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To: yukong
In honor of our childhoods....remember when....

Growing Up In The 50's

Were you a kid in the Fifties or earlier? Everybody makes fun of our childhood! Comedians joke. Grandkids snicker. Twenty-somethings shudder and say "Eeeew!" But was our childhood really all that bad?

Judge for yourself:

In 1953:

The US population was less than 150 million - yet you knew more people then, and knew them better.

And that was good.

The average annual salary was under $3,000 - yet our parents could put some of it away for a rainy day and still live a decent life.

And that was good.

A loaf of bread cost about 15 cents - but it was safe for a five-year-old to skate to the store and buy one.

And that was good

. Prime time meant I Love Lucy, Ozzie and Harriett, and Lassie - so nobody'd ever heard of ratings or filters.

And that was good.

We didn't have air-conditioning - so the windows stayed up and half a dozen mothers ran outside when you fell off your bike.

And that was good.

Your teacher was either Miss Matthews or Mrs. Logan or Mr. Adkins - but not Ms. Becky or Mr. Dan.

And that was good.

The only hazardous material you knew about - was a patch of grassburrs around the light pole at the corner.

And that was good.

Most families needed only one job - meaning Mom was home when school let out.

And that was good.

You loved to climb into a fresh bed - because sheets were dried on the clothesline.

And that was good.

The 50's People generally lived in the same hometown with their relatives -so "child care" meant grandparents or aunts and uncles.

And that was good.

TV was in black-and-white, but all outdoors was in glorious color.

And that was certainly good.

Your Dad knew how to adjust everybody's carburetor - and the Dad next door knew how to adjust all the TV knobs.

And that was very good.

Your grandma grew snap beans in the back yard and chickens behind the garage.

And that was definitely good.

And just when you were about to do something really bad, chances were you'd run into your Dad's high school coach, or the nosy old lady from up the street, or your little sister's piano teacher, or somebody from church. ALL of whom knew your parents' phone number And YOUR first name.

And even THAT was good!

__________________________________________________

We pray the madness stops...we pray we can give our kids and grandkids the childhood alot of us had. We pray we remain strong. We are grateful that we can remember a safer time.....

1,128 posted on 10/22/2002 10:08:53 AM PDT by Neenah
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To: Neenah
Yep, sounds like when I was growing up!

If I had done something bad in school, my mom knew before I made it home!

1,141 posted on 10/22/2002 10:11:46 AM PDT by bcoffey
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To: Neenah
Wonderful post. Got a tear in my eye with that one. Funny thing, I can still remember the names of all the neighbors on my childhood street, along with their kids and even some of their pets, but could only name a couple of my current neighbors. I would really love to pick up my wife and kids and climb into the TV during "Leave it to Beaver" or "Andy Griffith" or you name the 50-early 60 shows and just live a good, clean, happy peaceful live. Our kids and more importantly our grandkids will never know such fun, happiness and peace. Our world is changing too fast. And not good change.
1,156 posted on 10/22/2002 10:15:50 AM PDT by yukong
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