Ah, Youth!

One of the difficult things about growing up is that we don’t all do it at the same time. A little girl asks, “Daddy, where was I when you were a little boy?” The question prompts Dad to look in the direction of her twelve-year old brother and he recalls his own early adolescence. He decides that now is the time for the bold action. “Son,” he says solemnly, “I think its time we had a little man-to-man talk. I would like to discuss some of the facts of life with you.” To which the boy replies, “Sure Dad, what is it you want to know?”

Parents are fond of prefacing words of wisdom to their children with “When I was your age…” But what follows often indicates they forget that they were their children’s age in a far different age. In the last three decades, the pace of change has quickened to the point that a new era is born in the short…