I was 15 years old way back in 1986. I was in high school then, trying to figure out this new thing called a computer and why it needed DOS. This clearly was a long time ago. But looking back at that time, the 80s had the best music, interesting fashion, and really stupid phrases I never uttered.
Today, I was covering an elementary school run. I don’t get this privilege often since I mostly drive around high school students. One small girl noticed I wasn’t her usual driver, and with the curiosity so many youngsters have, she had to talk to the new guy. We first talked about how good her brother is at math. I thought this was interesting since I have seen so many little sisters idolize their older brothers and always boast about their older sibling’s skills. The conversation between us shifted to her desire to go to university and become a scientist. (As a reminder, I figured she is only 6 years old.) Then become a teacher, maybe. As a scientist, she would dig up interesting bones.
I was really impressed with this kid. She knew her stuff. I learned about a long-dead, extinct 40-foot snake that had skin and, to my surprise, bones! Another animal was extinct and had fur too (she pronounced it ex-stink). Quickly, she led into this interesting animal with long teeth (visualize a girl trying so hard to transform her face to show just how big a sabre-toothed tiger’s teeth really were).
Now, the most interesting part of this whole conversation with this incredibly knowledgeable child was that all of these animals came from the Ice Age.
You know, a hundred years ago.
In 1986.
I recall 1986 being cool, but not so cold that it was an Ice Age. I also don’t think it was 100 years after the Ice Age ended. It is funny that kids see things and events before them as ancient history, and that ancient history includes my teen years.
