My children were reminded of a tank memory the other day as we were driving to a nearby town. We passed a random tank on the side of the road, it looked to be an old memorial, maybe recently moved to the area.
"Hey mom, remember the first time we saw that tank going down the road?" Janie asked me.
Beating me to respond, Elliot said, "Yeah, remember that? We were like, 'Oh my gosh, a tank' and you were like, 'big deal."
"Ha, yes I remember." I glanced over at my husband, who also grew up in the same town.
"Wait, you guys saw a tank driving down the road?" He was so bewildered. "We never saw tanks driving around!"
"NO, not driving. It was on a big trailer. There were a bunch of them going down the road one day. I hadn't realized they'd never seen a tank before. Well, out in the wild!"
This little exchange was a reminder of how our childhood has been so different from our own children. Also a reminder that it isn't getting any more similar either.
My husband grew up on an air force base. I grew up in a small rural place. When we bought our new home I commented that there were a lot of planes flying over. He never noticed it...not once...even as they were flying over. I'm wondering if tanks are quieter.
ReplyDeleteIn New Mexico, I commuted from Mountainair to UNM-Valencia branch campus. My drive took me across an area of the high desert plain used for AF testing. Occasionally, one could detect probable stealth trails...
ReplyDeleteHere in NE Colorado a few locals own tanks that they bring to parades. They aren't silent.
Interesting to think about how the children see things differently today. We have/had an army national guard post near Akron and the Akron Canton Airport. It seems like when we were younger, we saw the equipment a lot. It seems like now we hardly see them at all.
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