2022 0609 Thursday @ 10:33
re: We are all about to have a rude awakening.
National debt? Realization that the United States is not the center of the universe? The next lot of presidential candidates?
re: Some of us are old enough to remember the past.
No, none of us are old enough to remember the past. We just do not live that long.
re: The younger generation has been so spoiled by the goodness of living in the USA, that they have no idea what is coming.
They are our children. We raised them. We must take partial responsibility for their behavior, as do their teachers.
re: They are about to see why our parents/grandparents drove cars until the wheels fell off. And why it was typical to have one car per family.
My "ride" presently (while out of town) is a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis GS. My "ride" (primarily) in TV is a 1993 Dodge Caravan ES.
re: And why young newlyweds weren't automatically entitled to a fully furnished house.
My mom co-signed for a one bedroom apartment rental for my wife and I. We started with a couple of webbed lawn chairs and we slept on the shag carpet floor. We loved each other (material possessions didn't matter).
re: Or lavish weddings (Do y'all remember when a wedding reception typically occurred in the fellowship hall of the church? And the only food was wedding cake, mints, mixed nuts and punch?)
No. We had a three day weekend in the Amish country in Pennsylvania. We used a coin phone to announce that we had eloped. Had a reporter from the newspaper not been at the courthouse (in Maryland) doing an article on eloping couples, there would have been no wedding pictures!
re: A honeymoon might include a night at a hotel, or if they were really lucky they might get a weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Being from the south, I understand your meaning. It would have been a wonderful experience (and still would be wonderful). Our two nights in a hotel was a real treat.
re: There weren't restaurants on every corner, because people only RARELY ate out.
My wife came to the United States at the age of fourteen (with her mom, dad and two siblings). She didn't speak English. Many of those from overseas opened their own businesses. The United States is still a dream for many.
re: They cooked every meal at home. Or packed a lunch for the road. And they never wasted leftovers.
We cook at home, carry a cooler and rarely eat out. We both have food intolerances. We believe that "environmental factors" changed our bodies.
re: Picky eaters? You either ate what your Mama cooked or you did without. AND NO ONE CARED.
I am picky, yes. I have an intolerance to lactose and alliums (garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, shallots, ramps, fennel and chives). I am the only person in my family to have "issues." I developed these intolerances in my mid thirties and early forties.
re: We are about to rediscover potato patties, soup, hash, biscuit pudding, rice pudding, cornbread in milk, and bread with gravy. NO FOOD WAS WASTED.
At the rate food is rising (in price), I built a new raised bed in the yard with vegetables coming. Given your aforementioned list of foods, I would not be able to partake in half of them, at least. I buy my ingredients and make simple meals. Kudos to all the staff in restaurants that tailor the food to my intolerances. I feel guilty for having to ask for exceptions.
re: People had few outfits. Hand-me-downs were common. You had church clothes and play clothes. And you took care of those clothes. Holes were mended and it didn't matter if you liked the clothes or not. You wore what you had.
Looking back at the size of the closets that my parents used, there were few garments. However, mom had a white ermine wrap and a coat with an ermine collar. Dad bought his suits while traveling in Hong Kong. I am wearing $13 jeans from Costco (brand: Urban Star [no longer showing on the Costco site]) and they stretch. I have a lot of clothes! Mom worked as a research chemist for thirty three years for the USDA at the Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans. She worked with fabrics.
re: And people didn't snack or eat all day long either. People were rarely overweight. Because they didn't have an unlimited supply of food at their fingertips.
I don't snack. I am about 155 lbs., 5'10", wearing waist size 30, inseam 32/33. I am the "poster child" for a BMI chart. My children are both "fit."
re: And water came out of the faucet or water hose. Cold water came from a water jug that was kept in the refrigerator.
I mostly take water from an RO (reverse osmosis [filtered]) faucet next to the sink. I take bottled (Costco [Kirkland]) water only because I dry out and I don't want to seek out public water fountains. I will switch back to water bottles this month.
re: People weren't being constantly entertained.
True. We listened to a reel to reel tape at night (music), as a family taking dinner (supper). We did a little television ("black and white", initially). The radio did AM channels; the few that there were. I loved the book-of-the-month club books.
re: Kids played outside and made up games with their imaginations.
We played "army" with machine guns - all over the neighborhood, with tons of friends - all summer (year!) long! We also bicycles everywhere.
re: No fancy vacations.
Before the divorce, we traveled a lot. My father had an office in Nassau. We would go there periodically. We visited Florida a lot (Silver Springs, Cypress Gardens and Weeki Wachee and the beaches on the panhandle).
re: There was no money for all these extras that we consider "Rights".
I love the technology ("extras") that we have today. My Apple AirPods arrived yesterday afternoon. I ordered them yesterday morning! :-) The "extras" that I possess are not construed as "rights." They are extras and they allow me to communicate, listen and learn.
re: Maybe people will finally wake up and realize that it is a PRIVILEGE to be an American. And feel gratitude and quit being such entitled whiney babies.
I have been fortunate all of my life. I sometimes sit down just to eat and I think of just how fortunate I am to have such a bounty of food. I am thankful at my beautiful new (small) home in TV. I am thankful for a car (old) up north and a car (old) down south. My wife, born overseas (deceased [colon cancer]), steadfastly maintained that the United States was the best country in the world. I reflect back on her words often.
re: People shed blood and died to give us this life.
On May 30th, you might have seen me at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL. I went alone and I sat alone. I felt the need to be among fellow Americans. I felt deeply thankful.
re: AND WE ARE STARTING TO PROVE THAT WE DON'T DESERVE IT.
I do not feel that I "deserve" to be in my "position". God, if you will, intervened and gave me opportunities. I look back on my parents, their parents, their parents, etc. and deeply appreciate all that I "have." In this tiny oasis called The Villages, I have a small home and a new life. I am ever so thankful, every day.
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