Twenty Something.....

 

 

"When I hit 21, I thought I knew it all..."

 

This is going to be a bit different today. Well, what the heck - it is Monday. This weekend, I was thinking of something I have thought about from time to time over the past few years - our age of majority. Why that you might ask? Maybe, just maybe, I just needed a break from the constant bombardment of major news events.

 

Actually, I have thought about this issue since I turned 21. My 21st birthday, which was very special for a great many young people at that time, was for me a big "dud". I was stationed on Okinawa and had to work a day shift, then have eight hours off, and then work the mid shift. My birthday present from my parents was (this is REALLY going to date me) a three minute phone call home using the MARS system. I had to make this phone call during my eight hours off between shifts. Back in 1970, you simply did not call back to CONUS from the WESTPAC - it was way, way too expensive. The MARS system was crude satellite communication. It was rough, unreliable and very expensive. A three minute phone call was about $25 back then, which for those days was a small fortune.

 

After my very uneventful birthday was over, I was consumed by one thought - what the heck is so special about 21? Who came up with that number? Why not 22? Why not 20? Back in the day, 21 was the magic number. You could drink adult beverages and vote. For all practical purposes, you were an adult. Years later some states tried changing the drinking age to 18 or 19 years old. Classic fail. Most if not all, went back to 21. Now the voting age is 18. I sure did not understand what I would be voting for when I was 18.

 

After pondering this for years, I came up with my "rule of 20". For the first two decades of your life, you had the training wheels on. You were a kid until you finished you last day of your teenage years. The new age of majority will be 20 years old. Period. On your 20th birthday, you will legally became an adult. You can vote, smoke, buy condoms, drink, sign you own papers, and so on. Until that day, you belong to your parents (or guardian).

 

To take this one step further, you would not be getting an unrestricted driver's license until age 20. Every year we see the carnage on our roads of 16 - 19 year old drivers who lack the experience or maturity to be driving a car without restrictions. If you screw up during the 16 - 19 year old time frame, you will not receive any type of license until age 20.

 

Some today say kids are not as mature as kids in my day. Others say they are too grown up for their own good. I do know this - when I think back on how I thought and how I behaved in my late teens, I am glad (and surprised) I made it to adulthood. 

 

Anyhow, just a thought. Tomorrow, it will be back to solving the world's problems. As for today, I will continue to ponder the vicissitudes of my "rule of 20"...