Retired United States Army general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell went out of his way this afternoon to show the young whippersnappers of the day that there’s nothing new under the sun. No matter how many feel like they own the Internet.
The 76-years-old patriot participated in the web trend “Throwback Thursday” by posting a vintage photo of himself on Facebook as a noticeably young man holding a camera while standing in front of the mirror.
In other words, it was a selfie taken before the creators of Facebook and Instagram were even born.
“Throwback Thursday – I was doing selfies 60 years before you Facebook folks,” the general said. “Eat your heart out Ellen!,” a direct jab at this year’s Oscar host who broke the selfie record at during the show which was previously held by President and Michelle Obama.
Mr. Powell was specific on as to when the picture was taken but it considering he said it was “60 years ago,” one can guess sometime in the 1950s. It probably took some serious digging to unearth it from the scrapbook.
As the first African-American Joints of Chief and Secretary of State, Powell maintained popularity of both sides of the political spectrum as a Republican with moderate views. He had been quietly enjoying his retirement before the photobomb on Facebook exploded and was liked more than 50,000 times.
Don’t be surprised if he’s an upcoming guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and she gets him to dig deeper into his personal memoirs.
Hit the flip to see Gen. Powell’s dignified selfie. Surprisingly enough, the camera looks pretty high-tech considering the time period.
Photo: Carrie Devorah/WENN.com, Facebook/Gen. Colin L. Powell
