We Never Stand Still

I try to keep up with changes in social habits and this is a bit what I’ve gleaned so far:

Virginity is not a big deal. Before the pill, it was a very big deal. Now, although I exaggerate a bit I hope, if you haven’t been offered an opportunity to lose your virginity by the time you’re thirteen, you will be considering changing your deodorant.
Personally, I have no problem when a girl well into her teens decides to lose hers as long as she is taking acceptable precautions. I just hope she does it with someone she at least likes and that if she figures he’s been around, then ask for an updated medical certificate. If she’s younger and is being pressured to try it, then she needs a warden.

Dating. Except in American films, kids don’t seem to date anymore. Boys and girls hang around in gangs or their parents drive them in pairs to the movies and pick them up later. Come to think of it when do they manage to be alone long enough to get pregnant?

Internet dating. It makes good sense when you figure that families are often uprooted for business reasons and the kids don’t have the stability of one neighborhood and one set of schools and friends during their childhood. There should be a firm rule, though. Internet wannabe daters must meet face-to-face in a safe place within two weeks or call it off.

Clothing. We wore more of it. I thought my teen age granddaughter was a little over the top when she dyed her hair black (with a bit of raspberry here and there) and dressed head to toe in more black, with dollops of skin peeking out. That was before I visited her school and couldn’t help noticing that some girls wore clothing so tight it’s a wonder they weren't suffering from serious circulation problems.
We wore sufficient clothing in the winter to ward off chilblains but apparently nowadays it’s better to court chilblains and not be labeled a dweeb or the present day equivalent.

Marriage. In my country there is a raging debate about same-sex marriage but nobody seems to mind that the cities are full of homeless kids who have to do some miserable things in order to exist or that the mentally ill are jailed instead of given treatment or that war doesn’t work anymore when television cameras are two inches away from hand-to-hand combat.

Where are the ministers in all this? Have they heard of leadership? Are they inviting same sex couples to their churches to hear what they have to say? According to marital statistics, heterosexuals aren’t doing particularly well in keeping their vows so why get all upset about someone else giving it a shot?

I believe all marriages should be performed as civil ceremonies and if people are serious about a religious blessing, have that as a follow-up. This takes the responsibility out of the hands of ministers; they must be tired of the hypocrisy of performing a ceremony over two people who took three years out of their lives to plan the pageant and the parents took out a second mortgage to satisfy the dream. Makes the follow-up of actual day-to-day living together pretty bland.

And what is it about a couple living together for years and suddenly they want the ceremony with white dress and a thousand ushers and bridesmaids? Seems to me they’re several years too late. For heavens sake, toddle down to city hall, get the deed done, hold a small party later, and pay for it yourselves. Forget the gift part—that boat has long sailed.
I have a firm rule. You marry twice, I wish you luck but I don’t send a wedding gift. One to a customer is my motto.

Graduations. This one cracks me up. Babies are graduating from kindergarten wearing their little robes and mortarboards, clutching their diplomas. It gets more serious when they graduate from high school and parents pay the ransom for a stretch limo, hugely expensive gowns and tuxes and the kids get blasted, unsupervised, until morning.
Okay, I don’t understand. What is this teaching them?

I’ve learned lots more but you’ve suffered enough.