The Epistle of Q — Chapter 205

Finally some seriously good news…

A longtime friend and colleague knows I do not spend time on Facebook, primarily due to security concerns for all the student data that I have on my computers. Therefore when they came across an interesting commentary about my age, they decided to share it with me.

And guess what? I have finally made it into the one-percenters [1%-ers] albeit for a different reason than my bank account.

Globally for those born between 1930 & 1946 ninety-nine percent [99%] are DEAD. So what does this possibly mean? Here are some interesting facts…
• we are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900’s
• we can remember milk being delivered to our house
discipline was enforced by parents and teachers
• we are the last generation who spent childhood without television and instead we imagined what we heard on the radio
• with no TV, we spent our childhood playing outside and perhaps we had little real understanding of what the world was like
• we got black & white TV in the late 50’s and at best there were three [3] stations (and no remote)
• telephones were one to a house and hung on the wall in the kitchen (who cared about privacy, or knowing before answering who was at the other end of the line!!)
typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage & changing the ribbon (INTERNET & GOOGLE were words that did not exist)
• newspapers & magazines were written for adults and Dad would give us the comic pages after he read the news
• as for other news it was also broadcast on the radio in the evening – gradually the radio network expanded from maybe three [3] stations (one being a credible CBC) to thousands it seems
• new highways would bring jobs & mobility but most were two [2] lanes – expressways were just coming into being but were far away – we went downtown to shop and we walked to school
we weren’t neglected nor were we today’s all-consuming focus: parents were glad we played by ourselves – they were discovering the post-war world, while we entered a world overflowing plenty & opportunity, a world where we were welcomed, enjoyed ourselves
polio was still a crippler; everyone knew someone who had it
we grew up at the best possible time, a time when the world was getting better


And in conclusion? Well ninety-nine [99%] of the 1%-ers are retired now and should feel privileged to have lived in the best of times – if you have already reached the age of seventy-seven [77] you have outlined ninety-nine percent [99%] of all the other people on this planet: you are a 1%-er… and because I haven’t retired, I’m in the 1%-er of you 1-%ers!!

I am going to reflect on this list for a few days and then start a new celebration of reaching 2025…

Reflectively
g.w.