Does anyone remember the way America was?

Coach is Right ^ | 12/23/12 | Suzanne Eovaldi

[SE Mom]

Oh my.

I was born in 53. I grew up in a small seaside town in Massachusetts. We DID walk to school every day- it was about a mile if you took shortcuts. We all walked together cause it was fun- not because we were afraid. We were outdoors playing unless it was pouring rain or a literal blizzard. We made up games but we also played marbles, hopscotch, all kinds of ball, climbed trees and fell out of them sometimes too! We went for walks and pretended to run away. I told my mother I was going to run away when I was about 6- she asked me if she could pack a lunch for me!

In school we said the Pledge every morning, had Christmas trees in our classrooms and NEVER were rude or disrespectful to our teachers. We may have said “stuff” behind their backs- but we were always yessir, yesmaam to them in class. I’ve always remembered my 7th Grade Geography teacher told our class by the time we were ready to collect Social Security it would be bankrupt :)

Back then there was something called “minding”. It meant you did what you were asked and you were polite. “You mind me, young lady” or “Mind your manners”...

Grownups were ok- but basically seen as a different breed- none of our parents were our pals, our friends or buddies. I knew my family loved me, once in awhile they said so- I got hugs every day but not a lot of fawning.

No one ever locked the doors to the house or car.

Once when I was 12 and feeling my oats my friends and I went on a little “spree”..I stole a shirt from a local store and was promptly marched back to the store when my mother discovered it. I had to face the owner and confess. Not much was said by him or my family- not much NEEDED to be said- I was so ashamed of myself and worried at the loss of their trust that I never did it again.

We learned about how government works by attending the town meetings where the selectmen were voted on and various ideas were proposed for “Aye” or “Nay”. The students sat in the bleachers to observe- the grownups sat in folding chairs on the floor. The votes were always against more government and no raise in taxes. This was a strongly conservative village- though no one thought in those terms- it was just normal! We did have one token liberal who went on about spending money to save a species of sea bird or do something about erosion on the oceanside. The townspeople were respectful to her- but she got exactly nowhere with her ideas. All I remember about her now is that she had a funny smell!

TV was a treat- for an occasion. I remember watching some cartoons and my family watched Mitch Miller and a couple of other shows. But it was not distracting to REAL LIFE.

We ate wholesome, fresh food and RARELY were allowed a coke or chips- 3-4 nights a week we’d have fish for supper that had been swimming that morning- the fishing boats came to the docks mid-afternoon and my mom would go down and pick up some cod or flounder for supper. The milkman came and delivered milk in bottles (and HEAVY cream for my grandmother) that tasted wonderful...I can hear the clink-clink when he came to the back door.

Oh- that’s the other thing- every year at Christmas my family gave the postman, the milkman and assorted other people a CARTON OF CIGARETTES! LOL! Everyone smoked then.

What I remember now is the peace...the safety and the freedom.

[dhs12345]

Back when Gay had a different meaning....

[MomofMarine]

They can still sing Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs in schools here in TX. And about 7-8 years ago, they could still in the Florida panhandle (probably still there, too). That anti-Christmas campaign really infuriates me.

[who knows what evil?]

There was even still a soda fountain till I was 10 or 12 years old.

I remember my grandparents taking me to a soda fountain inside a drug store where we could get a one-scoop ice cream cone (scoop was the size of a basketball...no, really) for only ten cents.

It WAS a big scoop.

[shoff]

I was born in 1957 on Long Island. Taxes were so low only my father worked. Mom stayed home and took care of us and the house. Had to be home when the street light came on. Building forts in the woods, riding our bikes fifty miles to the north shore for kicks.
What I miss most was the feeling that laws were for everyone. Maybe it wasn’t like that for the rich but there was no protected class of citizens. I delivered papers during the sixties would read the headlines and could never understand why those too scared, or privileged to fight for the country protested. Now it seems those same slackers are in charge and are still clueless.
It was a time when we would frown on the Russians who could not speak their minds for fear of the government. When everyone knew that communism might be a perfect system but people are not perfect so it would never work.
When taking handouts from a taxpayer was frowned upon. Today it seems to be a badge of honor the more you scam the taxpayers.

[dhs12345]

Agreed. Sounds nice. It made Christmas extra special. And we didn’t consider ourselves Christians or Jewish.

Wonderful memories of my class standing on the front stairs to the stage with green paper over flashlights shining on our faces as we sang Christmas carols.

[Little Bill]

I remember buying my first rifle in Salem at 16 with a note from my mom.

[Norm Lenhart]

Didn’t shoot any witches with it in a mass spree did ya ? ;)

[Lancey Howard]

America is gone. It was given away. They people shrug and call it "changing demographics".

[Norm Lenhart]

As I’m keeping up with this thread I’m also cruising You Tube and being a metal fan I just came across a video for the German band “Rammstein” that I hadn’t seen before. They are originally from the GDR so I cut them a little slack on their politics.

But their Video for “Amerika” at once sums up the good and bad of what we were and now are.

Sad really that so few care.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NAM3rIBG5k

[Texas Songwriter]

I am 61 years old. Grew up about 20 miles from Houston, Texas. I remember I said 'yes maam' or 'no sir' to any adult. Could ride my bicycle anywhere in a 5 mile radius. I could go fishing without my parents fearing I would get abducted. My brother, sister, and I could ride bikes to the swimming pool in the summer. I hunted with my bow in the fields and woods around the area. I remember buying a coke and peanuts, each for a nickle. I would drink a small amount of coke then put the bag of peanuts in the coke. We thought that was great. I chewed 'gold nugget' chewing gum..it came in a small white bag which cinched up to close it. It was the greatest gum. We played baseball in the lot across the street from our house. If our neighbors mother said something I had better do as she said, or my parents would. I was a very busy kid,...never mischievious. If I got out of line I got my hide tanned. But only when I deserved it. We had a small inboard-outboard boat. My dad got a 20 foot trawl (net) for shrimping. We (Dad and brother) would go out shrimping in the bay. We had all of the crabs (blue claw) and shrimp we needed. We caught some flounder and speckled trout. It was great fun always anticipating what would be in the net. And each fall, after I was 13, I got to go deer hunting with my Dad. What anticipation. The two or three weeks before going always took my mind to those woods where I imagined getting that great buck, seeing the squirrils, blue jays, and woodland birds. We sometimes saw the red-tailed hawks migrating in the fall up into Texas from Mexico. Once we say 2 ospreys and an immature bald eagle. That time was magical.

I had a great childhood. Now, my wife has made the rest of my life great along with 3 great daughters. I did not deserve it, but I was blessed beyond any measure. I would not change a thing.

[Doc Savage]

I remember afternoons in October raking and burning leaves, the sun shining down, the world was quiet except for the voices of children playing in the fresh air. I remember cold, crisp winter days sledding down the hill, the snow ice cold on my cheeks, the sound of skate blades on the ice, my dog chasing us in the snow, building huge snow men with funny carrot noses.

I remember my first date and trembling when I kissed her. I remember the first days of Spring and the sound of a baseball hitting my Wilson glove, and the sight of the new leaves coming forth into the world. I remember planting the vegetable garden with my father and smelling the moist black soil.

I remember running through the sprinkler in bare feet and the feel of the thick green grass between my toes. I remember the warm days of summer mowing fresh hay on the windswept plains of Wyoming, the smell of summer rain coming down from the mountains, the splash of German Browns jumping in the pools of Labonte Creek.

I remember the feeling of my father's hand on my shoulder and my mother's hug. Yes, I remember how America used to be.

[Little Bill]

Lost a co lateral member of the family though in the earlies. My family thought the place sucked and went to Conn and then to Upstate NY, it sucked to so we went West.

Got exiled from Idaho when my dad died, mom was a war bride.

[Little Ray]

I’m 51 and I remember. Just caught the leading edge of the changes and rode it until middle school when they started screwing things up. I feel sorry for my kids because they can’t enjoy the world I grew up in.

[jmcenanly]

There is hope.

[Dick Bachert]

I remember. Around this time of the year, it was like THIS...and, oh, how we miss it!

Around this time of year I can get a little blue or down. (The events of 9-11 - and the last two "elections" have made the blue this year a little deeper and darker.) When that happens, I drag this out and reread it until I again remember what this season is REALLY all about.

I hope that it also helps you to drift back to those special people and times now gone and what THEY meant to us all.

Merry Christmas -- and God bless us every one!

**********

In a few days, much of the Christian world celebrates Christmas. Please forgive me if this sounds somewhat self-indulgent but, though the specific details will certainly vary, I think it's more than possible that many of you will identify with what follows.

For about a month now, I, like a lot of you, have found myself growing increasingly melancholy as my mind drifts back to wonderful memories of Christmases past and loved ones now long gone.

I was blessed with good parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I never knew my mother's father. He died when I was still a baby. And, though I loved them and I believe they loved me, my Dad’s folks were very reserved and "proper" people. Having raised 5 of their own, perhaps there wasn't enough of them left for all the grandkids.

I smell the pungent pine aroma of a Christmas tree and suddenly I'm back in the modest living room in the little house on Hall Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio. Mom, Dad and my brother Karl, sister Jeanine and two cats and two dogs anxiously await the arrival of Grandma Grace and Aunt Helen, my mother's Mom and sister and, for a lot of reasons, next to Mom and Dad, our favorite people in the whole world.

They were not rich in any material sense, but they worked hard and on Christmas Eve made the long and, in Cleveland at that time of year, frequently treacherous trip along the southern shore of Lake Erie to the West Side. They were in show business and because they spent much time on the road, Helen always drove the biggest car they could afford. It was usually a behemoth of a 4 door Oldsmobile.

Around 6:30 or 7 pm, we kids gravitate to the stairs facing the large full windowed front door and sit there like fans in the bleachers at a ballgame. Every few minutes, one of us would turn to Mom or Dad to ask: "When will they be here?" or "What time is it?" The sound of the crisp new snow crunching under the tires of each approaching car would bring us to our feet. Leaping to the door, we’d press our noses to the frigid panes, hoping to be the first to spot their Olds sliding to a stop in the unique cold and gloom for which Cleveland winters are justifiably infamous.

The long awaited cry suddenly goes up. "THEY'RE HERE -- THEY'RE HERE!! We've had our coats on for 20 minutes and now fly down the porch stairs, slip and slide down the walk and there it is: A BACK SEAT CONTAINING 3 HUGE WICKER LAUNDRY BASKETS PILED TO THE CEILING WITH BRIGHTLY WRAPPED GIFTS! Hugs and kisses all around, a great deal of squealing and Dad and Mom and Grandma and Helen and we kids struggle under the load and somehow manage to get it all into the house where it joins the sizable quantity of goodies already under the tree.

The addition of the contents of the back seat of Helen's car creates a traffic problem as the new arrivals spill out from under the tree into the archway between the living and dining rooms.

Now, it's true that Christmas is about much, much more than abundance and gifts. But when the abundance and gifts are surpassed by the love that flowed between three kids and these two totally unselfish and wonderful women, it transcends the material and becomes something special. And it has helped me to understand the love God must have for us to have sent His only begotten Son to take away the sins of those of us who believe in Christ Jesus.

These two women were, as are we all, here for just a brief time and they and our folks now repose in Lakewood Park Cemetery. But I can still hear the merry tinkle of Helen's laughter as we opened our gifts. I can still hear my Grandmother telling me, with great gravity, that all that candy would make me sick. She was right! As long as I live, they -- and my Dad and Mom and all the others who have gone on -- will live also.

And it is those incredibly warm memories of departed loved ones and a much simpler life that brings the melancholy this time of year -- that brings a tear when I hear one of the old carols. "O Holy Night" gets me every time. I have many favorite carols, but none so beautifully – and correctly -- summarizes the true meaning of Christmas.

What wonderful words:
"Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt His worth."
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks the new and glorious morn,
Fall on your knees,
O, hear the angel voices!
O, night divine,
O, night when Christ was born!”
It's all there, isn't it? The sin of this fallen world! The salvation from that sin Christ offers all! The need for us to surrender to Him and His Grace for that salvation! Yeah, it's all there!!

And it is finally that knowledge which brings me out of my seasonal melancholy. That and my understanding that I now must be to MY grandchildren the positive and loving influence that my Grandmother and my Aunt Helen were to us. I'm certain that they, too, suffered the same melancholy and feelings of loss over those who had preceded them. After my Mother died, we found her early diaries. In one of them, she wrote that Helen fainted at their Dad’s graveside. But except for an occasional inexplicable and swiftly brushed away tear -- often during the playing and singing of the old carols -- it seldom visibly surfaced. They felt an obligation to keep this most joyous of seasons just that, joyous!

And so must we all who call ourselves Christians.

Oh, I'm not saying that we must never allow ourselves to shed tears for OUR departed loved ones. To do otherwise would be a futile and unhealthy effort to deny the very humanity with which God imbued us all.

But after we shed those tears, we must yield to our spiritual side and offer our praise and thanks -- and joy -- to Him for sending Jesus.

We must finally remember that our joy at this time of year flows from the fact that "God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

You see, my temporary melancholy succumbs to the certain long-term knowledge that I'll see my dear Grandmother, my beloved Aunt Helen, my Dad and Mom and the others again some day.

In the meantime -- Happy Birthday Jesus.

And a Merry Christmas to all of you.

[Texas Songwriter]

I wrote this song about my childhood...me and my brother.

__________________________________________

We picked blackberries down that old fence line,

Long-side that sandy road,

Early summertime.

We always left worries somewhere far behind,

There in our mind,

Back when we were kids.

The fish were always biting when I was a kid.

There always seemed one more thrill,

Just around the bend.

And the good Lord sometimes threw a big one in,

I remember then,

Back when we were kids

-------------------------chorus---------------.

And we caught lightnin' in a bottle every single day.

A million dollars couldn't buy that smile we wore on our face.

And when we got in trouble, the calvary always came.

And there was Dad saying, 'Everthing's gonna be OK.

-----------------end chorus--------------------

We rode those ponies up and down those 'sunshine hills',

Through that bottom land,

Man that was a thrill.

And in the Spring we'd always bring the herd on in,

I remember then,

Back when we were kids.

(repeat chorus)

[Alaska Wolf]

I remember spreading used motor oil on our dirt road to keep the dust down. Walking unescorted to elementary school. Christmas plays, pageants, concerts and programs in the public schools. Getting permission to miss school for the opening of trout fishing season. Playing 'Captain May I' under the streetlights on the steps of the Lutheran church. Riding my bike to the drugstore soda fountain to spend my entire 25 cent allowance on a banana split.(It was worth every cent)

The love and care of parents who were strict, fair and generous.

[fattigermaster]

Nesbitt’s orange soda with cork under tbe bottlecap. The Frito Bandito. Howard Cosell announcing the game. 25¢ weekly allowance bought you five comic books. Gasoline under 50¢ gal. The lawns weren’t full of poison, so after a rain there were giant earthworms in the gutters. No AIDS, no warnings of mercury in the fish, holes in the ozone or global warming. The scares were about cyclamates, DDT, the Russians and whether the Yippies were putting LSD in the water supply.

Alarms were for banks and jewelry stores, not homes. In school we said the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, and the food in the cafeteria was cooked by elderly ladies who knew how to cook, and it was good...it didn’t get thrown away. A hamburger drive-in where the owner made his own root beer. The corner store that kept a jar of sun tea in the refrigerator, free for the regulars. Men went to barber shops and the women went to hairdressers. A divorce was a scandal.

Television had only three channels and no one complained. Johnny Carson ruled the night, there were no wardrobe malfunctions and no bad language. If you wanted to watch racy television you turned on the Dean Martin Comedy Hour late at night...I still remember his beautful female dance group, the Gold Diggers. A bare midriff back them was sexier temptation than an underwear model in her birthday suit is now. Maybe the fruit was more forbidden back then, but it sure was sweet.

Ah, well, my mind is getting off track. It happens...lol

[MomofMarine]

Reading all these posts has brought back so many wonderful memories. We were truly blessed to grow up when we did, in the most wonderful country there ever has been!