Hey Ned,
Thanks for the post, but I couldn't help but wonder if the parents
who lived in the days described were as stressed out as we are now,
only they didn't realize it at the time because they didn't realize
how much worse it could get.  I mean, do you suppose that in 40 years
someone will write another poem about how simple todays lives seem to
those looking back?  Just a thought!
Kathy


At 10:19 PM 10/16/2005, you wrote:
>Hope you find this interesting, especially you older ones!
>
>Ned
>
>A little house with three bedrooms and one car on the street,
>A mower that you had to push to make the grass look neat.
>In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone, And no
>need for recording things, someone was always home.
>We only had a living room where we would congregate,
>Unless it was at mealtime in the kitchen where we ate.
>We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine,
>When meeting as a family those two rooms would work
>out fine.
>We only had one TV set, and channels maybe two, But
>always there was one of them with something worth
>the view.
>For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip,
>And if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip.
>Store-bought snacks were rare because my mother liked
>to cook, And nothing can compare to snacks in Betty
>Crocker's book.
>Weekends were for family trips or staying home to play,
>We all did things together -- even go to church to pray.
>When we did our weekend trips depending on the weather,
>No one stayed at home because we liked to be together.
>Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own,
>But we knew where the others were without our own
>cell phone.
>Then there were the movies with your favorite movie star,
>And nothing can compare to watching movies in your car.
>Then there were the picnics at the peak of summer season,
>Pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason.
>Get a baseball game together with all the friends you know,
>Have real action playing ball -- and no game video.
>Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend,
>And didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend?
>The way that he took care of you or what he had to do,
>Because he took an oath and strived to do the best for
>you.
>Remember going to the store and shopping casually, And
>when you went to pay for it you used your own money?
>Nothing that you had to swipe or punch in some amount,
>Remember when the cashier person had to really count?
>The milkman used to go from door to door, And it was just
>a few cents more than going to the store.
>There was a time when mailed letters came right to your
>door, Without a lot of junk mail ads sent out by every
>store.
>The mailman knew each house by name and knew where it
>was sent; There were not loads of mail addressed to
>"present occupant."
>There was a time when just one glance was all that it
>would take, And you would know the kind of car, the
>model and the make.
>They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every
>mile; They were streamlined, white walls, fins, and
>really had some style.
>One time the music that you played whenever you would
>jive, Was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five.
>The record player had a post to keep them all in line, And
>then the records would drop down and play one at a time.
>Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today,
>And always we were striving, trying for a better way.
>Oh, the simple life we lived still seems like so much fun,
>How can you explain a game, just kick the can and run?
>And why would boys put baseball cards between bicycle
>spokes, And for a nickel red machines had little bottled
>Cokes?
>This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways,
>I love the new technology but I sure miss those days.
>So time moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same,
>But I sure love to reminisce and walk down memory lane.
>Much credit to the person who put this together, whoever it was.
>--