I was invited to a semi-formal brunch at the home of a friend recently. It was serendipitously scheduled on December 7, which was the anniversary of the date of the bombing of Pearl harbor in 1941. The guests were a mixture of all ages, including people who actually were teen-agers in 1941. They somehow unintentenally graviated toward each other and began talking about “the good old days”. You know the drill; “I can remember when coke was a nickel”, etc., etc.

A somewhat younger mother joined the group and introduced herself and her 16 year old daughter. The daughter was tall, and pretty, and squeeky clean and innocent looking. She had the look that everyone hopes her own teen-age daughter might have one day, when she reaches her teens. ” She is just darling”, is the expression I heard the group mostly use in describing her.

“—-and she just got her driver’s license last month,” said the proud mother.

“Are you going to buy her a car now?,” I cautiously inquired.

“Oh no, she isn’t going to have her own car!,” her mother said emphatically.

“That’s great!” said the “when coke was a nickel” crowd. “Teenagers don’t need cars. Walking is good for you. We didn’t have cars when we were teenagers. There was a war going on. We walked everywhere, or took the bus. Didn’t hurt us any.”

I expected to hear them say next that, “we also walked both ways, up hill, to school, barefoot in the snow”, but that never happened.

Before anything more could be said, the mother said,

“She doesn’t need a car. She can use mine anytime she wants. It’s a convertible and she loves to drive it!”

Everything is relative, isn’t it.

© 2008 by John Daly