Who do you say you are?
Dating yourself can be an ugly thing. But hey, we are what we are, right? (Hint: Keep reading. There might be a contest with prizes.)
This is one of The Catholic New World’s regular Senior Perspectives issues, and I suspect a lot of people are going to share my memory of “The Day the TV Dinner was Invented.” Or at least when our mothers began serving them to us as kids.
I note this life-altering event because Gerry Thomas’ obituary was in the news over the summer. Some credit Thomas as the marketing genius who in 1954 thought up serving meals from an aluminum tray that could be popped from the oven and eaten in front of that still-newfangled thing called television. Like so many other events, the impact was accidental. All Thomas wanted to do was help the Swanson Co. get rid of an over-supply of turkey.
No matter, it changed a generation.
I was about 11 (do the math) so that makes me a card-carrying AARP member. But the TV dinner was hardly the only change we’ve seen. Perhaps the greatest is the ways in which the generation perceives itself.
When I was young, two phrases were part of the vocabulary. One I could appreciate, the other filled me with dread.
I could identify with “Don’t trust anyone over 30!” Failing to realize, of course, that I would be over 30 sooner than I thought.
The other was the label “senior citizen” (and its even worse cousin “golden-ager”). Ouch and double-ouch.
Well, TV dinners have been re-engineered, recreated and re-invented. While I dearly loved to feast off that aluminum tray with its two chunks of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and peas while watching the Mouseketeers frolic in black and white, today’s frozen meal barely resembles its ancestor.
Today’s meals are tastier, more varied, more healthful and probably cost less. Plus, they’re likely consumed in front of the tube less frequently. (I think I’ll pop one in the office microwave for lunch after writing this.)
There’s a point to all this; trust me.
Today, people who remember the original TV dinners, fondly or not, play important roles in our parishes. As the “older generation,” they are often looked to for wisdom and faith. Many are our readers. And like the TV dinner, it is a generation which has re-invented itself.
A recent Zogby poll shows that a majority of Americans now believe that old age doesn’t begin until 71. That’s good news for those of us for whom age 30 is a receding memory. (My favorite belief, however, continues to be that old age is always at least 15 years older than I am.)
However, my dislike of the terms senior citizen, golden-ager and the like—elder citizen, geezer, fogey, old-timer or just plain old folks—must be shared by many others.
Look at the way our generation has re-framed our sense of who we are: We are technologically adept, open to change and new ideas. And we name ourselves differently. For instance, my wife and I live in an “active-adult” community. Such places hardly qualify as “retirement villages” when many of our neighbors still get up and head off to work daily. “Mature” is another label I like. The baby-boomers, just beginning to turn 60? How about calling them “the boomed?” A friend once told me he wasn’t old, he was just “age-challenged.” Cute.
Though frankly, after what my generation has gone through, and having raised five kids, “survivor” also fits.
Tell you what; I’ll entertain some other monikers for the group of people who are reaching the “fullness of life” and offer some sort of a prize for the most intriguing—maybe we can share a frozen dinner. On me, of course. Let me know.
Tom Sheridan
Editor and General Manager
