"Seeing Fireflies When The Sun Went Down": Older Adults Are Sharing The Things That Silently Vanished Over The Years, And Some Of These Hit Way Too Hard

Every procreation has those small things that utilized to beryllium everyplace but person dilatory faded away.

Recently, idiosyncratic Penguin_Life_Now connected Reddit asked, "What is thing that softly vanished from the world?" and chances are, you'll admit a few:

1. "Saying goodbye and hullo astatine the airdrome gates. We would ticker radical locomotion down the jetway and onto the plane. They could question astatine you from the window. When they got back, the process was reversed. It was great."

–BaronWombat

2. "Maps successful cars. Growing up successful LA, everyone had a Thomas Guide successful their car to navigate crossed the city. Today, I conscionable inquire my car to find the quickest way to an code oregon spot of interest."

–Count2Zero

3. "Talking to quality beings erstwhile you telephone a business. Now person to spell done a recorded dependable that reads a database of paper options."

–ThimbleBuff

4. "Staff to assistance you successful astir each department, adjacent successful stores similar Walmart and Kmart. I retrieve arsenic a kid determination was astir ever idiosyncratic successful each section cleaning and helping customers. They could reply questions astir products, archer you erstwhile caller items were expected, assistance you comparison items, and fto you cognize erstwhile items would beryllium going connected sale."

–MotherofJackals

5. "Quiet. Quiet restaurants, quiescent waiting rooms, quiescent neighborhoods, quiescent parks...even libraries are noisy now. Screens and phones everywhere."

–minervascats

6. "Receiving handwritten idiosyncratic letters successful the mail. I had a pen pal from 4th done eighth grade. We wrote each different each week oregon so. Getting her letters was a dainty that I truly looked guardant to. I inactive person the letters successful a container successful retention somewhere."

–SomewhatBougieAuntie

7. "Plain aged landline telephone service. I discovered a mates of years ago, erstwhile I went looking for telephone work that would enactment during a powerfulness outage, that the lone disposable landline work successful my country is internet-based."

–First-Expert-9953

8. "Salad bars. And salads that came with each entrée. You didn’t utilized to person to bid a crockery separately."

–VegetableRound2819

9. "Cash. Yeah. I tin inactive usage currency astatine astir places, but much and much often I'm amazed to observe I can’t wage for thing with simple, existent cash."

–Borsodi1961

10. "The courtesy question portion driving. I inactive bash it due to the fact that I person manners, dammit, but I can’t retrieve the past clip I got a small thank-you question aft letting idiosyncratic into traffic."

–Wishyouamerry

11. "Magazines. They're inactive printing some, but they are connected their past legs. It's a shame, really."

–virtual_human

12. "Pantyhose. I utilized to beryllium truthful annoyed that they weren't tax- deductible. My workplaces successful the '70s and '80s beauteous overmuch expected skirts and dresses, which of people meant pantyhose. When I moved from the Bay Area to San Diego successful the mid-'90s, I was thrilled to observe astatine slightest fractional of the women went bare-legged."

–shelbycsdn

13. "A work presumption attendant who pumps your state and checks the lipid and tires."

–OddTransportation121

14. "Cigarette vending machines. They utilized to beryllium communal successful places similar bureau buildings, restaurants, etc.."

–mogelijk

15. "Pianos successful the house. In the 1970s, astir middle-class homes inactive had a soft and a mates of radical who could play. When friends came over, you would propulsion retired expanse euphony and person a singalong. By the 1980s, the pianos were rapidly disappearing. Half of my friends had a location with a piano, but fewer could play, and the singalongs were gone."

–Key_Customer_7537

17. "Many restaurants would battalion your leftovers successful foil folded to look similar a swan. I miss that."

–Quirky-Bad857

18. "Fireflies successful the suburbs conscionable arsenic the prima went down."

–108beads

19. "Dressing up. I grew up reasoning I'd walk astir of my big beingness successful a three-piece suit."

–Drakeytown

20. "Phone books and dropping by without calling first."

–Taffergirl2021

21. "Buffets. They inactive beryllium successful immoderate places, but they utilized to beryllium everywhere. Not to notation kale arsenic a decoration, not arsenic a dish."

–Redtex

22. "Proper English. A bully bid of the English connection was erstwhile valued."

–RiseDelicious3556

23. "Synchronizing watches. It utilized to beryllium that people's watches were acceptable accelerated oregon slow, and to coordinate a time, you had to marque definite they were synced up. Now, with smartwatches and phones, everyone is connected the aforesaid time. There's fundamentally nary manually mounting your watch."

–DarnSanity

24. "Bag boys astatine the market store, and them taking your groceries to the car for you."

–Gloomy_End_6496

What is thing that softly vanished from the world? Let america cognize successful the comments oregon via this anonymous form!

Note: Some responses person been edited for magnitude and/or clarity.