Posted on 09/27/2014 4:53:18 PM PDT by navysealdad
What a wonderful life we had as kids, not a worry in the world. Whether one era or another was "better" depends on whom you ask. For example, some people think the "good old days" were always better, because these people are not happy with their current life, so they think the past was superior to how things are now.
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Speak for yourself. My childhood was wonderful. We lived on a farm, grew our veggies, fruit, beef, pork, chickens, etc. Sure it was work but we played hard, too. We were healthy, too. I went 11 years without missing a day of school but a cousin went all 12 years without missing a day. All but one family member lived in my hometown so we grew up with lots of cousins. We all knew each other in my town and it was safe.
A friend and I were talking about our moms’ cooking. I told her I did a lot of the cooking as a kid but I can never make food today as good as what we had back then. She said she felt the same way. Was it just our tastes or something else? It is no fun being part of the older generation.
I think most people remember all things but usually the good outweighs the bad.
Measles and mumps (and chickenpox) were just a part of childhood. Polio was cured.
Most kids didn’t have a clue what Jim Crow or lynchings were. That came to us as adults.
Women relegated to certain jobs was just the way it was and the “duck and cover” drills were to make us safe, *chuckle.*
I really think the good ole days have to do with the innocence of youth. A lot of things are better now...a lot of things not so much.
I’m not a young’un but I’m not ancient either.
Growing up and when I was first married I didn’t know there was anything to cook with except lard...and bacon grease.
I tried frying (something I never do anymore) something in bacon grease a couple of years ago. I’ll just say that some memories are best left in the past, lol. Out tastebuds must adjust to what we are doing today.
My parents raised 5 children, all to adulthood.
I was visiting them when they were in their early 80s. Mother asked me to drive her around where she grew up. Her Father had a thousand acre farm and all 12 of his children worked hard. Mother showed me the field where 75 years before she had to go get the cows and bring them home at night. She was only six.
Mother once told me that the happiest time of her life was when her children were young.
Let’s see now—
WWII air raid drills-at home and school.
Food shortages.
Polio,scarlet fever etc.
Quarantines.
No phone.
Coal furnace.
Ice box,not refrigerator.
No car.
.
-Thank you, AE Housman....
My daughter was reminding me of my mom telling her about her baby sister bringing water in a bucket to them in the field. She was so small that by the time she got to the field, each person got a whole spoon full of water because it had splashed out. People complain about the older Duggar children helping out but in my family we have done that since childhood. Part of growing up.
What food shortages? I grew up on a farm and we never had any problems with food. I barely remember ice boxes but I do remember going to,the ice plant to get ice for home made ice cream. They kept watermelons in the room where the ice was kept. I will never forget the smell where the ice was frozen. What memories.
Not to mention real model airplane glue that you could get high from (accidentally).
The Fifties!
Mm mm the good ole days.
Polio.
Mumps.
Measles.
- And immunizations/cures were developed in that era.
Jim Crow.
Lynchings.
- ...aren’t you happy we don’t have racially motivated crimes today?
Women relegated to serve as secretaries or teachers.
- There were no female doctors or scientists? What is the color of the sky on your planet?
Air raid drills every Friday at noon. Duck and cover.
- We swapped that out for attacks on our military bases by Islamic Terrorists. Ain’t it grand that we no longer have to deal with those pesky Air Raid Drills?
Yup. D’ems the good ol days.
- Yeah, you sound like a Dem alright!
You predate me, Mears. :)
You listed a lot of negatives...but weren’t their a lot of positives as well?
The WWII shortages——like meat.
.
“You listed a lot of negatives...but weren’t their a lot of positives as well?”
Of course——a very loving mother who lost her husband when we were pre-schoolers.
They were tough times.
.
I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure it didn’t make for a happy childhood.
Public Ice Rinks in Winter
The old Ice House around the corner (yep - the iceman still cameth)
Penny candy (long paper stips with colored sugar 'buttons", etc.)<
Could go on and on too...
So, there were an equal number of female doctors and scientists in the fifties?
Polio might have been cured in the fifties, but not widespread vaccinations until very late in the decade.
Yes, American power was at its zenith. The post war economic rebound was wonderful.
But spending a lot of time pining for the past is useless. There are a lot of wonderful things going on now. Dismissing them is short sighted.
Heart surgery is common and successful. Medical advances have added years to the average lifespan.
Food is plentiful and still relatively cheap.
Communication, the Internet, and technology has changed the world.
Our children are smarter and generally healthier than any other generation.
There are a ton of things better today. In general, our awareness of what goes on in distant parts of the world impacts us more today than ever.
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t make them a communist. Remember, the folks that came of age in the fifties are generally the ones who created the messes we are in today.
Did I say “equal numbers?” You argue like my progressive/liberal brother.
YOU said “Women relegated to serve as secretaries or teachers.”
I responded “There were no female doctors or scientists? What is the color of the sky on your planet?”
In spite of your revisionist history, women could go to college if they wanted. However, most women WANTED to be homemakers. Unfortunately in today's "Brave New World" a lot of women regret never having children. Ain't it a lot better?
The modern benefits we enjoy are due to the freedoms we had back then. Do you see our liberal controlled school system producing a Jonas Salk or a Thomas Edison?
My greatest fear in 1958 was that my Grandparents would be too busy to let me spend Friday night with them. They never failed me.
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