100 years

October 5, 2024.

If my father-in-law were alive today, he would be celebrating his 100th birthday. He died in 2020, not from COVID, but from his 96-year old body saying, "It's time."

100 years. Wow. So many changes from 1924 - 2024. I googled "how the world has changed from 1924 until now," and a lot of information came up.  I found this article, "Historical Happenings: Many of the World's Most Important Events Since 1920," and it gives a year-by-year list of significant happenings.

From government and relationships to basic rights and technology, life has changed in so many ways.

A century ago, life expectancy was around 54 years old whereas today’s is around 80. This is largely due to modern-day medicine. Even over-the-counter medicine you reach for when you have a headache like Tylenol or Ibuprofen, wasn’t even invented yet. Back then they would reach for over-the-counter heroin or mercury.

A century ago, the 19th Amendment had just been ratified, giving women the right to vote. But many still didn’t because of their husband’s opinions about women in powerful positions. Today, 70% of American women are registered to vote, which is higher than men registered to vote in 2022.

100 years ago, the average yearly income was $2,196, with the average house costing $7,700 and a brand new car would put you back just $265.  A dozen eggs back then cost 12¢, 4¢ for a pound of sugar, and just a penny for a handful of candy.

Also 100 years ago the American family could only be found huddled around the radio in living rooms across the nation, not watching their TV shows and news stations. The first commercial radio station in the United States was Pittsburgh’s KDKA.

There was the 1929 Wall Street crash, WWII, the baby boom started, Brown vs. the Board of Education, the Civil Rights movement, the Cold War, landing on the Moon, Roe v. Wade, the Concorde, personal computers and the internet, Amazon.com, the age of Google, 9/11 and Homeland Security, Facebook, the iPhone. More people, faster transportation, faster ways of dealing with information. So much has happened in 100 years.

Today, on his grandpa's birthday, my son asked his girlfriend to marry him. Family was everything to Dad. The addition of a new family member is a perfect tribute to his 100th year and to the continuing legacy of his family.