For Chanukah, this too shall pass 

For Chanukah, I give you the gift of knowing whether you can remember old things like I do. If you can appreciate four or more of these eight items, you win. 

1. I remember rolling up the window. I still roll up the window. I suspect younger folks are raising the window, since there’s nothing to roll anymore. 
2. About a decade ago, a coworker in Racine referred to “that weird desk” in the common area. I looked at it to see what was so indescribably weird. It had a slot in back for paper to flow through, from a long-gone dot matrix printer. 
3. I remember when pound sign meant pound sign, not something I don’t even know if I can define. Remember when the keys in the typewriter would get stuck? I think it came from typing too fast. Then, I got an electric typewriter that I appreciated so much, I kept it for an extra decade or two. The other day, I found an old, dried out bottle of Liquid Paper, which we all called “White Out,” probably much to the chagrin of the makers of Liquid Paper.  
4. Coming soon: Saving on a computer is on the way out – Microsoft Word intermittently tells me it’s “Saving” as I type these words. Clicking on “file” isn’t going to give me a “Save” option, believe it or not.  
5. Floppy disks were never truly floppy. I spilled Coke on one once and lost a college paper – my early computer had no hard drive.  
6. Sticking a pencil in a cassette works if you’re careful and lucky. 
7. I remember that when someone left the house, they’d leave a note. We used paper plates, thrown on a kitchen counter. There was no way to check on people who had left. All you had was the note. You just hoped and assumed they’d eventually come back.  
8. I “tape” shows on TV, yes, I do, even though I have no VCR.  

For the shamash, I remember when there was no family debate over whether school should be in person or virtual, about seeing family, or anything else potentially pandemic defying.  

But this, too, shall pass.  

Rob Golub is editor of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.