A Century of Life

As you can imagine, I've been thinking about my great aunt and about the wonder of being alive for over 100 years. I don't know how it actually feels to have a body that's more than a century old, but philosophically speaking...well, wow. That's a heck of a long time. It's intriguing to ponder all the changes that have happened in our world during that time span. It's phenomenal to imagine what my great aunt has seen the advent of during her lifetime. And it's inspiring to know that she has retained her crafty wit and sharp intellect through it all.

So I've done meself a little research just to see what inventions have occurred during her life. It boggles the mind to imagine that all this has occurred since she was born in 1904--and believe me, this is a short list. I hope you find it interesting:

• Albert Einstein published the Theory of Relativity a year after she was born.
• The first talking motion pictures were invented when she was six.
• She witnessed the introduction of cellophane, the Model T, and instant coffee. (I think the latter was her favorite.)
• It wasn't until she was eight that she could enjoy the delight of sucking on a Lifesaver; Pez candy came along a little later.
• When she suffered a cut as a little girl, she didn't have the comfort of those dependable Band-aids; they weren't invented until she was 16.
• Imagine this: there were no traffic signals until she was an adult! Given that the cars of the time probably didn't go over 20 mph, that probably wasn't the problem it would be today.
• In 1928, both penicillin and bubble gum were invented. Coincidence? I don't think so.
• Ballpoint pens came along in 1938. What would life be like without ballpoint pens, I ask you??
• She witnessed the beginnings of radio, television, zippers, and pop-up toasters.
• Push tabs on soda cans and artificial hearts were developed in her lifetime.

Some things were invented that she probably never used, such as VCRs, cell phones, the internet, CDs, roller blades, digital cameras, answering machines, and Viagra. (I'm not 100% sure on that last one; I have been told that she's very popular with the boys at her nursing home. However, I don't want to assume.)

So that's what I know. And just a note to the crew out there: I really tried to post fun pictures of some of the above items, but this stoopid-friggin'-piece-of-crap-thing-keeps-kicking-me-offline-so-never-flippin'-mind. Goodnight