The name of the game has changed

The past few weeks have been somewhat of an ordeal physically. Started out at 200 pounds and now am at 185. It was a heck of a way to lose weight, but everything came out OK in the end.

The experience did bring back a few memories. For a guy who weighed 137 pounds at high school graduation, I've had an awful time keeping my weight around 200. Working across the street from the delectable aromas wafting over from the Lake City Bakery doesn't help.

I discussed my dietary dilemma before — in a 1981 article that I sold to the Frontier Airlines magazine, "The Bathroom Scale: Tool of the Devil."

The bulk of the article that I wrote 25 years ago, however, would now be considered politically and socially incorrect and insensitive, and justly so. During the past quarter century many sensible, scientifically sound weight loss formulas, techniques and products have been developed. Weight problems have become a serious health concern.

For that reason, I won't reprint what once was an acceptable humorous article.

But change is certainly the name of the game. In an e-mail my friends George and Helen Thomas told of a boy who asked his grandmother about school shootings, the computer age, etc. and what she thought of things in general.

She replied: "Well, I was born before there were polio shots, frozen food, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There were no credit cards, laser beams, and ball point pens. Man hadn't invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, or clothes dryers. Clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air. And man hadn't walked on the moon yet."

She said "Your grandfather and I got married first, and then lived together. Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir.' After I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title 'Sir.' We were before computer dating, dual careers, daycare centers and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to take responsibility for our actions.

"Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Time sharing was time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends — not purchasing condominiums.

"We hadn't heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt … the term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exams. Pizza Hut, McDonald's and instant coffee were unheard of.

"We had 5 and 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice cream cones, phone calls, streetcar fare, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. Cost to send a first class letter and two postcards totaled 5 cents. And you could buy a new Chevy coupe for about $600, but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon. Grass was mowed, coke was a cold drink, pot was something your mother cooked with, and rock music was your grandmother's lullaby. Chip meant a piece of wood. Hardware was found in a hardware store and software wasn't even a word …"

Are you surprised that the boy's grandmother is a Baby Boomer — only 59 years old?

Such is the pace of change.