Woke up early this morning to think about things and decided that I grew up in the best of all times. People who know me find it hard to believe that I never used drugs of any kind. Unless of course we consider alcohol and tobacco, and I think those are both considered in that genre. I was born in the 40's which was a time of war. There was talk that I was actually fallout from Hiroshima or Pearl Harbor, but I think not since I was such a cute baby!
We went from peace after World War II to peace keeping missions in Korea, Vietnam, to war in Iraq and are still a very warring faction and I am not sure where all we have troops now. We went from a phone on the wall to a phone we wear in our ear. We went from Frank Sinatra, through Elvis, the Beatles, Garth Brooks and now Miley Cirus and Justin Bieber are the current losers. We went from a black Model T through a lavender Corvette. Poodle skirts gave way to mini skirts which were traded for culottes and now there are no fashion rules at all. Baby boomers, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Birth control pills, floppy discs, Rubik's cube, a man on the moon and a woman in the space station. Kent State, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and President Bush hates broccoli! Do I need to go on with history? No.
I just want you to grasp the picture. Some times I like to think back and picture the first Indian who looked up and saw an airplane soaring overhead. There is an old saying, "Time marches on!" and one "Time and tide wait for no man." I can attest to all of this. We used to go buy a car from the lot on the corner for $250.00, put 19 cent gas in the tank and drive 150 miles to see grandma who inevitably lived on a farm usually in Western (insert name of state here). Now we take out a loan for $25,000.00, put $4.25 gas in the tank, park our cheap little car in the garage of our house in the suburbs, and crawl on a plane for $650 and fly 2000 miles to see grandma who does not have time for us because it is bingo night at the condo center and she is in charge, but we can stay here at the house and pet her Labradoodle which is her latest designer dog.
The creek where we used to fish is no longer there. It has been rerouted and is now a kayak course, but take your pole anyway. You can set there and remember when you used to catch a cat fish and you could actually eat it. Damn things glow now with radiation and I ain't eating that! We can walk downtown to the "Historic area" which is now antique shops where I can buy a remenant of history for a price which is more than I used to pay for my car. If I am really lucky I can find a friend my age and we can play "Oh, God, remember when we had to wear those awful shoes?" And "Remember when mother used to gather up the pans because the 'tinker man' was due and he would patch the holes in them?"
I know you have a hard time thinking that was a good time, but it was. It was back before any divorces and before I worked 3 jobs to survive and before I found out cigarettes were cool and a shot of whiskey sure took the edge off the lonliness and an aspirin was the strongest drug in my medicine cabinet..
Back when we could walk out back, catch a chicken, "wring it's neck", pluck out the feathers and innards and have the biggest and best pot of chicken and noodle soup in the world 2 hours later. Scraps of food were thrown out in the back yard for the chickens and the chicken would then lay an egg and the cycle continued.
Back when school supplies included pencils and paper and a new pair of shoes for the winter ahead. Back when the teacher was Miss Lauver or Mr. Bollinger, because teachers were respected and revered. Clothes were handed down and when they were thread bare they went into the "rag basket". In due time they were torn into strips, rolled into a ball and taken to the weaver lady who made them into rugs. Wool clothes were cut into strips and mother crocheted them into rugs. Those were best cause they were thicker and softer.
Back when we walked to church every Sunday to save the car for an emergency or for when we went to see grandma and great grandma who lived in Plevena, a town of 102 people 24 miles away.
I would just ask that all of you out there stay in touch with your roots. They are what makes you who you are today and they are unique to you. You can look back and see all the things your parents did wrong while raising you, but try to remember that they were once young also and they were raised by a parent raising them who probably had no idea what they were doing either! We all live and learn and some of us actually get to a point in our lives where we can say,
We went from peace after World War II to peace keeping missions in Korea, Vietnam, to war in Iraq and are still a very warring faction and I am not sure where all we have troops now. We went from a phone on the wall to a phone we wear in our ear. We went from Frank Sinatra, through Elvis, the Beatles, Garth Brooks and now Miley Cirus and Justin Bieber are the current losers. We went from a black Model T through a lavender Corvette. Poodle skirts gave way to mini skirts which were traded for culottes and now there are no fashion rules at all. Baby boomers, John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Birth control pills, floppy discs, Rubik's cube, a man on the moon and a woman in the space station. Kent State, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and President Bush hates broccoli! Do I need to go on with history? No.
I just want you to grasp the picture. Some times I like to think back and picture the first Indian who looked up and saw an airplane soaring overhead. There is an old saying, "Time marches on!" and one "Time and tide wait for no man." I can attest to all of this. We used to go buy a car from the lot on the corner for $250.00, put 19 cent gas in the tank and drive 150 miles to see grandma who inevitably lived on a farm usually in Western (insert name of state here). Now we take out a loan for $25,000.00, put $4.25 gas in the tank, park our cheap little car in the garage of our house in the suburbs, and crawl on a plane for $650 and fly 2000 miles to see grandma who does not have time for us because it is bingo night at the condo center and she is in charge, but we can stay here at the house and pet her Labradoodle which is her latest designer dog.
The creek where we used to fish is no longer there. It has been rerouted and is now a kayak course, but take your pole anyway. You can set there and remember when you used to catch a cat fish and you could actually eat it. Damn things glow now with radiation and I ain't eating that! We can walk downtown to the "Historic area" which is now antique shops where I can buy a remenant of history for a price which is more than I used to pay for my car. If I am really lucky I can find a friend my age and we can play "Oh, God, remember when we had to wear those awful shoes?" And "Remember when mother used to gather up the pans because the 'tinker man' was due and he would patch the holes in them?"
I know you have a hard time thinking that was a good time, but it was. It was back before any divorces and before I worked 3 jobs to survive and before I found out cigarettes were cool and a shot of whiskey sure took the edge off the lonliness and an aspirin was the strongest drug in my medicine cabinet..
Back when we could walk out back, catch a chicken, "wring it's neck", pluck out the feathers and innards and have the biggest and best pot of chicken and noodle soup in the world 2 hours later. Scraps of food were thrown out in the back yard for the chickens and the chicken would then lay an egg and the cycle continued.
Back when school supplies included pencils and paper and a new pair of shoes for the winter ahead. Back when the teacher was Miss Lauver or Mr. Bollinger, because teachers were respected and revered. Clothes were handed down and when they were thread bare they went into the "rag basket". In due time they were torn into strips, rolled into a ball and taken to the weaver lady who made them into rugs. Wool clothes were cut into strips and mother crocheted them into rugs. Those were best cause they were thicker and softer.
Back when we walked to church every Sunday to save the car for an emergency or for when we went to see grandma and great grandma who lived in Plevena, a town of 102 people 24 miles away.
I would just ask that all of you out there stay in touch with your roots. They are what makes you who you are today and they are unique to you. You can look back and see all the things your parents did wrong while raising you, but try to remember that they were once young also and they were raised by a parent raising them who probably had no idea what they were doing either! We all live and learn and some of us actually get to a point in our lives where we can say,
I did the best I could with the knowledge and the tools I had at the time so I forgive me!
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