Rembering the Past

I hear people talk about the Good Old Days and wonder where they lived that I didn't?  As a baby boomer, we grew up with no television, no AC, a rug was a small thing by the door that we wiped our feet on and we actually got under our desks in case of nuclear attack.  Just as the 50's were ending, we were about to be Nuked by Russia from Cuba, had a President assassinated, and saw a war start that tore the fabric of our country in half.  For me, it was a war for the year 1968 that we won on the battlefield but lost in public opinion.  My salvation was that I found Barbara, the love of my life and she accepted when I proposed.

What can I say about the 70's.  There were a few things that stood out such as Leisure suits and Disco.  Enough said.

For me, being a kid growing up in those eras meant that our vacations were mostly spent at my Grandmother's house.  When she lived in the middle of no where Kansas, (Susank north of Hoisington) it was like watching paint dry in the middle of no where.  When they bought the property in Arkansas, I fell in love of being in a place where you could explore, swim in the creek and just have a ball.  Most evenings we would get together and sing the old songs.  My sister carol played the guitar and both Mom and Grandmother Erma played the piano.  It is funny that I really don't remember my older sister Sue singing with us but I know she was along on a lot of the trips. 

We all had to go to school but come the summertime, it was one crazy adventure after another.  Ronny, Harvey, Denny, Wayne and Eugene could always cook up something to do.  Our neighborhood had tons of kids and we would throw ourselves into large game that would change all the time and many lasted well into the night.  Our backyard was the Beech Aircraft Plant parking lot and the lights would be on until well after midnight.  There was always enough to do any game except read.  I was 8 before we had a TV and  sitting by a radio and listening quietly just wasn't in my nature. 

The other day, someone quoted, "Doing the same thing and expecting different results is insanity."  They didn't have ADHD.  On the rare occasions I ever did the same thing on consecutive days, I generally treated the outcome as something new and different.  The problem with being crazy is you have to feel guilty to get there and I was so spontaneous that you had to catch me to put blame on my shoulders.   The Petty Corollary to that is you don't have to be paranoid to have someone out to get you. 

Oh well, guests coming for dinner tonight.  I guess I'd better see what I can do to feed the masses.

MUD