Reminiscing about a simpler time

It probably all started when cavemen told their children of their childhoods. Even though we didn’t have fancy things called a wheel or fire, we were still happy in those days. Life was simple. If you were running for your life from a charging beast, you were hiding in a cave. We would forage for nuts and berries, and sometimes die because we didn’t always make the connection between poisonous and edible things. You kids today are spoiled. Hitting stones together to sharpen them before going on a hunt, or to make sparks for a fire. Taking advantage of the new age opposable thumbs. Learning how to avoid dangers. My own sense of history pulls us closer to the present. I remember my grandmother telling me of the school days where it all happened in one room. A small group of kids ranging in age from kindergarten to high school, sitting in a large drafty room with a woodstove providing heat. When things get stressful, always cast your mind back to a simpler time.

    My grandfather told us of a time when a doctor in the small rural Northern Ohio town where he grew up had purchased an automobile. The first car in the county. The entire town would stand in this man’s driveway and watch a parked car for hours. Those were the days.

    My mother talked of times before television. When it did arrive, it was large and was black and white. Entertainment was a radio program. Telephone numbers had 3 digits. People actually pumped gas at a gas station. Life didn’t get any simpler than that.

    Even I remember a time before the Internet access, CD players, and cell phones. Portable communication was a Citizens Band (CB) Radio. People aspired to talk like truckers with their 10-4 good buddies. Our video game was PONG.  Luckily, I am young enough to remember what it was like to only have one e-mail address. I am old enough to remember a time BEFORE Paris Hilton. If we could only go back to those days, right?

    My children today aren’t old enough to remember dial-up access. Elmo was a tv character, stuffed animal, mouse pad, and screen saver to them – all at the same time.  Cameras have always been able to show you the picture you have just taken.  People like Ashton Kutcher have always been in the media to them….and to think they call this progress!?!