You Know You Are Old When

[jyoutz]

Dunno about that, someone will generally comment without being asked.

What's so special about them? Read lots of hype online about them, but none around here. 5 Guys is good, but leaves a pretty big dent in your wallet and it's always loud in there.

Fast food really isn’t the best bargain anymore. An example: at Chili’s they have a three for me burger special for $10.99. Burger, fries, soup or salad and soft drink. At an actual table served restaurant. And the burgers are really good.

 

[WinterDeere]

Dunno about that, someone will generally comment without being asked.

Another sad reflection of our current culture. I was taught enough respect for my elders to keep my damn mouth shut, when grandma accidentally lets one fly. My middle-schooler kids might silently smirk, or try to catch my eye with a hidden smile, but they also know enough to not laugh or say anything until after grandma has gone home. Let the old lady keep her dignity.

Likely because many people did not expect to live on minimum wage.

Minimum wage was for summer kids, entry level jobs that kind of thing, not what you make a career doing. Wages have never kept up with inflation, why should minimum wage.

^ This. There are almost no excuses for someone to spend their life never earning above minimum wage. The opportunities to go beyond this are simply too abundant for anyone to pretend it's anything other than a conscious choice to stay there.

 

[lman]

Another sad reflection of our current culture. I was taught enough respect for my elders to keep my damn mouth shut, when grandma accidentally lets one fly. My middle-schooler kids might silently smirk, or try to catch my eye with a hidden smile, but they also know enough to not laugh or say anything until after grandma has gone home. Let the old lady keep her dignity.


^ This. There are almost no excuses for someone to spend their life never earning above minimum wage. The opportunities to go beyond this are simply too abundant for anyone to pretend it's anything other than a conscious choice to stay there.

My grandfather used to have a plaque that read "Man is only as lazy as he can afford to be." Now it seems the culture is entitlement to a living wage while being too lazy to work.

 

[MossRoad]

My stepfather is 87, and can use modern tech as well as most college students. It's not just an age thing.

Really, I never understood adults not even marginally competent enough to do things that are easily handled by grade-schoolers. It can't be that difficult, if an 8-year old can figure it out!

My in-laws could not use a vcr let alone a smart phone. They just weren’t wired for it. No fault of their own. They did well for themselves and were great parents and grandparents. Salt of the earth.

 

[Oaktree]

Fast food really isn’t the best bargain anymore. An example: at Chili’s they have a three for me burger special for $10.99. Burger, fries, soup or salad and soft drink. At an actual table served restaurant. And the burgers are really good.

Yeah, I've noticed that. 99, Applebees, and other similar places seem to have largely held the line on prices. Likewise pizza places.

 

[Oaktree]

My in-laws could not use a vcr let alone a smart phone. They just weren’t wired for it. No fault of their own.

I was going to use the VCR analogy but you beat me to it. A lot of tech gadgets are not exactly intuitive to operate. 30 years ago when PCs started to become household items there was the joke to ask a 12 year old when you couldn't figure out how to do something.

I'm surprised the feds haven't stepped in on the needlessly complicated touchscreen systems we see in many autos today, if for no other reason than safety.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think kids are good at pushing buttons to see what happens and seasoned citizens reluctant to push buttons unless they know what will happen...

My brother was upgrading computers years ago and mom said she wanted the old one...

Brother tossed it and when mom asked he said it was slow and limited and he would get her a brand new one... she was not interested and actually a little upset.

I asked why and her logic was it's an old computer that works and being thrown away... so nothing to lose.

She never asked about computers after that and wanted no part of a new out of box computer...

Brother totally missed that but me being around many elderly I can say they have their reasons that make perfect sense to them and leave it at that.

Have an aunt that never flew but said she wanted to do a short hop but her husband said for a little more we could fly to somewhere nice... she said I'm not flying over water until I see how I like flying over land...

They are in their 80's and she has never flown to this day...

Sometimes baby steps is what it takes...

 

[JethroB]

Have not looked but good question.

Menus are laminated and owners son is the manager and dies an excellent job…

I was traveling to Seattle and stopped at Dennys in Grants Pass and it was the worst ever.

The Dennys with the owners son manager shows just how good one can be… from clean to wait staff and good service…

The cleanliness of the restroom and health inspection score can determine if I eat in a restaurant. If the public spaces are filthy I wonder what the kitchen is like

Yeah, I've noticed that. 99, Applebees, and other similar places seem to have largely held the line on prices. Likewise pizza places.

I called Pizza Hut and placed an order recently for a large supreme. Clerk said that will be $19.52 plus tax. Uh, the national TV ad says $12. He replies it is $12 but you must ask for that advertised price.

 

[bigtiller]

My in-laws could not use a vcr let alone a smart phone. They just weren’t wired for it. No fault of their own. They did well for themselves and were great parents and grandparents. Salt of the earth.

I remember when the handheld calculators with 4 memory buttons first came on the market. There were very many people could not figure out how to use the memory settings and had no interest in learning it.

I thought it was miraculous. I paid $20 for my first one.

Edit, I think it was in the early 70's

 

[sixdogs]

I've been thinking about how many people I've worked with didn't live to be as old as I am now. (65) It's rather sobering.

Indeed. No one should ever complain about being old after you weigh the options.