you are absolutely right
 

we are here because people look the other way because the effort to counter the mayhem thats been going on for some time interferes with the cushy life those before us and some of us presently fought & worked hard to provide - head in the sand, we don't want to have to fight this ourselves especially now that we're retired but you'd think we all would eventually draw a line in the sand - my response here is part of the line I've drawn - can't believe some of the lazy, useless comments I read above

I also remember when we were all patriotic. January 6th would hv outraged our veterans. Today rather than listening to actual testimony, many will be gaslit by a certain cable news outlet who refuses to televise it, yet the Queen’s jubilee was well covered. 😕

Some people seem sorta happy at even the prospect of hard times. This post reminds me of how grandpa walked 5 miles to school in the snow, uphill. Lol

Sounds like someone doesn’t appreciate the young people who
are working hard providing services for us older people. Think about
what they have inherited from us in the way of national debt to provide for your existence, a current government that Jimmy Carter described as a political system run by oligarchs.
No they don’t have it as easy as we did . We got pensions and other benefits the young will never see .
Might be the other way around, because the young people of today
are being paid with a devaluation in our currency. Open border with millions of illegals flooding our country that our young people have to pay for .

Longing for a past that never was is at the heart of division in our country. It’s time to move on.

Don't Forget
 

Don't forget we walked 5 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways.

I remember those days well, but they weren’t the good old days. These are the good days. I’m enjoying every one.

I see a number of people "complaining" about this thread's author having the nerve to complain! There is no harm in remembering how to be thrifty and conserve; especially with the state the the current economy and what could very easily be useful information to spoiled brats in the next couple of years. This description of life 50 years ago by the author is accurate. My mother used to take those cute flowery grain sacks that fed the livestock on my grandfather's farm and make shirts for my sister and I...and we loved them!

We don’t matter many more. We’re old and nobody listens to use cause they know better. We will never change our views no matter what. We can spout how good job we did, but our watch is over…..we no longer matter.

You totally described my childhood!

I get the sense that the OP copied this from somewhere else. The reference to Hot Springs is very dated. If you recall FDR used to go there for vacations.

I generally agree with the sentiments but it doesn't fit our current situation. Another poster was more on target explaining the economic realities of debt and other matters that more accurately paint the OP's pessimism.

Look at and consider the soil our foods were farmed in , cows diet compared today and it might explain what we left them with . Currency, national debt dollar lost 90 % of its value to the US postage stamp conversely what happened to salaries ?

Your right we got pensions and other benefits they do not . So savings is more important than ever .

Look at the other side
 

And they don’t have free medical plans, pension plans, health insurance and work for companies that have no more loyalty to them than they have to their employers. For
Those of you who complain about how easy it is and how spoiled seem to forget that we were taken from our employers from. Cradle to grave all free benefits and life employment until layoffs began our profit sharing plans were covered by the most part from our employers and many also had lifetime pension plans plus sales had large
Expense accounts that included free client lunch dinners and some even had free golf.
Our pay was more realistic and what is paid now is less than the Increase in costs. Most do require help from parents if they wish to buy a house or be independent and have no life savings.
Need to rethink how we see them today compared to our working days.

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.