This past July, we celebrated my dad’s 80th birthday. My mom and siblings organized a big party in the backyard of the home my parents have lived in for almost 50 years. It was great to see such a great turnout of family and friends from across the country and down the street. I got to see folks from all my dad’s pods over the years.
It’s also hard to believe that he has already reached this milestone (and comes with the realization that I’m 42). Our daughter Addie won’t be 3 until this September, so there is nearly a 78-year gap in the birth years across our 3 generations.
It totally blows my mind to think about the amount of change that has occurred during the past 80 years of my father’s lifetime. I have always been fascinated by it, so I thought that I would plot some things out to share some perspective.
Pre-K (Ken)
In the 60 or so years before my dad was born, we had some of the worlds greatest inventions and difficult times. Seriously, only 60 years!
- 1876 – The telephone (not the one in your pocket)
- 1878 – The lightbulb
- 1886 – The automobile
- 1929 – 1939 – The Great Depression
Over the past 80 years (POST-k)
My dad grew up in the post-WWII era, which saw the country come out of the depression and change the way we live and work.
- 1939 – The start of WWII
- 1940 – FM Radio
- 1950s – TV goes mainstream
- 1954 – The 4-minute mile
- 1954 – The Microwave oven
- 1955-1975 – Vietnam War
- 1958 – The commercial jet
- 1961 – First man in space
- 1962 – Child car seats are introduced
- 1970 – Introduction of Monday Night Football
- 1973 – The first cell phone
- 1974 – The first Rush album
- 1974 – The barcode
- 1975 – The concept of global warming is introduced
Then there is the stuff since I was born
- 1977 – The personal computer
- 1978 – The Mountain Bike
- 1979 – The Sony Walkman
- 1981 – MTV airs
- 1984 – Van Halen’s 1984 album
- 1989 – The Worldwide Web
- 1989 – Nintendo
- 1991 – End of the Cold War
- 1998 – International Space Station
- 2001 – Katie & Tony tied the knot (and Colorado Avalanche won the cup)
- 2001 – 9/11
- 2002 – The Bachelor
- 2004 – Facebook
- 2005 – Commercialization of GPS
- 2005 – Amazon Prime
- 2007 – iPhone launch
- 2014 – Alexa
- 2014 – Our Daughter Maggie
- 2016 – Our Daughter Addie
- 2018 – Mixing Pods Blog is launched (thanks for reading!)
The insights for the next 40 years.
There is a lot to reflect on after an event like this, some things very personal. But I did want to share some of the insights that I have been pondering.
The only thing constant is change. Apparently, this quote comes from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who lived from (535 BC – 475 BC). He must have been a pretty smart dude because he sure did nail it. The pace of technology and change can be scary these days and will only get faster. But look up above, I sure there was fear and angst about using a microwave in your house in 1954 and they thought no one would ever break the 4-minute mile. Music genres have changed, allies and enemies have changed, and the way we view the post-industrial world has changed.
Somethings are timeless. Spending quality time with your family, walking your dog, going for a run (or walk), listening to music. These things will always be available to keep us grounded. Speaking of being grounded, drinking coffee has been around since at least the 16th century. Some of us practice yoga, which has been a thing since 3000 B.C. So in the midst of all this change, make sure to keep some of the timeless classics in your life.
Life is short! and long! It is amazing how fast the days, months, and years seem to go. It’s a daily realization in our house with the kids growing up so fast. But then when you look at a timeline like the one above, you realize how much has happened in your life since the 2nd grade when you were on the swings at the playground, singing Jump and Panama from Van Halen’s 1984 album. (My first tape cassette)
It’s all just mixing pods over time. So in a few weeks, I’m sure that I’ll be walking the dog in the neighborhood, checking fantasy football scores on an iPhone over a wireless network, to see how I am doing with wagers amongst my friends. Kind of like when they launched controlled gambling in Venice Italy in 1638. Some things change, yet stay the same.
Well, I guess it’s time to start planning my mom’s 80th next year!
P.S. I wouldn’t recommend using this blog as a factual reference, these dates came from a number of sources on the internet. Some may be legit, others…