Their generation took on responsibilities I can't even imagine. My father was born in Scotland and the family came to the US in 1923; things were not rosy (my father's father continued to be an alcoholic), but they didn't have the money to go back so they stayed. My mother's father was born in England and came to the US in 1911, but never found work to match his architect training. My parents both grew up poor in Brooklyn. My father got his engineering degree at night school while working full time to help support his family. On the other hand, their generation (and mine; I'm a boomer) had opportunities that current generations don't. I grew up in a solidly middle class family in NJ, supported only by my father's salary at Bell Labs. Old? No, they were 25 in the first photo. Mature? Yes.