J: Mom, what are 80s?
Me: What?
J: What are the 80s?
Me [suppressing a laugh]: well, the 80s are years. What year
is it now?
J: 2011.
Me: and what year was it last year?
J: 2010.
Me: Right. So, if you count backwards, eventually you get to
2000, right?
J: Yeah ...
Me: So before that it was the 1900s. Like, the one thousand
nine hundreds. Because one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine comes before
two thousand, right?
J: Yeah.
Me: So, there were the 1990s – the 90s – and before that the
80s, the 70s, the 60s, the 50s, the 40s –
J: But were you in the 80s?
Me: Yes.
J [gives me a huge hug]
Me: What’s that for?
J: It’s your year – it’s so cool you were alive in a cool
time!
Me: What do you mean?
J: Like, “the 80s!” You know. Not like “two thousand
eleven”. That’s not cool. The Eighties!
Me: But I was born in the 70s.
J [with eyes like saucers]: really?!
Me: Yep, 1975.
J: That’s so awesome. “The Seventies.” Like, cowboy times.
Me: What?
J: You know, back when there were cowboys. And, like,
sheriffs. And six shooter guns.
A: And AK-47s.
J: Yeah, and AK-47s.
Me: Yeah, those were some pretty wild times.
