Eight Maids a Milking

Who would have thought that 8 Maids a Milking would refer to the Beatitudes from the Book of Matthew? Not me, but then I was clueless about the gifts of the first 6 days of Christmas.

Today we began our journey through 2022. I feel old when I think that I was born in the past century. More than half my life has been in the past millennium. But, then, as my dear father used to say, "It's better than the alternative." He also used to tell me that age was a state of mind. 

The Victorian Era ended 121 years ago. The  "Roaring 20's" were a century ago. The Go Go years of the late 1960's dates back almost 5 decades. Hard to believe that many of the Hippies and Love Children of that time are now in their late 70's early 80's. All have aged and slowed down, well maybe with the exception of Mick Jagger who seems to go on like the Energizer Bunny.

Just in my lifetime I have seen 12 Presidents, 12 Governors, and 6 Popes.  Elizabeth Regina was Queen when I was born and she still reigns.  The globe that sat on my desk when I was young would be unrecognizable now. Borders of have shifted. There are countries I studied in geography that no longer exist and others that have developed since. 

I have lived through Coca-Cola, Coke, New Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. Diet fads have run from Metracal to Scardales to Atkins, and Slimfast. There have been 6 generations of Mustangs including 13 models.  Oldsmobile, Mercury, American Motors, Studebaker, Dotson, and  Plymouth. A gallon of gasoline has gone from as low as .31 to as high $3.20. For years I can remember the cost being .33 a gallons or with tax 3 gallons for 1.00.

In 1962 John Glenn orbited the Earth in space. Since then astronauts have walked on the moon, temporarily lived in space, and now private citizen can enjoy space travel for the same cost as a developing country's economy. We have sent Rover's to Mars. Telescopes have seen the past in the galaxy. (I still cannot comprehend that phenomenon.) 

As a student in kindergarten I used a small chalk board at my desk. Today my 5 year old granddaughter has her own Chromebook for home and school. The manual typewriter was replaced by a clunky desktop computer in the 80's, a PC in the 90's, to a compact laptop, and now a smart phone. The days of corded phones are long since gone. Land lines are getting rarer and rarer. The large wiry antennae that once dotted all the roof tops were replaced by cables and now by the internet. 

The Barbie was introduced the same year as I was born. She has gone through many dozens of transformations and in the end has still fared better than I. Forgoing reality, at the age of 62, she still has her figure, her flattering legs, and no gray hair.

Hemlines have gone up with Mini skirt, down with the Midi and Maxi then back up over the knee. Women have gone from only wearing dresses to work to the pant suit to whatever suits. When I was a little girl women always wore gloves, hats, and matching shoes and leather handbags.  Men have survived the three piece suit, the leisure suit, and jogging suit.

As a child I was entranced by the Jetson's with the robotic maid named Rosie. Today I have my own self propelled robotic maid named Hazel. And, yet we have survived and indeed flourished in this fast paced "modern" world of ours. And the world and mankind will continue to evolve. 

And not to be morbid or pessimistic, I only hope we can save our mother planet Earth from the ravages of global warming. After all just as there are those who still say the pictures of man walking on the moon were created on a Hollywood sound stage, there are many who deny the disastrous changes in the weather, the rising of the sea, the loss of 1000's of species, and the destruction of the ozone layer. 

But then the innocent dinosaurs never saw the asteroid coming.