I was one of the lucky teens that got their own telephone line in my parents house ‘back in the day’. This was way before cell phones, computers, texting and all the rest of it. There was no voicemail, or call waiting, call answer – NOTHING! This was even before you had to dial 10 digits to call someone. This was an old fashioned telephone. I don’t even know if my first phone was even touch tone. I do remember my phone number 416-590-9878. Back then, you didn’t have to use the area code, as there were still enough numbers to go around.

My parents still have the same phone number that they had when they moved into their first apartment which I can tell you was 1967. The SAME number. When call waiting first came out my mother wouldn’t get the call waiting because she had to change her phone number. It wasn’t until years later that they offered it in her extension area and she got call waiting.

Back to my story. I remember when I bought my condo I was thinking about not only changing my phone number, but MY AREA CODE. I was going to be “one of those people”. The people that live ‘north of the city’. What was I going to do?

The day came, to move and sign up for home phone service and cable, etc. I remember that when I called to set up my phone number I asked them if I could have the last four digits the same as my cell phone four digits. Flat out – NO! I said, “but I know a lot of people that have their numbers the same”….still the answer was no. She said she could only give me a number that was in her sequence. Okay fine.

So….for everyone number she gave me I had to push the keys on the phone pad to see if it was easy to dial. I must have said no to at least 10 numbers before I came up with the one that I accepted. And away I went. I was now a resident of 905. Gone was 416-590-9878….

It has now been five and a half years….

Funny….to see the growth that has happened in this area in the last eight years. I live on what used to be the site of the Disera Motel. For those of you who used to drive up Bathurst Street past Promenade mall you know what I mean….low rise motel that almost looked like they should rent by the hour and not by the night, but it was the motel in the area before the area. Now the area it sat on and the area around it is moving with the times.

This really wasn’t what I was going to write about today….but while I was surfing the Rogers guide and came across Grease with the year (1978) beside the name, I started to think about how old (young) I was when I saw this movie. How the content was so inappropriate to a seven year old and how so many movies today are inappropriate for the kids that live in our world today.

Life was different in 1978. I remember playing on our street with the kids in the neighbourhood hide and seek. It was okay to hide behind your neighbours cars on their driveway, on their porch, etc. Would we even think about doing that today? Are you crazy?! Back on Mother’s day we were having brunch at my brother’s house and his 8 1/2 year old niece asked if they could play in the front of the house. The answer of course was no, we are all in back, so you can stay and play out here.

My cousin’s lived a few streets away from us at that time. I remember that their side door to their house was never locked. Honestly, and I know that there are other people that have said their doors were never locked as well.
It is amazing how ‘old’ the young people in my life appear. Children are exposed to so much more in today’s world then we EVER were at that the same age and stage. My nieces can navigate their way through an Ipad, Iphone, they know how to Skype, and so much more.

They live in a world where picture taking is instant gratification. “Back in the day”, we had to wait until the pictures were developed to see what our birthday party looked like. Now, my 17 month old nephew knows how to touch the iphone/ipad screen to scroll through the pictures. As soon as you take his picture he holds his hands out to hold the camera and look at himself.

Which brings me back to Grease. I heard an where John Travolta was talking about the Grease Lightning sequence. John played Kenicky on Broadway and said that the song was very sexual. If you watch the videio he takes a roll of saran wrap and moves it across his lower area. “You know there ain’t no shit, we’ll be getting lots of tit in Greased Lighting”. “I am not bragging, she’s a reall pussy wagon, Greased Lighting”

The funny thing is that this movie, even with it ‘mature content’ was tame by comparison to some of the movies kids are seeing today. I have no clue about these vampire movies, but the kids love them, as much as their moms…who were their age probably watching Grease for the first time.