Sounds your kids have never heard...
I caught part of a story on NPR the other day about sounds our kids have never heard. It really made me think about all the sounds that were part of my youth that my daughter has never heard, and never will hear. What are the sounds from your youth that your kids will never hear? I'll list some of mine, and some of them overlap the NPR story, and you list yours.
1. The sound of a rotary phone. My daughter has never even seen a rotary phone up close.
2. The sound of a real operator coming on the line to tell you that the number you're trying to dial is long distance.
3. The sound of a record skipping. Or the sound of a record needle jumping the groove and scratching across the whole record.
4. The sound of a VCR tape getting all messed up inside the VCR. That was a bitch!
5. The sound of a cassette tape that was messed up - the dragging of the song right where you knew the tape had a crimp in it.
6. The sound of a gas pump - they're all digital now and you don't get to hear the numbers rolling over any more.
7. The lovely sound of a typewriter. Every time I think of a typewriter I think of the scene from the Jerry Lewis movie where's he's typing, shot all in one take.
8. The sounds of a REAL video game. The ones you put quarters into and that didn't spit out tickets so that you could trade them in for a freaking spider ring.
9. The sound of American Bandstand coming on every Saturday.
10. The sound of Casey Kasem counting down the week's top 40 hits.
11. The sound of your mom yelling out the kitchen window, telling you it was time to come home for dinner.
12. The sound of your mom yelling at you to "not stretch the cord" of the phone. We had one of those 6 foot long cords and I would still get yelled at.
13. The sound of the MTV station identifier - what a classic sound coming out of your TV. And now MTV's all pregnant teens and rich basketball wives.
14. The sound of a TV station going off-air for the night. I remember one channel always running a shot of the American Flag before the station signed off for the night.
15. The sound of silence. Kids today are so plugged into the world that they don't know the sound of silence. The sound of just being where they are, when they're there.
16. The sound of the woods and a creek flowing by. Without your parents standing over you. When we were kids we would spend hours, most of the day, in the woods playing and walking and exploring. Unfortunately this world is now full of child molesters and perverts and you can't let your kids out of your sight. It's a real shame, they miss so much because of it.
17. The sound of a computer modem connecting to the internet. They're always connected now and they don't know anything other than it's right there, always.
18. The sound of a TV theme song playing in the house. I know, every show has a theme song, even today. But it's not the same as when it was when we were kids and we'd hear the theme song and rush into the living room to catch our favorite show - 'cause God only knew when it'd be back on again, in re-runs.
19. The sound of a screen door slamming behind you and your mom yelling at you "don't slam the door!" Damn, those were good times.
20. The sound of a window unit airconditioner finally coming on at night during the hot summer nights in the south.
21. The sound of a real cash register ringing up your total.
22. The sound of a phone ringing without knowing who's calling.
23. The sound of your parents leaving for work in the summer and knowing you have the WHOLE day to do what ever you want to do!
24. The sound of a gun going off and not being scared by it.
25. The sound of chalk on a chalkboard. And the sound of someone dusting erasers at the end of the day.
26. The sounds of just being a kid. The sounds of just being a kid and being free to play and hanging out with your best friend in the neighborhood and doing what ever you thought was fun. The sound of a model rocket that you and your best friend built, the sound of it really, really blasting off from its launching pad. The sound of a T-shirt press making a shirt that you came up with. The sound of your friend screaming like a girl while you're watching the Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the first time. The sound of life just going by, and knowing you are going to live forever.
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