I miss America
Jul 26, 2015 22:29:14 GMT -5
Post by Michael Downing on Jul 26, 2015 22:29:14 GMT -5
I am 62 years old and I miss the America I grew up in and I am afraid it is gone for good. My parents did not have a working front door lock on our house until I was well into my teens. The only time someone came into our house during those years they were so concerned about coming in that they left a note with their contact information and only came in because they needed to make a phone call because of an accident with injury. Cell phones didn't exist.
We could and had to walk to school even if it took 20-30 minutes to get there. After school and on weekends we could hop on our bikes with our fish poles or bats and gloves and disappear without anyone worrying about where we were as along as we were home for supper. As I grew into my teenage years it wasn't unusual to see pick up trucks in the school parking lot with a rifle, a shotgun and a fish pole in the rack behind the seat and most didn't worry about locking their trucks. It wasn't unusual for folks to go out on a stand in the morning before school and head back out to hunt as soon as the bell rung for the day. No one ever got shot at school and no one worried that they would.
My father was a WII vet who grew up on a rural farm where the great depression meant little but he knew that neighbors took care of neighbors and so we were taught. The extensive garden he planted yielded a harvest that as children we took to the homes of those in our neighborhood in need especially the elderly. The instructions were for us to politely ask if they would help us out by taking some of the excess vegetables that we had so they would not go to waste. There was some public assistance but the few on it were embarrassed to be on it. My father and grandfather during deer season distributed meat where it was needed They were known to ask folks to go buy a deer tag and then take them to the registration station with a deer with their tag on it and then cut it up for them. Neighbors and churches took care of those in need.
I do not think we are going to go back again. As a people we have changed and we have forgotten where we have come from and who we are. I hope we can take a knee and pray to find our way back because if we don't there are dark days ahead indeed. As for me I am preparing for the dark days ahead because I don't believe we can go home again...
We could and had to walk to school even if it took 20-30 minutes to get there. After school and on weekends we could hop on our bikes with our fish poles or bats and gloves and disappear without anyone worrying about where we were as along as we were home for supper. As I grew into my teenage years it wasn't unusual to see pick up trucks in the school parking lot with a rifle, a shotgun and a fish pole in the rack behind the seat and most didn't worry about locking their trucks. It wasn't unusual for folks to go out on a stand in the morning before school and head back out to hunt as soon as the bell rung for the day. No one ever got shot at school and no one worried that they would.
My father was a WII vet who grew up on a rural farm where the great depression meant little but he knew that neighbors took care of neighbors and so we were taught. The extensive garden he planted yielded a harvest that as children we took to the homes of those in our neighborhood in need especially the elderly. The instructions were for us to politely ask if they would help us out by taking some of the excess vegetables that we had so they would not go to waste. There was some public assistance but the few on it were embarrassed to be on it. My father and grandfather during deer season distributed meat where it was needed They were known to ask folks to go buy a deer tag and then take them to the registration station with a deer with their tag on it and then cut it up for them. Neighbors and churches took care of those in need.
I do not think we are going to go back again. As a people we have changed and we have forgotten where we have come from and who we are. I hope we can take a knee and pray to find our way back because if we don't there are dark days ahead indeed. As for me I am preparing for the dark days ahead because I don't believe we can go home again...