I get a kick out of listening to my teenagers talk.  Sure I’ve complained in the past about their mind-numbing ramblings, but they also remind me of how little perspective I had when I was their age.  Put another way they remind me about how I used to think anything that happened before 1975 was ancient history.  For instance last night we saw a commercial for a new mini-van (don’t remember which one) that had rear passenger seats that swivel and an expandable table on a post between them.  The kids thought that had to be the coolest, most innovative thing ever.  Obviously they haven’t seen re-runs of the 70’s era Hardy Boys show that starred Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy. If they had they would have seen a cooler-than-reality version of the kind of van that we who grew up in that era knew all too well.  It seems that every neighborhood had some kid who’s parents had one of those "customized" travel vans, often with the wacky portal on the side, that was the ride that everyone wanted to borrow for dates because, well, you figure it out.

I was thinking about the "everything old is new again" theme when I came across this article (via Sue Polinsky) about a doctor in NY who doesn’t have an office, only makes house calls, and schedules his appointments using his Google Calendar and text messaging.  This sounds radical, and in fact it is, but when you think about it one of the things that the people in the pre-baby boomer generation speak wistfully about is their old family doctor who used to make house calls.  I always assumed that they missed the house call because of the convenience, but really I think they miss the personal touch and attention that were mandated by house calls.  And guess what we all are looking for now?  A doctor who takes time to give us attention and doesn’t make us feel like we’re part of an assembly line.

Still in the "everything old is new again" mindset I read Dana Blankenhorn’s piece Who Is to Blame and segued into the related "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it" mindset.  From Dana’s piece:

In many of the pieces I’ve written here on this subject, I have gone
into my own personal history. I have discussed the conservatism of my
teen-age years. I have discussed the lessons of my father. When you’re
thinking about current events, I bet you do the same. You reflect on
what has happened in your own life, what your parents taught you, and
the legends of your grandparents.

That’s really all history is. The word story is at the heart of it.
History changes with every generation, as we attempt to make sense of
the past in terms of the future.

That’s really why I enjoy listening to my kids.  They remind me of what I used to be, how I used to think, and how many times I’ve changed my mind over the years.  I view history very differently now than I used to, just as I view the world around me differently. Sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s not. 

When I was just a few years older than my kids are now I was working as an intern near Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.  Every day I would walk to the same deli to buy lunch and usually there was an elderly, blind homeless woman sitting outside the door begging for change.  I’d been admonished by my Mom not to give beggars money because they’d just blow it on booze or drugs, but this woman somehow tugged at my conscience more than any of the other homeless I’d run across.  I really didn’t know what to do, but one day it occurred to me that I could buy her a meal.  I bought her a chicken salad sandwich, some chips and a drink and handed it to her on my way out.  I never stopped to wonder if she even liked chicken salad, I just saw a woman who needed a meal and I bought it for her.  Today I’d think about whether or not she’s allergic to something in the food and if she got sick would I be liable?  I’d also think to myself that I donate some of my money to charity, give to my church and by extension I’m helping those in need.  Obviously my perspective has changed.

My kids, however, still see things as if they’re all new and ask questions accordingly.  Why are there homeless people?  Why don’t we just build apartment buildings to house them?  Why do parents get divorced instead of just working it out?  On the lighter side they’ll talk about some great song they’ve just heard and when I hear it I have to inform them that it’s a cover of a cover of a song that was first performed by some guy that died over 30 years ago.  It truly breaks their hearts to learn that most of their cool new beats are regurgitated from performers that are older than their parents.  Of course the same thing happened to me at their age, and it’s going to happen to my grandchildren in fewer years than I’d like to think about.