With a roll of the dice, Gen-Xers dodged a bullet by making all of our mistakes before digital technology existed. Whew! Not having to have our most embarrassing moments “stitched,” shared and ridiculed is a small mercy from the gods.

Read the full post here:

I’m So Glad That Social Media Didn’t Catch My Cringiest Teenage Moments

Before cellphones, texting and digital technology in general, there was a quaint thing called a "phone booth." Conveniently installed on most roads and streets in many cities, both urban and rural, these relics from the past provided a connection to our loved ones, our friends and more.

Phone booths also served many other purposes, not the least of which was a place for Clark Kent to conveniently change into Superman; a place where one could take shelter from an unexpected storm, and a place that one could go to just get away from that irritating person that one just didn't want to see.

With the advent of mobile technology, the decline of the phone booth and the stationary pay phone was to be expected; sadly the phone booth's presence in society is missed in a much hurried time when all calls seem to be made on the go, and perhaps worse - without privacy.

Those of us who went to elementary school in another time remember the rite of passage that cursive signified.

The lined paper.

The strangely-shaped letters.

The repetitious copying and practicing of said letters until we got it right. The transition from a pencil to a pen, when our teacher thought that we were ready, and that we had mastered to some degree, the ability to write script.

Kids today text, type on laptops and FaceTime. They don't know what they're missing.

Living in the Past is an email newsletter that recalls all things Generation X, the good, the bad and the ugly! Oh - and the hilarious as well. Some installments are free, some are for paid subscribers only. Interested? Sign up here: http://livinginthepast.substack.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: Long before this site, I had a little blog where I posted for 11 years. It was the genesis of Living in the Past on Substack. For many years, I lived in the past over at Multiple Mayhem Mamma. From a Parenting lens, I looked at the "then and now” and even hosted a podcast by the same name: Parenting Then and Now. Every so often I’ll post some of these classics from early days. Enjoy!