Coffee with Frank this morning was rushed and brief. Frank stayed up way too late to watch the Sunday night game and his Steelers score a win, albeit an ugly win, against the Chargers. On top of this, Kendall climbed in bed with him and Tammy about 2:00 this morning. Frank is convinced the girl is part octopus...no matter what part of the king size bed he gets on, Kendall can always manage to kick him or punch him!
So, after fighting the urge to sleep in and do permanent damage to the alarm clock, Frank rolled out a little after 6 and got breakfast going for him and Allison. After a quiet shower (didn't want to wake Tammy and Kendall), Frank had a few moments with me and his coffee before rushing out the door to get Allison to school.
Allison has this project due in her World History class in which she has to interview an "older" person to gain perspective on how things were in days gone by. Allison has chosen to interview Frank's dad. Dad is being great about it and is looking forward to the experience. He has even gone so far as to ask for a "sneak preview" of the interview questions, so he can better prepare his answers. Once again, he's showing Frank how to be an effective and loving grandparent, just as he demonstrated how to be a great parent so many (????) years ago. So the date has been set for Wednesday evening, and of course it will probably become a family event, as not only have Frank and Allison been invited, but Tammy and Kendall are expected as well. And never let it be said that Frank's parents allowed anyone to leave their house hungry...the feast will rival anything served by the White House kitchen for visiting dignitaries.
This whole project got Frank to thinking about how those that have tread these parts would view the "progress" that has occurred since they have passed on. Frank thinks of his own grandparents, especially his maternal grandfather who passed on when Frank was only 10 years old. How would he view the changes that have occurred since his unexpected passing in the summer of 1972, some 37 years ago?
Just for a moment, Frank imagined how his grandad would react were he somehow to view the changes. For instance, I-24 did not exist in 1972 between Clarksville and Nashville, and the primary route was Highway 41-A, a road then called Nashville Highway. Highway? How in the world did that road get the title of 'highway?' On a good day, you might get your vehicle up to 55 mph, and that would be at 2:00 in the morning! Well, maybe not that bad...but close!
As Frank's grandad spent practically his whole life in Montgomery Co., TN, Frank imagined how he would react to the changes north of Clarksville. Remember, once your crossed the Red River heading out of Clarksville toward KY, there was very little between the city limits and the state line. Corn fields, tobacco crops, a church here and there...but that was about it. Frank remembers crossing Guthrie Highway back then on his three-speed bike on a summer afternoon...don't try this now...unless at one of the many traffic lights. If you told Grandad you were going to the mall, he would probably think you were going to the Clarksville Plaza...a structure that now houses most of the county government offices on Madison Street. There's another change he would probably have issue with...Frank could hear him now..."You're going to Montgomery Ward to get your license plate?"
But Frank thinks that the biggest change that would strike his grandfather would be the change in technology. In the early 70's, if you had access to a typewriter, you were considered high tech. A computer? Didn't NASA use one of those to put a man on the moon? How about a cell phone? Please...if you had a rotary dial phone in your home...one line...no call waiting, caller ID or answering machine...you were modern.
Frank wonders how he would react to all this, but most of all, Frank wonders what the answers will be if he is fortunate enough to someday sit down and help one of Allison or Kendall's children with a history project. Will he reminisce about carrying that huge Blackberry Curve as opposed to having an implant in his ear? Will he remember driving the gas-guzzling Ford SporTrac as he boards a solar-powered bullet train for dinner in New York City? Or, will he remember typing this blog some 30 years from now, and wonder, how did he remember where all those letters were on that keyboard?
Change is going to happen...Even if a single new bit of technology is never invented, change is going to happen. Will we long for the "good ol' days" when we look back, or will we marvel at the wonders that we have accomplished in our lifetime? Interesting...very interesting.
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