The three people listed above are part of a generational quiz I have put together in hopes of amusing you. I listed out a series of activities I have done in my lifetime that I doubt my now-deceased grandfather (born in 1896) did and I doubt even more that my newborn grandson (born in 2024) will ever do. A lot has changed in 128 years.
Having a pager. When I published an auto photo magazine with sales reps across the state in the mid-1990s, we supplied pagers to everyone. Cell phones were not yet commonplace, and these were a great way for us all to communicate with each other and the home office. Grandpa? No. My grandson? Another no.
Sending a fax. I recall having a fax machine in the advertising department of The Des Moines Register 35 years ago. It was fascinating — and a huge timesaver. Most every business was adding a fax line and a fax machine with that curled-up paper. Grandpa? No. My grandson? Never.
Renting a VHS movie. For a few decades, Jolene and I looked forward to a trip to the video store. We wouldn’t always agree on what movie to rent, so we would often get two. This, of course, meant double the late fees, as well. We still have some VHS tapes stored in boxes somewhere. We just don’t have a VHS player. Neither did Grandpa. And neither will my grandson — unless he finds mine.
Writing a check. I opened my first checking account when I was 16 years old, and it was a big deal. I still write a few check today, but not many. I am not sure if Grandpa wrote any checks in his lifetime. If they had a checking account, Grandma probably wrote the checks. My grandson likely never will write a check or even know the feel of jingling change in his pocket.
Using a phone book. As a child and into my early adulthood, my fingers did the walking in not only the yellow pages but the white pages, too. That’s how we accessed phone numbers. And addresses. And proper name spellings. Grandpa didn’t even have a phone on the farm until he was a young adult. And I can’t imagine my grandson will ever feel the need to flip through the pages of a phone book — if he can even find one.
Listening to music in a boom box. Every kid my age had a boom box with an AM/FM radio and a cassette player. They could run on a truckload of D batteries, but that was way too expensive. We plugged them in, and we rocked them out. Grandpa would have thought a boom box had something to do with TNT. And my grandson will likely have speakers implanted in his ears.
Yes, my grandfather, my grandson and I have had — or will have — different experiences. I remember Grandpa laughing as he watched “The Jetsons” on his little black-and-white TV with the rabbit ears. I expect my grandson will be living it.
Have a great week, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
