Memory Lane

With all our progress, don't you just wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace, and share it with today’s children?
Do you remember...

- When it took three minutes for the TV to warm up and you had to actually get up to go change a channel?
- When a quarter was a decent allowance? And made with real Silver!

- You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? And got trading stamps to boot!
- Laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box?

- When no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?
- When stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

- Summers filled with bike rides, hula hoops.

- Remember soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles.

- Coffee shops with table side jukeboxes.
- Remember home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard
stoppers. 

- Black telephones.
- 45 RPM records.

- Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot?
- Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute commercials for action figures? 

-Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin?

- Water balloons were the ultimate weapon?

  
It's nice to remember most of these!!!!!!!

The Barter System

While talking to my sister on the phone our conversation ended when her hairdresser rang the doorbell.

              My sister has the perfect set up. She babysits her neighbor’s two young girls from time to time and in exchange gets her hair cut and styled right at home by their mother, a hairdresser. My sister enjoys spending time with the girls and says they keep her young. Everyone benefits.

           It’s a simple barter system, the way I remember it used to be: neighbor helping neighbor. It seems the idea fell by the wayside over the years, but it might be enjoying a resurgence these days as everyone is looking to save money. I give my neighbor a ride to the doctor’s once in a while and she repays me by giving me some of her homemade jam, something I really enjoy and that costs me nothing.

           I was discussing this with a friend recently, and she pointed out that she and her daughter have a sort of barter system going as well, although she simply calls it repaying the favor.  My friend babysits her grandchildren when needed and in return the daughter prepares wonderful stews and soups for her mom when cooking for her family.       “When I’m short on time,” the daughter told me, “I tell my mom that it’s on account. At the end of the year, my mother probably does a lot more for me than I do for her, but she doesn’t mind.”

           Not surprising since the barter system between a mother and a child tends to be skewed in favor of the child. But, just like my friend, all of us who are mothers really don’t mind, do we?

 

 

Are you a luddite?

Say what?

That was my reaction when I heard the word. Not being familiar with it I informed myself. The term was coined in England in the 1800s when Ned Ludd led workers to destroy new machinery because they feared it would replace them. Sound familiar?

Today, a luddite is a person who is slow to adopt new technology or is even afraid of it. Well, I said to myself, it could be me. With clarifications, of course.

Let’s start with the fact that way back then I was one of the first in my area/group, to have a computer at home. At that time some people were sure that computers were just a fad, something with no lasting use, but these machines were great as far as I was concerned. Of course, the bulky first ones pale compared to today’s sleek portable models that can do anything, or so it seems.

Computers have evolved at neck-braking speed and have resulted in countless technological innovations. Today, we are all connected whether it be using a phone or a wristwatch. However, before adopting anything new, I like to take my time to see where it will lead us. With years of experience to my credit, I know that because something in new, it does not necessary mean it is better. And do we really need to update phones every time a new feature is offered?

I cannot wrap my head around pictures of people waiting in line for hours, often in cold or rainy weather, for stores to open so they can have the pleasure of being the first ones to own a new phone, a new gadget or a new device. It seems to me that waiting a few days after the crowds have left would be more sensible.

For my part, I much prefer being at home reading a good book until I have proof that the latest innovation is worth all the hype.

While the internet is a wonderfully informative thing, I also believe that we should all acknowledge its dark aspects – porn and terrorist information being just two. And I am always conscious that emails should not be opened blindly because some of them can cause an awful lot of trouble by stealing personal information or by dropping viruses into your computer

            No doubt the negative side of today’s communication ease still prevents me from banking on line. A nice clerk at my bank showed me the steps to follow, but there are so many reports of hackers accessing governmental and business data that I fear that the hacking of banks can only follow at some point.

If that makes me a luddite, so be it.

Reflections on Change

 Like many people I tend to wear some clothes more often than others mostly because they feel so comfy. That was exactly the case with a summer-weight night shirt that I had for years. I kept putting it away in September and getting it out again in the spring.

            Last fall, however, there was no way I could justify putting it away again for its annual cold weather slumber. It had holes in it, holes that were getting bigger, so I had to throw it out and be strong, accept this change in my life and go on.

            Life is indeed the management of change. Some are of little consequence, like my night shirt, but others have a more profound effect.

            After one of my sons and his family loss their beloved dog there was a period of grief and adjustment to the changing reality for the family. On hearing the news, another son wisely said that they had gotten a gift. The remark took me a little by surprise, especially since I was also grieving in my own way the loss of this wonderful animal who was my friend whenever I visited. When we face a loss it is a gift that helps us grow in wisdom, my son added. He’s right, of course. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

            After the grieving, the family has grown to a point where memories of their dog make them smile and realize how fortunate they were to have had the animal for a number of years.

            So it is with every change in our lives. We eventually accept and turn our attention to the new road ahead and its possibilities.  

            Of course, as we age, it seems that change becomes more frequent. We all experience subtle changes in our body, for example. Things we did without thinking have a way of becoming somewhat more challenging. At one point or another most of us realize that we need “longer arms” to read fine print. Or we become aware of our limitations when it comes to staying up late or eating certain foods. And then we often have to face change in our relationships as children, siblings or friends move away or even die.

            We accept these because we realize that life is unfolding has it has always done and will continue to do. And we become wiser because of it.