"If you remember this you can sit with me"

Yesterday I was sitting in church with my husband.  Because it was Easter and the church was doing baptisms several of our friends had to move to different seats.  So it ended up that a group of us "baby boomer" sat together during the service.  We started talking before church and I told the following story:

As a college professor I sometimes talk with my students about "back in the day."  I was telling them about when I was in college in the early 70's we did not have online registration for classes.  In fact there was no "online" anything.  If we wanted to sign up for classes we had to go to this large room where the departmental secretaries were set up at tables.  You lined up in front of the class/department you wanted to take.  Once you got to the head of the line you would ask about the class you wanted, such as Psychology 101 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 2:00.  The secretary would look through her stack of cards and if there was a card remaining for that class you were given the card.  Then you would go to the "computer station" and the card, which was key punched, would be run through the computer key punch reader and you would be included in the class.  If there were no cards left for the class you wanted you would know it was full and you had to pick another class. 

My students thought that sounded so archaic (as in "OMG, you are such a dinosaur!").  As I was telling my friends they all were nodding their heads and saying they had been through similar experiences when they attended college also. 

So we decided that if you could remember before the internet was available and "online" was a reality you could sit with our group.  Although I love my technology (I'm now even on Twitter and don't go anywhere without my Kindle Fire) there is something comforting to be able to talk about an experience with someone near your age and not be looked at like you are talking Klingon. 

As with the generations ahead of us someday all those memories of taking cards to sign up for college classes will be gone with us.  It's a little daunting to think that I hold the memories for something as mundane as how you signed up for college classes before there was on "online." 

For my husband and me, that is how me met.  We were both standing in line to sign up for classes and chatting in line led to having a drink at the Rez (Miami University) and eventual dating, engagement and marriage.