Gosh I love internet! The things you can find! The things you want to know… Many things you wished you had never known! But nevertheless, this "internet" is THE miracle of modern communications. I’d fight if I had to give it up. Freedom of speech at it’s utmost. But you best protect your children! At the same time, I’ve seen much shared wisdom as I "surf" the net. Recently I came across the following statements about the young people starting college this past fall. To me, they offered a lot of insight into our "communication gap." It might be well to think about these statements and adapt our thinking to current reality.

The people who are started college this past fall across the nation were born in 1981. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and did not know he had ever been shot. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged. Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression. There has been only one Pope. They can only really remember one president.

They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War. They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. Tianamen Square means nothing to them.

Their lifetime has always included AIDS. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl albums. The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. They have never owned a record player.

They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong. Star Wars looks very fake to them, and the special effects are pathetic. There have always been red M&M's and blue ones are not new. There used to be beige ones?

They may have heard of an 8 track, but probably never have actually seen or heard one. The Compact Disc was introduced when they were one year old. As far as they know, stamps have always cost about 32 cents. They have always had an answering machine. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black-and-white TV. They have always had cable. There have always been VCR's, but they have no idea what BETA is. They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony. Roller-skating has always meant inline for them. The Tonight Show has always been with Jay Leno. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII or even the Civil War. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They never heard: "Where's the beef?" "I'd walk a mile for a Camel" or "de plane, de plane!"

They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is. The Titanic was found? I thought we always knew where it was. Michael Jackson has always been white.

Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not groups.

McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers. There has always been MTV.

Really folks! I don’t know if this makes me feel very old, or if I feel sorry for their naivete. Then, I think about my dad telling me about the new "flat-head" V-8’s...

Perspective means a lot to me. Let’s think about that when we talk with the younger folks! Write me! tomiswho@mindspring.com