I guess I’m getting old....

Pappy

Pappy

Living the Dream
Location
Moved back to NY from Florida. 🤓 2025
I remember the corned beef of my Childhood,
And the bread that we cut with a knife,
When the Children helped with the housework,
And the men went to work not the wife.

The cheese never needed a fridge,
And the bread was so crusty and hot,
The Children were seldom unhappy,
And the Wife was content with her lot.

I remember the milk from the bottle,
With the yummy cream on the top,
Our dinner came hot from the oven,
And not from a freezer; or shop.

The kids were a lot more contented,
They didn't need money for kicks,
Just a game with their friends in the road,
And sometimes the Saturday flicks.

I remember the shop on the corner,
Where biscuits for pennies were sold
Do you think I'm a bit too nostalgic?
Or is it....I'm just getting Old?
 

A person can never be to nostalgic in my book.
I admit I love some modern conveniences. AC is a big one and no more coal bins and getting the furnace going early in the morning. Easy clean ovens and many others but the basic household chores I still do the old fashioned way and I get great satisfaction from doing things exactly the way my grandma and mom did them.
My kids are always after me to change my ways. That's not going to happen as long as I'm able.
Besides I get a kick out of driving them nuts.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
A person can never be to nostalgic in my book.
I admit I love some modern conveniences. AC is a big one and no more coal bins and getting the furnace going early in the morning. Easy clean ovens and many others but the basic household chores I still do the old fashioned way and I get great satisfaction from doing things exactly the way my grandma and mom did them.
My kids are always after me to change my ways. That's not going to happen as long as I'm able.
Besides I get a kick out of driving them nuts.
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Ruth, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to know that I am not alone in my love of the past and doing things the traditional way.

You are so right about certain modern advances being a blessing, but overall I'm the splitting image of you, in that I just love doing most everything the old-fashioned way. Always have... always will.
 
I sometimes think back to my early childhood years, and things were sure a lot more peaceful back then. We played softball in the street, or climbed a big dirt pile in a nearby vacant lot. We walked a few blocks to/from school, and everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and often gathered for a nice outdoor visit. Life was a lot simpler 70 years ago, and there were few concerns compared to today's world.
 
Don M. said:
I sometimes think back to my early childhood years, and things were sure a lot more peaceful back then. We played softball in the street, or climbed a big dirt pile in a nearby vacant lot. We walked a few blocks to/from school, and everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and often gathered for a nice outdoor visit. Life was a lot simpler 70 years ago, and there were few concerns compared to today's world.
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We used to visit a local gravel pit with cardboard boxes as kids, which we used to slide down the gravel piles.

What fun that was!
 
It looks to me as though things started to go on the downhill slide around the 50s when rock n roll got more popular and diners started popping up.
 
I think back about a lot of things from my past. I lived in the city and we got wet under the fireplug. All the Moms were home and they all watched the kids outside. My favorite memory was the boys riding the girls on their bikes to a place called suicide hill. Whatever boy made it down the hill first had to get a kiss from the girl he took to the hill. Boy did I love that game.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Really? Cause I am 74 and I was kidnapped and raped when I was 7, and dear old mom never even looked for me. You have a different past than I do. It was not all sunshine and roses for everyone. You might consider that next time you use the words “today’s disgrace”. 😡
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I hear you Aneeda72. Too often the past is viewed through rose-coloured glasses.
 
Leonie said:
I hear you Aneeda72. Too often the past is viewed through rose-coloured glasses.
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Aneeda, some people were unfortunate to go through a tragic life as children much like you did, but not the majority. To jump down Aunt Marg's throat or anyone blaming my generation for what came during the 60s is rather rude. While I cannot imagine what you suffered, I can honestly compare my childhood to what I do consider today's disgrace.
 
© Brian A. Bendall

Published: February 2018

Many, many years ago
When I was just a kid,
And I had just began to grow,
There's stuff I had and did.

I'm thinking back on all those things
That life saw fit to give me.
If I can't remember everything,
I hope you will forgive me.

Chocolate candy cigarettes
And big bubble gum cigars.
Mini Bricks and Red Ball Jets,
Hopscotch and Dinky cars.

Mercurochrome and iodine;
Band-aids in a can.
Your watch required a daily wind,
And Etch-A-Sketch was grand.

In school, the teacher had to see
Just what you had to do.
You held one finger up for pee;
You held up two for poo!

Marbles, Slinkys, Lincoln Logs,
Ker Plunk and Pick Up Sticks,
With Yo-yos, you could "walk the dog,"
And ice cream came in bricks.

Arrows all had suction cups
And guns had rolls of caps.
Paddle Balls and Tonka Trucks
Big red lips were wax,

Bumps on heads, being black and blue,
Was minor when compared to
Being sick with cold or flu!
Have fun? You're not prepared to!

Measles, mumps, and chicken pox
Always seemed to flare.
They opened up Pandora's Box
And caught us unaware!

With medicine and care from mom,
Our time in bed was cut!
But I can't remember anyone
Allergic to a nut!

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys
And also Brothers Grimm.
But Mark Twain was my pride and joy!
I never could resist him!

Hide and seek and tag were there.
New energy we found!
No more teacher scorns to bear
When summer came around.

PF Flyer running shoes,
Steel roller skates had keys.
There were phone booths we could use
If there's emergencies.

Rolling down a grassy hill
In parks was a delight.
Nicky Nine Doors was a thrill,
But only played at night!

We rode our bikes with playing cards
Flapping on our spokes.
We played in all our friends' backyards
And told our "Knock Knock" jokes.

Climbing fences, climbing trees
Were common things to do.
Getting bruised or skinning knees?
That was nothing new!

Two wheel scooters, kiddy cars,
We had Soap Box Rallies.
Baseball teams and monkey bars
And close by bowling alleys.

In winter, there were snowball fights
And snow forts for protection.
And when a bitter wind would bite,
Few kids raised objection!

Speeding down a snowy slope
On sleds and blown up tires.
"Is it too steep?" We all said, "Nope!"
We wanted to go higher!

In our teens were Levi jeans,
Duck and pony tails.
Sock hops were a common scene
Where dancing would prevail.

Bobby socks and poodle skirts
And continental slacks.
White buck shoes and fancy shirts,
Guitars and wailing sax!

Computers? What on Earth were they?!
Well, they would show up later.
And none I knew could dare display
Cell phones or calculators!

Many things I've mentioned here
Are still with us today.
But lots of kids, it does appear,
Ignore this great buffet!

What happened to the world I knew?
Have kids today stopped growing?
If time machines were really true,
I know where I'd be going!

Dick, Jane, Spot and Puff
Are nothing now but jokes.
But maybe I have said enough,
So I'll say, "That's all folks!"


Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/kid-stuff
 
Lewkat said:
Aneeda, some people were unfortunate to go through a tragic life as children much like you did, but not the majority. To jump down Aunt Marg's throat or anyone blaming my generation for what came during the 60s is rather rude. While I cannot imagine what you suffered, I can honestly compare my childhood to what I do consider today's disgrace.
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I didn’t “jump down Aunt Marg’s throat”, I was not being rude, I am pointing out that the 50’s, for a great many people, were horrific. The fifties were disgraceful, IMO. I was alive in the fifties. I visited grandma in the fifties and was on the front porch when a black man, who approached, was told to go to the back door. Would any black person, in America, like to return to the 50’s? I think not.

as for the ‘60s I said nothing about the 60s. I don’t know what your generation was and I haven’t blamed anyones generation for anything. You can compare what you want. What drives me nuts is generalizations about how great yesterday Was. It wasn’t great for me. It wasn’t great for blacks. It wasn’t great for lots of people of color. It is not rude to point that out.

Edited, Oh, let me add, I do not think the 50’s were that great for the Jewish people either. Yup, I am a bit upset.
 
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Don M. said:
Life was a lot simpler 70 years ago, and there were few concerns compared to today's world.
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LOL, isn't this just longing to be a child again and have no real cares or responsibilities, and be unaware of risks and challenges? I don't think children today are living in some disgraceful nightmare?

My kid should eventually look back to happy childhood memories of 4H and bonfire parties and hanging out at the High School parking lot. People who are little kids today will have nice memories of what they did, I'm not exactly sure what activities they have nowadays, but I feel sure my coworkers who have little children are giving their kids plenty of simple fun, I think one was talking about making paper flowers with his kid on Valentines Day for their mom.
 
When unsure about the UN-
Paint a snapshot of your dream.
Backtrack to your childhood,
To the land of cherries and cream.

Shim up that apple tree again
And throw the bad cores to the ground.
Indulge until your tum tum aches,
Then scrape your shin shin climbing down.

Skip some stones on the old frog pond.
Frolic and play on the summer grass.
Then fall asleep on a pile of leaves,
Then dream until the Suns all pass.

You'll never grow old with age.
You'll never count years gone by.
Bow tie a ribbon around your heart--
And your childhood will never die!


Childhood-- by me
 
Once the introduction of porn was accepted into our culture as being a good thing, almost the norm, women suffered a terrible injustice IMO. Over time, pressure mounted on women to perform certain sex acts that were considered shocking when I was a girl. Today, young people now send each other explicit sexual photos of themselves without a second thought. Tragic outcome for girls and women generally IMO.
 
mellowyellow said:
Once the introduction of porn was accepted into our culture as being a good thing, almost the norm, women suffered a terrible injustice IMO. Over time, pressure mounted on women to perform certain sex acts that were considered shocking when I was a girl. Today, young people now send each other explicit sexual photos of themselves without a second thought. Tragic outcome for girls and women generally IMO.
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Do you remember when Splendor in the Grass was considered a nearly porn movie? 😂. You had to show your ID to see it.
 

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