The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Anyone else read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich?... I just got my hold from the Library yesterday, for the one that came out last week... So I'll probably be quiet for a few days!
I have some Janet Evanovich books, but I'm not sure if it's the Stephanie Plum series...I got them at the library book sale one year when I was home in the summer. I read some back then, and enjoyed them, but some were in a series and I missed a lot of what happened before.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
We have a couple states like NJ and Oregon that still have gas attendants so when you pull up you just give them your card and pop the gas cap button and sit in your car. I get yelled at a lot in Oregon because I forget I'm supposed to stay in my car. So if you grew up in one of those states, you might not have ever had to fill your gas tank.

And there are a surprising amount of things you need to know about filling your gas tank. Like avoid diesel at all costs unless you have a diesel engine. Or that you'll likely need to know your zip code for your card. Or how to select which type of gas you want. Or how to identify card stealer readers. Or that you need to twist the gas cap back on until it clicks twice or your gas light might not turn off. Or that you need to shake the gas pump handle a little bit before pulling it out or you'll spill. Or that you don't want to "top off". Or that you can put that little clip down so you don't have to hold the pump. Or that you can pull up on either side and the hose will stretch.... OR that the little arrow on your low gas light shows which side the gas tank opens on.

I can't remember anyone teaching me how to pump gas, but I'm sure someone showed me at least once or twice.
I remember my mom teaching me how to pump and how to record gas mileage on a recipe card you keep on your visor. But I just kind of figured that was standard everywhere. I ran into problems once when I went home because I live out of the country....you can't punch in a zipcode from another country. So I had to go inside to pay, and it always confuses people that I have an American credit card, but a foreign address.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
I can buy that to an extent, but seriously even with today's technology can there be anything that is simpler to do. As they grew up did they never catch a glimpse of whomever was pumping the gas and notice what they were doing? Is everyone from NJ so intellectual that they spent that time reading classic novels so as to not waste a second of great literature? To me that is a "Here's you sign" moment. Back in the olden days there was only a couple of situations that I can remember where it was a bewilderment. If you owned a 1956 or 1957 Chevy, the gas filler pipe was hidden by a small piece of chrome just above the left rear taillight or in the case of a 1956 the entire tail light folded down to reveal the filler. Also a number of cars had it hidden behind the license plate bracket. You would not believe that number of people that were never able to find it unless someone was there to point it out.

Just for giggles I went to You Tube and to my amazement there were actually short videos showing how to get to that area for both the 56 and 57. Life was so much harder back in the stone age when we had to figure it out on our own or dig out the owners manual. :D
My first car was a 77 chevy malibu....the gas filler pipe was behind the license plate.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Combination of factors. I think parents just don't teach their kids as much as they used to. More mothers work than previously, so in some cases they're so busy that they forget to take the time to teach their kids things. I know that's the case with my friend; her mom runs a daycare at home and just always took care of things herself. My mom was a stay at home mom, so she took more time to teach me to do things for myself, like laundry and cleaning bathrooms.

I think it's also just an experience thing. We're the technology natives. We're used to having information at our fingertips. We're used to the way computers work. Whereas I just had to show an older coworker how to operate one of the vending machines that has a touchscreen. I've had to show my parents how to operate the smart TV and their infotainment systems in their cars that I just kind of figured out. Whereas we've never had to be familiar with the interworkings of a toilet (except for me; I had one that constantly clogged growing up) or an internal combustion engine, so when we see it for the first time and it's unfamil, our brains kind of go, "Nope." The same way someone who isn't familiar with technology will look at a computer and go, "Nope."

And then, I also think the older generations give themselves a bit too much credit. Like, yes maybe you could have operated that washing machine, but there was something else at that age that completely threw you, but it's been so long that you can't remember that time. My mom has told me that when she was first married, she called her parents because sometimes, she needed advice or there was stuff she didn't know how to do. No different than when I called my mom because I couldn't figure out the leaf blower. And then, there are the NJ students who definitely figured out how to pump gas, but it doesn't make for a very good story, so you never hear about it. And I think because of that, we get some exaggerations as well. I had someone tell me (on the boards, not on this thread) that when I entered the workforce, I'd be embarrassed by the behavior of some of my peers. Well, I've been in the workforce for three years now and have not been embarrassed once by people my own age. Maybe that person just had some bad experiences idk.

But basically, I don't think it's one factor, and I think it's more a societal shift than anything.
I think you're dead on with people forgetting that there were things that threw them, too. I've been doing laundry for decades, but I got a new washing machine a few years ago, and instead of words for settings like "Cold" or "delicate" if just has symbols. And there is no legend anywhere in the books to tell you what the symbols stand for. I just use the settings that are temperature settings and I just learned this past weekend how to do a prewash on my machine, only because my MIL's machine is bigger, so I took my comforter there to wash and her machine actually has the words, so I was able to figure out when I got home how to do it on mine. But the user manual for mine is useless...it doesn't tell you what any of the settings do or what the symbols mean. It's not user-friendly. And maybe I'm not very good with technology, but someone else might not be good with grammar, etc. Everyone has strenghts and weaknesses.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
OK, I can see some valid points. Now I'm going to sit here and think about if there is anything I remember calling my parents for that I didn't know.... but I'm old and my memory has faded, so I may not remember. :hilarious: I do remember calling my step mom for certain recipes that I didn't have.

I remember my mom teaching me (she died when I was 15, so this is all that age and younger) how to do laundry, but she left me to figure how to vacuum and dust. (I still hate dusting!) I don't recall her teaching me how to do dishes, but I'm guessing she did. That's another source of weirdness with me.... I was taught to fill the sink with hot soapy water and then wash the dishes that way, rinsing in the other sink. But I see younger generations not filling the sink, and just washing 1 thing at a time with the water running. It seems foreign to me.

I remember my dad teaching me how to change a tire, and how to use jumper cables, and how to check my oil. He took me to the SoS (DMV for most of you) and walked me thru registering my first car, getting my license and license plate. I don't remember him showing me how to pump gas though.

Mostly I remember learning by watching... and I think that kids are so into screens now, that they don't watch their parents do stuff just because they are bored. (I was an only child at the time)

I feel lucky, I am on the cusp of the generation just before computers... we had a basic language computer course (9 weeks) when I was in Jr. high that I took, then no computers in high school because they didn't have many, and only the popular kids got to take that class (why? who knows!) But when I started working for the airlines(18)..it was the new age for the computers, and I learned a lot there, and have always had a love for them (computers and airlines) I even learned to build computers, back when it was cheaper to build yourself a good computer than buy one.
No one I know over here rinses the dishes. They fill the sink with hot soapy water, wash the dishes in it and then stack them to drip dry without rinsing. We have a dishwasher, and our kids do the dishes now. They alternate...one sets the table, the other does the dishes, then the next night they switch.
 

MySmallWorldof4

Well-Known Member
Just saw another commercial for the movie “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”...how many of y’all remember watchin’ original runs of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood“, “Captain Kangaroo”, “Sesame Street”, “The Electric Company”, etc.
I have such good memories of those times...!!!!! :happy: :)
I want to see that film. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the show as a kid, but it is nostalgic for me. I loved The Electric Company and Sesame Street. My favorite was ZOOM! Maybe you were too old for PBS kid shows when that came out. There was also a science based show that I cannot remember the name of. I think it had The Bloodhound Gang in it.
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
I have some Janet Evanovich books, but I'm not sure if it's the Stephanie Plum series...I got them at the library book sale one year when I was home in the summer. I read some back then, and enjoyed them, but some were in a series and I missed a lot of what happened before.

Well that's the good thing about the Stephanie Plum series, you can read just one, or you can read the whole series. I've read all of them because I'm addicted... I probably only have an hour maybe 2 to go on the book I got Tuesday. LOVE that series!
 

Rista1313

Well-Known Member
No one I know over here rinses the dishes. They fill the sink with hot soapy water, wash the dishes in it and then stack them to drip dry without rinsing. We have a dishwasher, and our kids do the dishes now. They alternate...one sets the table, the other does the dishes, then the next night they switch.

They don't rinse them? EWE... soap flavor is not my favorite!
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom