So, I was out at karaoke (actually not singing this time, due to the nagging case of bronchitis that took up residency in my chest) last Saturday, sitting at a table of my peers all of whom fall in the 26-38 age category.
Naturally, as we're hitting the stages of quarter life and mid-life crises, we occasionally like to reflect on the fact that we're feeling a little old, and outdated. Like 8-bit versions of the younger people that walk around today. While I'm not terribly old, a large "age" or "generation" gap is starting to appear between myself and the students that I teach.
You might be thinking to yourself, "Well yeah idiot, kiddies will obviously not understand your stupid 80's references." However, to be fair, I do teach at the college level. So, for all intensive purposes, my students are adults--at least numerically. When I started teaching, the gap wasn't really recognizable. For the most part, we were all born in the same decade. But, some of today's students were born in the mid-nineties. WHO WAS BORN IN THE 90's? Really.
Anyway, I was recounting a story about how my students came in one day and asked if we could just watch Saturday Night Live instead of learning. I am one to listen to arguments, and asked them to explain WHY we should watch SNL. The argument was mildly convincing, but I decided to play along anyway. I had recently watched the N.P.H Digital Short. If you haven't watched it, go watch it RIGHT NOW (Bad quality, but it'll do for the moment)
I thought it was hilarious, and we were also going through a unit on non-verbal communication. So, it seemed like something that would please all involved parties. Well, we watched it... and the room was silent. No one laughed, in fact, no one had any semblance of recognition on their face, save a lonely soldier in the back who made an educated guess as to why the short was funny. They had never seen Doogie Howser (who, might I add, was the original blogger).
This astounded, and severely aged me. Anyway, my table cohorts were equally as confused about the situation (as we're all ancient and dusty). So, we were still chatting about it at the end of the night when one of the lane girls entered to help clean up... one of the 17 year old lane girls.... born in the mid-nineties. We quizzed her on a few things that all people should know, and she was clueless.
I had a little whiskey in me at the time, but I assume the conversation went something like this:
Me: Do you know who Doogie Howser is?
Girl: No, does he come here often?
Me. No, it was a TV show.
Girl: Oh, no.
Me: Really? Not at all... do you know who NPH is?
Girl: No.
Me: The womanizer from "How I Met Your Mother?" (should have gone with Harold and Kumar)
Girl: Oh, maybe. Does he look like this.....?
Me: No, that's not him at all.
Girl: Then, no.
Me: Have you ever heard of The Thundercats?
Girl: Is that a band?
Me: No, it's a cartoon.
Girl: No.
Friend 1: But, the real question is, have you ever seen Stand By Me?
Girl: No.
Friend #2: (Laughing) Ha ha! Now you know how I felt when I met you.
Me: That's a lie. I watched Car 54 Where Are You? growing up.
Friend #2: That's true. You're an old soul.
---- END SCENE ----
Anyway, depressing.
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