So Joanne and I are walking out of the supermarket and, without warning, I suddenly launch into a fit of stereotypical Generation X nostalgia.

"Just think:" I say. "Our kids will never know a time without plastic grocery bags. They won't know that big bottles of soda used to be made out of glass and weigh a ton. They won't be able to imagine when there was only one flavor of Doritos..." I trail off, misty-eyed.

"Wow," says Joanne.

But I think she was being sarcastic.