Baby Boomer Life Skills, That Are Useless Today

there used to be certain skills that were taught to us that prepared us for living a productive life these were things that our parents would pass along maybe they were even taught to us in school or maybe we just figured them out ourselves but regardless they were essential to us nowadays many of these life skills have been abandoned especially with newer Generations so let's take a look back at these baby boomer life skills that seem useless today [Music] who Among Us doesn't remember the days when we had to memorize phone numbers it certainly tested our memory keeping track of our home phone number friends numbers and select family members knowing these by heart was a necessity especially when it came to making any phone call and most importantly if you were stranded by a pay phone it's hard to believe that we once kept all of these numbers stored right in our head head while all the other important phone numbers were written down on a list somewhere by the telephone back then we just didn't have the luxury of knowing who was calling so there was no screening our phone calls when the phone rang we answered it no matter who was on the other end and taking down messages for the other people in the household was all part of the process it was polite and helpful to the person calling to ensure they would get a return phone call no call would go to waste because who knew what important message might be on the other end recollection road is proud to partner with Legacy box get early access to the best deal of the Year watch until the end of this video to see why Legacy box is the perfect gift this holiday season and then visit legacybox.com recollection for an incredible 65% off GPS and digital Maps may have made our lives easier but let's not forget the satisfaction of unfolding a paper map and plotting a course to somewhere new reading a paper map took skill and patience to study every inch of the map plus be able to navigate in real time when traffic construction or roadblocks popped up you had to plot a new course on the fly it wasn't easy but at least you could never get lost road trips back then added an element of Adventure especially when you had someone riding along to help now navigate sewing used to be a practical skill that was taught both at home and at school prior to mass-produced clothing available at every turn many women would make their own clothes by using patterns and a trusty sewing machine the sewing machine used to be a very important household device and it got plenty of use over the years and then it was probably passed down to you mending clothes altering them or even sewing your own shirts and trousers was a reflection of how we used to be much more self-sufficient not to mention it saved a lot of money cursif writing with its elegant Swirls and Loops was a Hallmark of Our Generation it's a style that added a personal touch to both letters and documents and was seen as a much quicker method for writing things down the art of writing in cursive was something we grew up doing first by seeing our parents right and then officially learning how to do it in the early years of elementary school not only did it improve our fine motor skills but it just looked more graceful and seemed to carry with it a bit more of your own personality which is something that text messaging just doesn't convey remember your first car learning to drive was a ride of Passage as a teenager and many of us learn to drive using a manual transmission some cars had a three on the tree column shift While others had a stick shift with four on the floor driving back then required both feet and both hands plus the wherewithal to know when to change gears while automatic cars have become the norm knowing how to drive a stick shift was a valuable skill and a true connection to the Driving Experience balancing your checkbook was taught to us because it was the foundation for financial responsibility our income and all of our expenses were reviewed at least once a month to keep things accurate this skill taught us the value of money and helped us to live within our means which is something missing in today's world with credit and debit cards making spending easier and easier many young people nowadays lack the fundamental financial literacy of balancing a simple checking account before the internet we all relied on our alphabet skills to find things from looking up a definition in a dictionary to running our fingers down a card catalog at the library it seemed everything was organized alphabetically do you remember doing research using encyclopedias first you would locate the correct volume then you would flip through the pages to find what you were looking for by the first letter this very basic skill was much more valuable back then and it's yet another example of how figuring things out yourself meant using brain power to First figure out where to look the art of writing letters was a communication skill that dominated for centuries handwritten letters were the only way to communicate long distances before the Advent of the telephone not to mention it taught us patience letter writing was common throughout the 20th century and it carried with it our own personal touch showing that we cared enough to sit down and craft a message specifically for the recipient these letters often created lasting memories that became keepsakes for some and simply strengthened connections between people typing on a typewriter was once part of everyone's schooling the class taught you how to line up your fingers and then memorize the layout of all the keys which helped to build up your typing speed you also learned how to maintain a typewriter which included loading in sheets of paper replacing the ink ribbon when needed and dusting off the type before use this important skill was essential for most of us because typewriters were used everywhere typewriters also taught T us to be detail oriented as making a mistake usually meant starting all over in most homes of the past there could be found a set of dishes that were only used on special occasions the Fine China would be displayed in a China cabinet year round right up until that very special holiday dinner or party where the dish wear transformed the ordinary meal into a memorable event these dishes were usually passed down through the generations but storing them in the tradition of using them on a regular basis is something that you very seldom see today dating the oldfashioned way was all about face-to-face interactions genuine conversations and getting to know someone deeply it's a slower more intentional approach to finding a significant other rather than swiping left or right on a screen dating used to be about making a real connection with someone and understanding their values before committing this also required us to have good social skills banners and good hygiene if we expected to find that special someone dating today is quite different because you never know what you're going to get after seeing their profile picture there was once a time when we valued doing most things ourselves from the simplest things like manually rolling down a car window it was all about the effort we would physically go out to eat rather than have it delivered and we used to have to go to the bank on a regular basis and actually go inside to deposit deposit and withdraw money which also meant we had to interact with the bank teller all of these things remind us of The Simple Pleasures of going about our life These manual actions were not only part of our daily routines but they taught us to appreciate the little things that filled Our Lives let me know in the comments if I missed anything and make sure to sign up for the recollection Road newsletter using the link in the description recollection Road and Legacy box both believe it's important to preserve the past if you've been looking for that perfect gift look no further than Legacy box we all have a box of treasured home movies and photos tucked away somewhere so why not bring them back to life like I did using Legacy box now we can relive those memories as a family every time we get together the process is a simple and safe solution for converting your home movies and photos to thumb drive or the cloud just send in your legacy box filled with old VHS and camcorder tapes film reels and pictures and get back digital copies that can be easily enjoyed shared and kept organized it's really that easy Legacy box is trusted by over 1 million people and it's all done right here in the USA give your loved ones the perfect gift this holiday season go to legacybox.com recollection to get an exclusive 65% off take advantage of their best deal of the year and send in your memories when you're ready go to Legacy box.com recollection to save 65% while supplies last if you enjoyed this video consider watching the other videos in this series while you're at it hit subscribe and share recollection road with someone you know as always thank you so much for watching

Channel: Recollection Road

Views: 314,200

Keywords: Recollection Road, nostalgia, memories, photos, history, closed, forgotten, business, past, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, memory, yesteryear, golden age, photo album, oldies, fifties, sixties, abandoned, 20th century, retro, vintage, america, usa, typing, balancing checkbook, memorizing phone numbers, taking messages, reading a map, sewing, stick shift, writing letters, encyclopedia, dictionary, card catalog, fine china, dating

Id: bSALd6keJNo

Length: 9min 51sec (591 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 24 2023