CCFB News» January 2018

This month’s column dedicated to those born in another century

“What century were you born in, buddy?” I ask myself sometimes when I accidently write the year as 1999 on a check (Yes, I still write checks because they are like cash… that green stuff the government prints which is supposed to be like currency). Yes, I still make the mistake of not only writing the wrong year but the wrong century! For those of you who accidentally write 1899, I amimpressed!

As I look at the calendar, I cannot believe that we are entering the year 2018 (or is that 1918?).  I am ready to put 2017 - A year in which I experienced various injuries and body damage - behind me. 2018 promises a brand-new year full of opportunity and the potential of no emergency room visits!

The other day, I received a quarterly Country Financial informational booklet. In it was an article that talked about a group of kids that will be graduating as a part of the high school class of 2018. I found it to be fascinating to think about this next generation of adults some are calling post-millennial or the iGeneration. Here are the facts from that piece…

• This is the first class where a majority of the graduates were born after the turn-of-the-century. (They never make the mistake of writing the year as 1999)
• They have always had access to GPS and most likely have never had to look up and print directions, let alone use a map. (So why are do they always seem to be lost and late?)
• The term “roll down the window” means nothing to them (They also have no idea what the icon of a floppy disk on a computer means)
• The term “you sound like a broken record” means nothing to them (nor 8 track, cassette tape or AM radio for that matter)
• They’ve probably never burned a CD and they’ve certainly never have to take a roll of film in for processing (though somehow Polaroid is still a thing for them)
• Women have always been able to graduate from the Citadel, as far as they know.
• They don’t remember John F. Kennedy, Jr. (Nor Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Hillary’s husband)
• Just guessing but I also bet the iGens don’t know farm facts like...
• In the 1900s, farmers mechanically cultivated crops
• In the 1900s, farmers used to use something called a mold board plow to turn over the soil
• In the 1900s, farmers milked cows by hand
• In the 1900s, farmers fed pigs slop and garbage instead of a balance feed diet
• And walking beans does not require a leash

I’m sure if any of these youngsters read this column (on their phone, of course), he or she would probably say “this old geezer has no idea about… fill in the blank” and they would be correct!

It’s no surprise that these 2018 graduates don’t work like I do. They don’t communicate the same way I do. They are immensely comfortable with technology, apps, and digital. They practically have a phone implanted onto their body.

And that’s good because the world has changed. It is not the same as the farm world I grew up knowing.  These “2000 babies” are better equipped to handle, manage, and succeed in this new world. I’d rather bury my head in the sand. Oh for the 1900s!