Generational Gap
Me: Hey teenager. Did you hear the news? Norman Lear has passed away.
ne: Who?
Me: Norman Lear. He created One Day at a Time and The Jeffersons.
ne: Those old shows, or is it something else?
Me: No, not movies. He was a television producer. He created family for everyone.
ne: What is family? Is it like when a black hipster kid always says, "Did I do that?"
Me: That’s a family issue, and if family issues aren’t for everyone in the family, then family issues don’t even exist. Norman Lear was revolutionary. Before him, television was all suburban nonsense from the 1950s, and husbands and wives slept in separate beds. Archie Bunker changed everything.
ne: Did you think his name was Norman Lear?
Me: It was Norman Lear! Archie Bunker was the father of all families. It was a big deal!
nephew: Oh, you don’t need to get salty. What was his big deal?
Me: Well, he was, um... grumpy. And he didn’t let anyone sit in his chair, and um... they talked about the war.
ne: In Ukraine?
Me: Ukraine didn’t exist. It was the war in Vietnam.
ne: Oh, World War.
Me: World War II was about the Nazis! Doesn’t God teach you anything in school?
ne: I’m literally taking regular history this year. Next year I’m taking ancient civ, so maybe we’ll talk about the Nazis.
Me: The Nazis aren’t ancient! They were 80 years ago!
ne: Exactly. No one alive today was alive then.
Me: Norman Lear was! Normal Lear is trying to tell you he created Archie Bunker.
nephew: So, he sat in a chair and talked about Vietnam, so he was hugging like an old man? Sounds...