 | irishgit (138)
05/26/2007 |  My parents belong here, as do most of my aunts and uncles.
Those of them that lived to see old age, particularly those born prior to the First World War, saw the world change in ways beyond their imagining.
When my mother was born in 1912 most of Europe was ruled by hereditary monarchs, communism was a relatively obscure economic theory, the horse was still a primary means of transportation, flight was largely a hobby of a few inventors, mailed letters and telegrams were the only reliable means of long distance communication, space flight was the fantasy of a few speculative writers, home entertainment involved playing a piano, singing or games, etc, etc.
By the time of her death in 1997, all of that was gone, changed or evolved beyond the expectations of the time of her birth.
It was the most sweeping set of changes in a similar time frame in world history.
While the world has certainly changed dramatically in the 50 and a bit years since my birth, it hasn't been close to what my mother saw.
(2 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | GenghisTheHun (168)
03/20/2007 | This group is my parents. My mother is dead but my father is in his mid-nineties. He grew up on a farm and started college, but had to quit because of the Great Depression.
He landed on D-Day, fought across Europe with Patton, came back, went back to college on the GI Bill, raised six kids, sent each through college and deserves his peaceful retirement.
(1 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
