I Remember These

Recently I listened to an old song by the Statler Brothers called,"Do You Remember These." Here are some of the things I do remember from 'way back then."

• gas was 18 cents a gallon when I got my license in 1961
• my brother and I walked a mile on Sat. mornings in summer to the nearest neighbors who had a TV to watch cartoons. We had a standing invitation.
• Penny candy really was a penny, sometimes two for a penny.
• A pack of Winstons was a quarter.
• Pepsi, Coke, R C Cola and grape Nehi all came in glass bottles, and if you took them back where you bought them, they gave you 2 cents for the returned bottle.
• I mowed the neighbor's lawn for a buck
• We went places as a family
• My best friend in the whole wide world died at age 14 of a strange disease called "nephritis." Today, she would have had dialysis and a kidney transplant. Never heard of then.
• Our neighbors to the east of us build a bomb shelter into the side of a hill. I can only imagine the world repopulated by that snooty guy and his bleached blonde trophy wife.
• Our local theater showed the movie continuously all day starting at 10 AM and you could stay for as many showings as you wanted. Cost 25 cents to get in and a box of popcorn was a dime.
• We all went to church on Sunday morning, came home and had a nice dinner around the table, then went either to visit friends, or to grandparents for the afternoon.
• Our parents demanded that they knew where we were, who we were with, and called other parents to make sure it was okay with them.
• My girlfriend actually had morals and a curfew.
• James Dean movies were too "racy" and my parents said NO to going to them.
• We played outside no matter what the weather was. No video games!!
• I actually learned to type on a manual typewriter and thought "eraseable bond" paper was a great invention.
• We had actual chores. Carrying in wood, cleaning out the fireplaces, mowing an acre of yard, shoveling snow just so we could get out to the road, taking care of the dog, and sometimes the neighbor's cats.
• We helped out when other kids in the neighborhood had chores, so they could get done faster so we could go swimming.
• Everyone got along
• We had both parents in the home
• We treated our parents with respect and were loved and we knew it

This list could go on and on. You get the idea, though. I'm not saying that those were the "good old days." Today's life is good. But as I look back, I don't think I would trade.

Peace and Hope

JE