Past Tense Verbs

Older people seem to have a knack for past tense verbs. I found that out first hand by listening to myself the last few years. I have been through the whole verb evolution thing and here are a few of my observations.
As children, we tend to speak more often in the future tense. We say:
I would like to go to school.
I would like to be old enough to buy gas for my own car.
I will go to college.
I want to be a teacher.
I will write a novel someday.
In mid-life, most of us use the present tense more. We say:
I am going to school.
I am buying gas for my car.
I am going to college.
I am a teacher.
I am writing a novel.
When we get to semi-geezerdom, we often start our sentences squarely in the past tense:
I went to school.
I bought gas for my car.
I went to college.
I was a teacher.
I wrote a novel.
Then there’s the back in the day prepositional phrase. All of us older folks use this chestnut. We sometimes overuse it.
A long time ago, I went to school.
Decades ago, I was buying gas for my car.
When I was a kid, I wanted to go to college.
Years ago, I wanted to be a teacher.
A long time ago, I wrote a novel.
Lastly, there is the back in the day prepositional phrase combined with quantitative comparisons to the present. I generally reserve this category for super-geezers.
When I went to school, I had to walk uphill five miles.
When I was a kid, gas was only 19 cents a gallon.
In the old days, kids actually went to college for four years.
A half a century ago, we still had lots of good teachers.
Fifty years ago, people could actually write a novel.
The sure sign of a full life lived can be found in this sentence:
Years and years ago, I wanted to write a novel so I said I’m writing a novel and then I wrote that novel at a time in our country when people could still write. (Yes, I suppose I’ve joined the ranks of super-geezerdom.)
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Thank you for this beautiful and thought-provoking post
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Glad you enjoyed it. Now did I ever tell you the story of how I had to walk to school ten miles uphill both ways? ๐
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Lol. You did a superb job of identifying the hidden in plain view obvious. Love it!
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Geezerdom has its virtues…๐
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Perspective.
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So true and pretty hilarious also Allen. Great post. โค๏ธ๐ค
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Thank you my dear!
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My pleasure. ๐ค
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Back in the day, when we were still human? I hope thatโs not our future reality!
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Back in the day, you wrote some great blog posts.๐๐ This was fun – and so true!
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Reblogged this on e-Quips and commented:
Your tenses may give you self-identified life stage away. Geezerette, hear I come.
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HA HA!
And… oh dear…
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Good one!
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Back in the days, before computers, I could type 90 wpm on a manual typewriter and 102 on an electric one – had to do it perfectly, and not smudge the carbon copies in between (used to save me from typing it twice, thrice…) I yearned to be a writer – I wrote, in my notebooks. I still write, I’m a writer on many fronts now (often in comments sections!! LOL) Someday, I will learn more, know more, I wish to be more free to travel and learn more – to stay in a locale and really soak up the entire personality of the landscape and the folks who inhabit it, to share with others – and maybe, after I do that? Someday when I’m semi-retired and haven’t grown so old I’ve lost my mind? I might write a book or three – – on the computer, sans white out and carbon paper – – – LOL
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