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What do you remember being surprised by in your youth?


creekland
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So funny!  For a while, I actually thought the BANDS were in the radio studio!  I remember thinking one day that logistically that really couldn't be how it was done!  Duh.

 

I remember calling the radio station and asking to speak with Shaun Cassidy. He had just finished singing, so I knew he must still be at the studio. The person answering the phone was very confused at my insistence.

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I remember being surprised to find that some people don't know until that late, or even adolescence.

 

 

I've always enjoyed Miss Manners instructions on when to discuss where babies come from with children.  when they're young enough to shock you by responding "ew, yuck, gross, who'd want to do that?!"

 

I remember telling 1dd that one day, she'd meet a guy she wanted to hold her hand.  (she really wasn't interested, even as a teen, she thought it was gross.  her attitude to guys was "if you can hold an intelligent conversation, I'll talk to you."  I wasn't going to complain - I sent my girls to college for educations - not a mrs. degree.

 

 

When I was 10 I went skiing for the first time and discovered that there were people who were prejudiced based on race.

 

When we were told to get a partner for the lift, I noticed one girl standing alone, looking upset, and four others pointing, giggling, and saying they wouldn't go with HER. I was not one to tolerate bullies, so I skied over and asked her to be my partner. On the lift I asked her why those other girls didn't like her. Were they classmates who didn't like her, or what? I was stunned and then horrified when she explained they were strangers and were mocking her because she was black. I was an Air Force brat and had grown up in DOD schools with kids of all races and had not encountered that before. It was eye-opening.

 

My dd had a similar experience.  she was 11.  a girl she really didn't know (probably asian given the demographics) at school came up to her and asked her how she liked being white.  she didn't know what she meant. (she was a very sensitive child - and it upset her greatly)   to her, people all had two eyes, etc.  etc.  some people were nice, and some weren't.  that's what she saw.  (and it does go both ways.  one guy in her group - a korean - made some very disparaging comments about whites and education.  she objected - and he added "except for you".)

ironic given her bff from that same time period is korean.  so - about 18+ years.

but I grew up watching the original star trek series - so that was normal, and what I got from my father.  despite the fact my grandmother was a flaming racist.  (one reason she hated him  so much.)

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When I was in grad school, some of my best friends were engineers from India.  We had them over for a weekend and we had gone out and bought a VCR so we could watch some Hindi films.  My housemate suggested that the engineers work on setting it up since they were, well, engineers.  They could not figure it out.  I got done with whatever I was doing and came over to help troubleshoot.  It was a basic "step one, plug this in, step 2 plug that in, step 3 turn it on."  I mean literally 3 steps, complete with drawings.  I was really surprised that these intelligent adults found them baffling.  There ensued a discussion about the differences between Indian and US education (my Indian friend felt US education was way more practical).  I should note that was over 25 years ago, so surely a lot has changed since then.  :)

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When I was 18, I went door to door in the nearby city looking for a summer job.  I took the first job that was offered, without doing any research. (No internet back then anyway.)  Eventually I figured out that the owners were a mixed couple.  This was pretty unusual in my experience, but I kept an open mind.  A while later they hired a 17yo whose protective mother came by to check the owners out.  The next day the wife asked the 17yo, "so what did your parents think?"  17yo:  "you mean about the fact that you're white and he's black?"  I bout fell off my chair, but the wife didn't miss a beat.  "Well yeah, what did they think of that?"  I can't remember the answer, but obviously some people thought it was something to voice an opinion about - to the mixed couple themselves - and I found that shocking.  :P  Again, times have changed since then.  :)

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I was in college when I found out some parents make their kids pay for nearly everything aside from basic food and shelter themselves. Maybe I was spoiled, but I can't imagine telling a 15-year-old she was on her own for basics like school clothes and shampoo.

That was me....And most of the kids I knew growing up. We were all poor/working class families in a rural area. All the kids were working regularly by 12...Babysitting, catching chickens, washing produce for market, baling hay, picking blueberries, etc. By 16 we saved enough to buy our own car, pay our own insurance, repairs, and our own social life, clothing, etc.

 

That was just how it was.

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I remember calling the radio station and asking to speak with Shaun Cassidy. He had just finished singing, so I knew he must still be at the studio. The person answering the phone was very confused at my insistence.

 

:lol:   That's so cute!  And like they would've let you talk to him even if he HAD been there!  haha

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Once I ordered an album for my dad off of one of those TV ads.  I had the money for the "low low price."  It said "plus shipping and handling" but I didn't know what that meant.  When it came to the door, my dad had to cough up the "shipping and handling" (which was pretty steep).  He tried to act pleased with the birthday gift, but I could tell I had screwed up.  :(  Lesson learned.

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When I was a kid it was pretty common to swallow gum when you were done chewing. It was also going around that it took 10 years (or whatever it was) for gum to digest. I got worried that every time I swallowed my gum the ball of gum in my stomach was getting bigger and bigger, taking years to digest. And so I stopped swallowing gum. Can't remember how old I was when I realized the gum didn't actually stay in your stomach. :p

 

one of the first things I realized I knew my peers didn't - was kansas city was in missouri.  I remember thinking - I'm stupid - and I know that.

 

I had a boss from Kansas City. I think he was testing me because he just said he was from KC and appreciated that I knew enough to ask which one. He was from KS.

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