instant gratification. In the good 'ol days if you wanted some information, you had to get yourself down to the library and look it up or call up the librarian and hope she'd look it up for you. If you were lucky, you had a set of Encyclopedia Brittanica or World Books in your house. Sometimes, you could call the newpaper and ask them.

Now you just walk over to the computer or whip out your smart phone and VOILA! you are informed!

This has led to the need for instant gratification in all aspects of life. I know I seek it and NOW!!!

And don't get me started on Instant Rice and Instant Grits.
 
I had a wonderful time growing up in the 50's. I had terrific parents and my Dad was very respectful of my Mom as she was to him. Most Mom's in those days were stay at home Mom's and were there for us whenever we needed them.

Sometimes Dad's even had second jobs to pay the bills. Times were much safer then. We played outside even at night. I feel very sorry for what the children of today have to worry about. School shootings, Movie shootings etc. All I had to worry about was my Mom's wooden spoon, but thankfully my older sister took the blame for everything we did wrong.
 
Girls will be boys,
and boys will be girls,
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world,
Except for Lola!

That song says it all, for me, in our present world. I can no longer tell who's what sex, in Austin, a good deal of the time. I guess the younger generation is fine with that. So be it. Good luck to them, in the future.
 
Dundee used to be famous as the jute weaving capital of the world. Early last century, the jute industry employed almost half of the city's working population and mills mainly employed women to reduce costs.
As a result there was high male unemployment and so many women were the family breadwinner and the stay-at-home men gained the (somewhat pejorative) name of "Kettle boilers".

I was born in 1950 and I gather that after getting married, my mother never went back to work. This was not uncommon then, but by the time Mrs.L and I married in 1973, things had changed. Mrs.L continued to work until our first child came along and after all the children were of school age, she got a job in a local school so she worked the same school hours as the children.

Unlike my mum, Mrs.L's mum also went back to work (as a linen weaver). The constant noise affected her hearing - that's another thing that has changed - the attitude to health and safety at work.
 
I would have to say the internet has caused the most changes and not all for the best. You can get online anywhere, anytime and people have become impersonal towards one another. My BF first asked me out through an email. He never called or even asked for my number, just sent me emails. It's not exactly gallant or the way courtship used to be. I see couples in restaurants all the time where he is glued to his device and she is glued to hers. What can be that important? What is happening to interpersonal relationships?
 
Capt Lightning said:
Dundee used to be famous as the jute weaving capital of the world. Early last century, the jute industry employed almost half of the city's working population and mills mainly employed women to reduce costs.
As a result there was high male unemployment and so many women were the family breadwinner and the stay-at-home men gained the (somewhat pejorative) name of "Kettle boilers".

I was born in 1950 and I gather that after getting married, my mother never went back to work. This was not uncommon then, but by the time Mrs.L and I married in 1973, things had changed. Mrs.L continued to work until our first child came along and after all the children were of school age, she got a job in a local school so she worked the same school hours as the children.

Unlike my mum, Mrs.L's mum also went back to work (as a linen weaver). The constant noise affected her hearing - that's another thing that has changed - the attitude to health and safety at work.
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I was born in the mid 50's Glasgow, and taken to live in Dundee where my mother was from , and where she worked in Keillers...and where my father worked in the Jute Mills... then my mother went to work in the timex factory before becoming a nurse after we moved back to the West coast when I was about 7 years old..
 
Hollydolly, what mill did your father work in? The Verdant mill is now a museum and is quite a fascinating place to visit. Dundee is trying to re-invent itself and there is a lot of redevelopment along the riverside. I don't think it's all been done sympathetically.
 
I wrote something like this in the wrong thread.


I think the biggest change has been humanity. Lack of manners, respect and empathy. Too many people feel entitled. Selfishness, it’s all about me. Like my dad used to say; “Hooray for me and to Hell with everyone else.” He would tell me to avoid these type of people.

Every year at this time, I remember when he would go to a local Amish farmer that raised turkeys. He would buy 25 turkeys and dress them, then donate them to our church to give to the less fortunate in the community. Guess how much he paid for each turkey..






50 cents each.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I had moved away from Massachusetts, and going home was an eye opener. This was in the 60s, when my buddies and friends were getting married. I wasn't married. There was like this time warp. At gatherings, all the males were in the den watching TV, and drinking. All the females were in the kitchen.

Back in Pennsylvania, where I lived, if I told my ex that wanted a beer, she would have told me that I had two legs. But in Mass. it was still in the 1950s. Husbands would ask their wives for beer, and the wives dutifully got them. I couldn't have gotten away with being the boss, like my married buddies did. It always amazed me that their wives didn't complain.

OK, now, it's years later, a new Century. Now, you find both men & women in the kitchen, Women open their own car doors, etc. This is just a tiny thing, but it symbolizes the huge changes in life styles, since we were born. Have you noticed other changes? What do you think of them? Do you agree?
Click to expand...
I notice monstrous changes...

  • Marriages are disposable nowadays, and for the most part, for all the wrong reasons
  • Human life has become disposable as well
  • Back in the day (1960's) women held the fort down, and they took pride in themselves, their families, and the home
  • Family time meant something, unlike today
  • Mealtime was a family affair, everyone at the table
  • People borrowed for a mortgage, but for the most part lived within their means. Wow, has that ever changed today!
  • People resided in the same original home (for decades)
  • Children had more freedom, and playtime actually stood for something
  • Back in the day it wasn't a throw-away society, today, everything is disposable
  • A dollar actually bought a person something back in the day, people had more buying power
  • One vehicle families
  • Children could be seen and heard, always playing outside. What happened to those days?
  • People had communication skills, they also had respect for others... boy, has our world ever landed on it's face on that one today
  • A handshake was as good as gold, solidifying business deals and agreements
  • People bartered for help, and people weren't afraid to offer help
  • Neighbours all knew one another
  • Weekends were reserved for family time... picnics, outings, barbecues, neighbourhood parties, etc
  • People (for the most part) had class
  • An education actually stood for something back in the day. Fast-forward to today, over-educated folk are living in their parents basements, because they can't find employment
  • Colleges and university entry fees were relatively affordable, today??? Not.
  • Every kid had a job... girls babysat, boys cut lawns, delivered newspapers. Today, mommy and daddy foot the bill for many...
  • I don't remember entitlement being so out there, so prominent (back in the day), unlike today
  • Back in the day people (for the most part) were real, I'll spare the details as to what I think people have become today
  • Animalistic, is how I view our world today, nothing like the way it was back in the day
  • Aside from the fortunate few, people worked and paid their own way through life, today, many have their hands in their parents pockets
 

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