I was born to which generation?

Have you ever felt out of touch with people your own age? I have, I always have. I very seldom had friends that were the same age as I am or was. In high school, I was always hanging out with the older kids. My senior year, I only had a few friends that I spoke to outside of class.

Then as I started my adult life, my older coworkers became my friends, I was never into the party scene that drew my peers. After I married, we became involved in the local H.O.G. chapter. Our fellow members were 10 to 50 years older than we were, but they were our closest friends. Jake and I have always gotten along with people our parents age better than with people our own age.

This weekend has just reminded me of this fact, it has also made me wonder.... am I really that crotchety old lady at the dinner already?

Saturday evening we went to a going away party for one of Jake's coworkers. He will be leaving for Afghanistan in about 2 weeks, this weekend was the last free weekend his shift would have to send him off. While at the party there were people our age, younger and older. Everyone was told that due to the drive they could pitch a tent in the back yard, rather than drive home drunk. As the night progressed, the people our age and younger were focused on pouring as much alcohol down their throats as possible. The older crowd made sure at least one of them was sober enough to drive home, if not all of them.

Jake and I took the bikes and brought our tent, that way we wouldn't even have to worry about going home until morning. We each had a few drinks, but were far from stumbling around on our feet. I had gotten a headache and headed to the tent around 12:30. I was almost asleep when I hear a commotion from a few tents down. Our guest of honor started to get rid of all he had drank. I just shook my head and went back to sleep as his friends and wife took care of him.

This morning we got up with the sun, which if you have ever slept in a tent know is pretty much par for the course, as it is almost impossible to sleep with that much light in your face. We packed everything up and rode home.

Once we got home, I wasn't in the mood to fix breakfast so we headed out to the little dinner in town, Farmer's Family Restaurant. This is a small family run place where Monday through Friday from oh, bout 5:30 to 10 you can go and sit in a corner booth and watch as all the local farmers, from the old men in their 70's to the younger guys just barely 19, come in for breakfast. There is a long section of small tables set in the center of the dinning room where they all congregate to have their meals. As one seat is vacated it will be filled a few moments later by the next farmer. Jake and I used to meet there every other Thursday morning for breakfast after we got off work, now, we hardly go there. One of my favorite things is listening to the older gentlemen tell their stories, stories of the weather, the crops, town gossip, nothing major, but you learn interesting facts and tidbits.

Well this morning as Jake and I are eating our breakfast I overhear one gentlemen say how recently at the store his total had come to 5.87 or some such odd number. When he gave the cashier his money he handed over $10.02, so that he wouldn't be stuck with pennies. The cashier gave him a funny look, and didn't know what to do. Another gentlemen stated something along the same lines, "I had a total that came to $17.00 and when I gave the cashier $22.00 they just couldn't understand that I wanted a $5.00 bill back." The funny yet sad part about this whole story is that it is so true. One thing I like to do at a store or restaurant is to give the cashier over the amount so I get specific change back, or no pennies. I do it just to see, to test, if you will, the common sense of the cashier. Is it just me, or is it sad that with out a computer or cash register there to tell the clerk how much change to give you, you would probably never get the right amount back.